Posted on 07/17/2021
By: Hans Themistode
In just a few more hours, Brian Castaño will attempt to become the first undisputed 154-pound world champion in the four belt era when he takes on unified titlist, Jermell Charlo. The WBO belt holder smiles from ear to ear as he envisions having his hand held high in victory at the AT&T Center, in San Antonio, Texas.
Although he was ecstatic earlier this year in his title winning effort against Patrick Teixeira, becoming an undisputed world champion would not only represent his finest moment in the ring but in his entire life.
“This is the most important thing that ever happened in my life,” said Castaño during a recent interview with FightHype.com. “This is the moment I’ve been waiting for.”
While the Argentinian has put together an impressive professional resume, taking down the likes of Teixeira, stopping Wale Omotoso and recording a split decision draw against Erislandy Lara, the biggest win of his life actually came in the unpaid ranks.
As an amateur, Castaño compiled a record of 181-5-5. Amongst those wins, was against current unified welterweight champion, Errol Spence Jr. Since he’s turned pro, Spence Jr., has looked nearly impossible to defeat. Yet, when the two stood across the ring from each other several years ago, Castaño explains that he dominated the Dallas native.
“It was a fight during the pre pan American games in Venezuela,” explained Castaño. “I even knocked him down twice. It was a fight where everything was intense but I put him down on the mat twice. I’m never going to forget it but I’m focused on Saturday night.”
While Castaño (17-0-1, 12 KOs) claims to have dropped Spence Jr. twice during their showdown, the unified titlist appeared incoherent by the entire ordeal. With their showdown taking place roughly a decade ago, Spence Jr. claims that he “doesn’t remember,” how things played out.
Regardless of what took place several years, Castaño refuses to have a win over Spence Jr. in the amateurs define his professional career. With oddsmakers backing Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) in a major way, the Argentinian merely wants to add to his already growing legacy and prove everyone wrong in the process.
“I’m focused on Saturday night, I want to make history.”
Currently, both Charlo and Spence Jr. are stablemates as they work closely with head trainer Derrick James. Although they’ve been known to go to war during their sparring sessions, Charlo revealed that he didn’t get the chance to step into the ring with Spence Jr. in preparation for his matchup against Castaño.
Regardless of that, the truculent knockout artist believes he’s more than ready to hand Castaño the first loss of his professional career. After stopping his three most recent opponents in Jorge Cota, Tony Harrison and Jeison Rosario, Charlo has been on a knockout spree. With that said, Castaño is firmly of the belief that while he’ll be cautious of the firepower his opponent brings to the table, he’ll be prepared to deal with him.
“I have to watch out for the isolated punches. Charlo has three belts for a reason. He’s a quality fighter and a true champion. I’m ready to go.”