After a hotly contested and controversial full 12 round split draw decision between middleweight boxers, 32 year old Argentine Brian Castano and 31 year old American Jermell Charlo back in July of 2021, their rematch scheduled for March 19th will have to wait a while longer. Two of the top boxers in the world were set to go for a highly anticipated rematch, but there’s been an unfortunate bump in the road.
A little less than two weeks ago, Castano suffered what’s being called a minor bicep tear while sparring and practicing for the upcoming rematch. The injury will delay the rematch between the two middleweight fighters by four weeks at the very least. It may take longer than that in which case another fighter could step up and take the place of Castano.
What this means for boxing
The injury and subsequent delay to the rematch has already thrown the spring boxing slate into disarray as the WBO and boxing fans in general were very much looking forward to this rematch.
The initial match between the two middleweights last year was one of the most exciting fights of the year and a linchpin matchup for the WBO in the wake of the pandemic shutting the sport down. In that fight, Castano appeared to have had a slight upper hand near the end, but the decision went to a draw, creating a lot of debate in the boxing world.
These two fighters also boast incredibly impressive records. Charlo is a bit younger but has twice as many professional wins, with a record of 34 wins (18 of which came via KO), 1 loss and 1 draw. Castano is professionally undefeated at 17 wins (12 by KO) 0 losses and 2 draws.
Sources: Brian Castano suffered a minor right biceps tear while sparring, postponing the rematch with Jermell Charlo for the undisputed 154-pound championship that was set for March 19. The first fight, in July, was a draw. Castano expected to recover in roughly 3 to 4 weeks.
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) February 17, 2022
Charlo is clearly more battle tested and The Ring magazine ranked him as the best active light middleweight fighter in comparison with Castano who was ranked fifth best. However, his struggles against Castano back in their initial July 2021 match sticks out. Castano’s undefeated professional record and quality of fights has been something for boxing fans to marvel at. He’s an incredibly tough fighter who refuses to back down and take a punch just as well as he can throw one.
He’s just 5’7 with shorter reach than Charlo by six inches, but when he gets up close to his opponent, he’s an unstoppable force who uses his strength and agility to overwhelm whoever he faces with the ring, and he’s done this with great success.
This is obviously a blow to both fighters as well as the boxing world, who were all looking forward to this fight since the draw last summer.
The rematch
As of now, unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that this rematch will happen any time soon even if Castano returns to full health in the expected four weeks. Obviously, the quicker he recovers the better, but his being sidelined means he’s not going to be able to practice or train until he’s medically able to.
A four-week delay due to a bicep tear is probably being pretty optimistic. These injuries usually take longer to heal, and in the meantime, there’s a healthy Charlo who is healthy and able to fight at the moment. If he accepts another fight before Castano returns from this injury, it will likely take even longer for this fight to be rescheduled.
Due to the highly anticipated nature of the fight and the pretext from the initial fight between the two, it’d be surprising if it didn’t happen at all, but again, there are no guarantees in this sport. It’s not a bad guess to say that this rematch will not take place in the spring and will have to wait until mid-May at the earliest.
