By: Sean Crose
The 34-1 Jermell Charlo will be facing the 17-0-1 Brian Castano at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas Saturday night. At stake will be a whole slew of title belts as well as the position of top super welterweight in the world. The fight is the main attraction of a Showtime card that will start airing at 9PM eastern time. This can truly be called a battle where two of the best fighters out there are facing off and leaving everything out on the line. That makes this weekend’s bout important – and interesting.
Charlo is nothing if not interesting to watch in the ring. There’s a slippery fluidity to the guy that makes him hard to hit. He can hit himself, however, well and often. This is not a defense-centric tactician, nor is it some wild man throwing caution to the wind each every time he enters the ring. In fact, the last time Charlo was in action was back in September of last year, when he repeatedly dropped and handily bested Jeison Rosario. The Houston based fighter has lost but once, to Tony Harrison, only to come back and knock Harrison out in the rematch.
As for Castano – the man has worked his way to the top of the ladder. He won the WBO super welterweight title in his last bout by decisioning Patrick Teixeira back in February of this year. The Argentine has never lost a bout. In fact, the only time Castano hasn’t won was when be battled the great Erislandy Lara to a draw in 2019. He may be the lesser known of the two fighters highlighting Saturday’s card, as well as the underdog, but Castano is nothing if not a livewire. Simply put, he shouldn’t be underestimated. Charlo unquestionably isn’t underestimating the man at all. The Charlo-Castano fight is scheduled for 12 championship rounds.
The 13-0 Rolando Romero will also appear on Saturday’s card. He’ll be facing the 24-1-1 Anthony Yigit for a WBA strap in a scheduled 12 rounder. Romero’s last bout was a stoppage victory over Aver Sparrow in January. Yigit was last in the ring back in 2019 when he bested Siar Ozgul by decision. Lastly, the 12-0 super middleweight Amilcar Vidal will face the 18-2-2 Immanuwel Aleem in a scheduled 10 rounder. Vidal last fought back in November when he knocked out Edward Ortiz in 2. Aleem last saw action in 2019 when he dropped a decision to Ronald Ellis.