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Mike CoppingerESPN
The wait to crown an undisputed junior middleweight champion will be a little longer — if it happens at all.
Brian Castano suffered a minor right biceps tear while sparring, sources told ESPN on Wednesday, postponing the Jermell Charlo rematch on March 19 in Los Angeles for all four 154-pound titles.
The 32-year-old Argentine sustained the injury about 10 days ago, sources said, and is expected to be recovered in three to four weeks.
However, it isn’t a foregone conclusion the fight will be rescheduled. PBC, which promotes both boxers, were forced to deal with several looming sanctioning body obligations to allow the rematch to proceed. It’s possible one of the organizations will enforce a mandatory title defense against one of the No. 1 contenders. Charlo holds three belts while Castano owns one.
Tim Tszyu, the son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, was set to fight Terrell Gausha in the chief-support bout on March 19. The Aussie has long been the mandatory challenger to Castano, and WBO president Paco Valcarcel hinted on Twitter that the rematch with Charlo wouldn’t happen.
The postponement is a major blow to the spring boxing schedule. 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.
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 (34-1-1, 18 KOs) is 1-0 in rematches. The 31-year-old Texan’s only pro defeat came via a controversial 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 (17-0-2, 12 KOs) won the title with a unanimous-decision victory over Patrick Teixeira in February 2021. ESPN’s No. 1 junior middleweight also drew with Erislandy Lara in one of the best fights of 2019.