Charlo and Castano Battle to a Draw in a San Antonio Firefight

For the second time in the last two months an undisputed champion figured to be crowned. All four belts were at stake when WBC/IBF/WBA 154-pound belt-holder Jermell Charlo opposed WBO title-holder Brian Castano at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Jermell Charlo, one-half of the best brother combination in boxing (and they share the same birthday) was fighting in his home state and was a consensus 11/4 favorite over his Argentine adversary. But the styles of the two fighters portended an exciting fight and the portent was prescient.

Charlo (34-1-2, 18 KOs) hurt Castano in the second round with a big left hook, but Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs) returned the favor in the following round, hurting Jermell with a left hook. At the three-quarter pole, Castano had a clear edge with his higher-volume attack, but Charlo had a big 10^th and for a moment it appeared that he was going to steal the win with a late KO.

As it turned out, although he won the next two rounds, only a KO would have enabled Jermell to add that fourth belt to his bedpost. The bout went to the scorecards where the result was a stalemate; a split draw: 114-113 for Castano, 117-111 for Charlo, and 114-114. Veteran Puerto Rican judge Nelson Vazquez was the outlier, giving Charlo nine of the 12 rounds, for which he was widely scorned on social media.

Although it didn’t settle what it was intended to settle, Charlo vs. Castano was a very good fight, begging a rematch that will likely be pay-per-view.

Co-Feature

The co-feature pit lightweight Rolando Romero against junior welterweight Anthony Yigit who came in five pounds over the contracted 135-pound weight. At stake for Romero was some sort of interim belt.

A Las Vegas native whose father was purportedly a three-time national champion in Cuba, Romero scored three knockdowns en route to a seventh-round stoppage, elevating his record to 14-0 (12). Sweden’s Yigit, a southpaw, took the bout on short notice and was at a distinct disadvantage in punching power.

Romero had a point deducted in round five for hitting on the break and was guilty of several other infractions for which he wasn’t penalized. He scored his first knockdown at the bell ending the fifth frame, a left-combination, and added two more in the seventh before the referee stepped in. The official time was 1:54. Yigit declined to 24-2-1.

After the fight, Romero called out Mayweather Promotions stablemate Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

Other Bouts

The TV opener was a fan-friendly 10-rounder fought at the catchweight of 162 pounds. Amilcar Vidal, a Uruguayan who brought a 12-0 (11 KOs) record was a substantial favorite over Virginia’s Immanuwel Aleem who was 18-2-2 heading in.

In his three previous fights, Vidal scored fast knockouts over undefeated opponents who on paper seemed to match up well with him. But Aleem wasn’t intimidated and at the finish one could have raised an argument that the decision should have gone in his favor. As it was, Vidal, who landed the best punch of the fight – a body punch in round six – kept his undefeated record intact, prevailing on a majority decision (95-95; 97-93 twice). The consensus of those turning in on TV was that the 95-95 tally was the fairest.

In the final off-TV fight, Russian import Bakhram Murtazaliev, now fighting out of Oxnard, California, improved to 19-0 (14) with an 8-round unanimous decision over Khiary Gray (16-6) of Worcester, Mass. The judges had it 78-74 and 79-73 twice.

Murtazaliev, ranked #1 by the IBF at 154 pounds, won with room to spare but had a harder fight than expected with Gray who was making his first start in 23 months. Better known back in Worcester for his long rap sheet than for anything he has accomplished in the ring, the hard-trying Gray gave a good effort.

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

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