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Mike CoppingerESPN
The Jermell Charlo-Brian Castano rematch for the undisputed junior middleweight championship has been rescheduled for May 14 on Showtime, sources told ESPN.
The 154-pound bout for all four titles was set for March 19 in Los Angeles but was postponed after Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs) sustained a minor right biceps tear. The injury, sources said, occurred last month when Castano, 32, was accidently elbowed in the arm by junior middleweight Terrell Gausha.
Castano will resume sparring in approximately two weeks, his manager, Sebastian Contoursi, told ESPN.
Gausha was preparing for a fight with Tim Tszyu, the son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, on the undercard. The WBO called for Castano to defend his title against mandatory challenger Tszyu rather than face Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs) after the postponement, but PBC was able to appease the Australian and the Puerto Rico-based organization with an impromptu March 26 Showtime card in Minneapolis headlined by Tszyu-Gausha, sources said.
PBC also had to satisfy Main Events, which promotes Bakhram Murtazaliev, the mandatory challenger to Charlo’s IBF title (he also holds the WBA and WBA belts). Murtazaliev will once again receive step-aside money to allow Charlo to compete in a more meaningful fight, sources said.
The WBO pushed for Charlo-Castano to take place no later than April 30, but the boxing schedule is stacked from April 16 through May 7; May 14 was the earliest viable date. The organization finally approved the title fight late Thursday evening.
The rematch was set to take place at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, but with multiple NBA teams and an NHL team that could potentially have playoff games, there’s no location finalized at this time.
When Charlo and Castano first met in July, they produced an exhilarating fight worthy of the undisputed championship. Castano appeared to deserve the decision but was forced to settle for a draw in a highly controversial verdict.
One judge scored the fight for Castano, 114-113, while another turned in a puzzling 117-111 scorecard for Charlo. A third judge scored it 114-114.
Charlo is 1-0 in rematches. The 31-year-old Texan’s only pro defeat came via disputed decision against Tony Harrison in 2018. One year later, Charlo exacted revenge with an 11th-round KO. The twin brother of middleweight champion Jermall Charlo, Jermell is ESPN’s No. 2 junior middleweight.
Castano, who is training in Southern California but resides in Argentine, won the title with a unanimous-decision victory over Patrick Teixeira in February 2021. ESPN’s No. 1 junior middleweight also drew with Erislandly Lara in one of the best fights of 2019.