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Brian Castano has never fought more than four times in a given year since turning pro in 2012.
The unbeaten 31-year-old from Buenos Aires, Argentina has only appeared in the ring seven times since 2015, though all but two taking place with at least an interim title at stake. The run hasn’t been spectacular, though well enough to see Castano emerge as no worse than the second-best junior middleweight in the world and the reigning WBO titlist.
He is now one win away from an upgrade to the best in the division and owner of all of its relevant hardware.
“I am aware that people might not be familiar with me due to not being able to fight that often,” Castano confessed during a recent press conference to discuss his undisputed junior middleweight championship clash versus Jermell Charlo. “I’m here to create my own path and pave my own way. I haven’t been as active as I’d like. A lot of that is because I turned down several fights due to feeling some opponents weren’t up to the caliber I wanted to face.”
The strategy led to Castano (17-0-1, 12KOs) becoming the number-one mandatory challenger to the WBO title previously held by Brazil’s Patrick Teixeira. The coronavirus pandemic stalled his overdue title shot by more than a year, making the opportunity count in a lopsided points win this past February 13 at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
Ironically, the biggest win of Castano’s career to date also provides him with his quickest turnaround in nearly five years. Next up for the undefeated titlist is a four-belt undisputed championship showdown with Houston’s Charlo (34-1, 18KOS), the lineal/WBC/WBA/IBF junior middleweight champ. The two collide this Saturday atop a Showtime tripleheader from AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
“One fight per year wasn’t that big a deal for me going into my last fight,” notes Castano. “I try the same whether I have a fight or not. The lack of activity doesn’t worry me in the least. My last fight in February, I came into training camp six months before that.
“I feel good this time with the sparing, the training. I feel this is my best moment. I feel good for this fight. I sacrificed a lot in my career to get to this point and I’m going to make it count against Charlo on July 17.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox