The light middleweight division will have an undisputed champion after Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano meet in mid-July. Charlo (34-1 with 18 knockouts) isn’t as much as a favorite as you might think given his hype. His unanimous decision loss to Tony Harrison in 2018 showed he could be beaten, and Castano (17-0-1 with 12 knockouts) knows he has a very good chance of upending Charlo. Castano is undefeated with some impressive wins on his resume.
This title fight will take place on Showtime with the main card slated to start at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 17, 2021.
When: Saturday, July 17, 2021
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Why: WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring, and WBO light middleweight titles
Jermell Charlo vs Brian Castano Betting Odds
Jermell Charlo -275
Brian Castano +211
Charlo is a moderately priced favorite per the boxing betting odds in this unification fight. At this price, a $275 bet on Charlo would return $100 if he were to win. A $100 wager on Castano would pay off $211 in profit if he were to stay unbeaten.
As the fight nears, there will be decision betting too. You will be able to bet on whether the fight is decided by KO, TKO, or decision, and you can bet on which boxer will win the fight in that fashion as well.
Jermell Charlo vs Brian Castano Preview
We saw Jermell Charlo turn pro prior to his 18th birthday. He wasted little time announcing that he was a force to be reckoned with as a pro, beating 19 opponents in his first five years. That led to Charlo earning a minor title shot, and he knocked out Harry Joe Yorgey in the eighth round to win the WBC Continental Americas light middleweight belt.
Charlo’s first major title fight came against John Jackson in May 2016. He scored another eighth round KO to claim the vacant WBC light middleweight belt, and he looked strong by knocking out Charles Hatley in the sixth round and Erickson Lubin in the first round in title defenses. However, a shaky majority decision win over Austin Trout foreshadowed what was to come when he lost by unanimous decision to Tony Harrison.
A focused Charlo is looking like his old self now. He knocked out Jorge Cota in the third round and then took on Harrison in a rematch. Charlo was clearly the better fighter this time around, knocking Harrison out in 11 rounds to regain his WBC light middleweight title. That set up a partial unification fight with Jeison Rosario, and Charlo added the WBA, IBF, and The Ring light middleweight straps to his waist with an eighth-round knockout.
Castano was an extremely heralded amateur. He won the gold medal in the welterweight division at the 2010 South American Games, and he also knocked off Errol Spence when he was a teenager. Castano hasn’t seen a lot of action since turning pro in September 2012 though.
The Argentine knocked out eight of his first nine opponents. He took his record to 12-0 before facing Emmanuel de Jesus with the interim WBA light middleweight belt on the line, and he grabbed the title with a sixth-round KO. Castano narrowly won a split decision over Michel Soro in his first defense, but he was more impressive in a TKO win over Cedric Vitu.
We saw Erislandy Lara box Castano to a draw in March 2019, but he was able to retain the belt as the current champion. He notched a fifth-round TKO over Wale Omotoso eight months later, and he won the WBO light middleweight title after securing a unanimous decision win over Patrick Teixeira in February.
Charlo will have a tremendous height and reach advantage in this fight. The Houston native is 5’11 with a 73-inch reach, while Castano is 5’7 with a 67-inch reach.
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