A true bomb was thrown to boxing fans: the Jermell Charlo vs Brian Castaño Super welterweight unification rematch was, at the very least, postponed afterBoxing Sceneleaked the Argentinian fighter was forced to withdraw because of a bicep injury that will keep him out of the gym for 4 weeks minimum.
Charlo vs Castaño I was held on July 2021. The four belts, Charlo’sWBC, WBA, and IBF, and Castaño’s WBO, were on the table and the boxing community was eager to witness the rise of a new undisputed World Champion. The result was unexpected such as the quality of the clash.
The American and the Argentinian warrior offered a thrilling war that ended asa Split Decision Draw. The crowd demanded an immediate rematch and the contenders pleased it. March 19, 2022, was supposed to be the date on which Jermell Charlo and Brian Castaño would answer the question of who the best man at the 154 pounds is.
The war unleashed by Brian Castaño’s withdrawal from Jermell Charlo unification rematch
Just a few hours after the leak of Brian Castaño’s (17-0-2, 12 KOs) drop-down of his compromise with Jermall Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs), the consequences started to emerge, and punch the 32-years-old Argentinian Champion. Even without a standingfight, Castaño will have to battle hard.
The bad news for the Buenos Aires native is that not only Jermell Charlo wants to keep struggling: also the WBO is attempting to find an answer, even a punishment, for Castaño for not being in condition to comply with the unification rematch.
Jermell Charlo’s blow to Brian Castaño
The Iron Manpublicly shared his anger with Castaño for the postposition of their clash. It is the second time that the Argentinian warrior pushes back the rematch fight for the Super welterweight supremacyas February 26 was the first original date scheduled for it to occur.
On his social media, Instagram specifically, Jermell Charlo shared his opinion about Castaño’s forced withdrawal: “(Twice)in a row they done tried to pull the same stunt. Naw I ain’t buying it.”. This increases for sure Charlo’s animosity againstthe WBO titlist, which was born after the Split Decision Draw result of their first fight was announced.
Jermell Charlo’s statement on social media. (Instagram: @twincharlo
Castaño also receives a strike from the WBO
Boxing Scenereported that the World Boxing Organization, from whom the Argentinian fighter is the reigning 154 pounds Champion, demanded Castaño’s TGB Promotions an official explanation of why the unification rematch against Jermell Charlo was not being held. The answer expected must be sent 24 hours after its request.
The WBO, and the other 3 boxing organizations involved in Charlo vs Castaño II (WBC, WBA, and IBF), have agreed to stop themandatory defenses of their respective titles to allow the clash to happen. As there may be a minimum of 4 weeks of forced pause for Brian Castaño, it could be impossible to contain more time the mandatory fights. This could not only postpone but finally, avoid the rematch to occur.
However, the Organization’s position must be clear: Brian Castaño is the only guilty one for the collapse of the mega-fight against Jermell Charlo. The WBO President, Francisco Valcarcel, has stated this on Twitter: “Looks like no unification will take place …Who You can blame? Probably Castaño“.
A major beneficiary could emerge from this imbroglio: the Super welterweight contender Tim Tszyu (20-0-0, 15 KOs). The 27-years old fighter, son of boxing Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, could be pushing to get the mandatory title shot against Castaño that he has gained in the ring.
As a ripple effect, Jermell Charlo would have to focus on satisfying the defense of his titles that IBF and WBA may already have for him, against RussianBakhram Murtazaliev(19-0-0), andUzbek Israil Madrimov(8-0-0), respectively.
Tim Tszyu is ready to challenge Brian Castaño. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
