By Jim Maltzman: Jermell Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) says WBO 154-lb champion Brian Castano (17-0-1, 12 KOs) is going to need to slow down his high work rate to a trickle on Saturday night because he could get hurt if he fights recklessly.
Castano is expected to take the fight to IBF/WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Charlo and try and wear him down when they meet in the headliner on Showtime Boxing at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Brian Castano will attack Jermell’s body
Jermell’s brother Jermall may have shown Castano how to beat him by going after his body. Jermall struggled when he was attacked to the body by his opponent Juan Macias Montiel last June.
The 31-year-old Jermell believes that his punching power is too good for Castano to use his high volume punching attack against him on Saturday, as he thinks he’ll hurt him.
Castano showed an excellent chin in his fight against Erislandy Lara in 2019, fighting him to a 12 round draw. Lara hits about as hard as Charlo, and Castano handled his power well.
This fight could come down to whether Jermell can handle the inside pressure from Castano. If he can force his way in close, he will break Charlo down and possibly stop him.
Jermell wants Castano about being too aggressive
“Yeah, I think he’s going to bring some more heat, but he’s going to have to slow some of that s*** down because it’ll be a bad night for him,” said Jermell Charlo to Fighthype about Canelo needing to ease off with his pressure.
“His eyes could get cut; his nose could get broke. It’s dangerous. I’m a dangerous fighter, and I know that about me.
“I know that everything can get painful. Every punch is bad. I use these things, and I put them in my regimen my whole life and career.
“Now it’s the time to be undisputed and fight for the best and give everything I put in that night. It’s just 36 minutes.
“I want to put in one of my best performances, not just for this fight. You never know what’s after this. The skies are the limit for me.
“You got to know boxing that if I throw the least amount of punches, they can’t be normal punches. We’ll see. I know he throws a lot of punches.
“And I throw over 2,000 punches in training with Joan Guzman; these are the things I’m talking about. I want to see if I can display some of the things I’ve learned.
“You can’t just throw a lot of punches,” said Charlo. “You can throw punches, punches, and punches, but it’s not going to do nothing for you unless you’re significantly throwing some dangerous shots.
That’s what I’ve been doing for the last past years,” said Charlo in addressing that his opponent Brian Castano has a very high work rate.
Castano has no other choice but to fight in his normal high-pressure style of fighting against Jermell.
If Castano wants to win, he’s got to put a lot of pressure on Charlo, work the body, and wear him down with volume punching.
Obviously, it’s better for Jermell if Castano stays on the outside and boxes him because he doesn’t possess the height or the reach to win that kind of a fight.
Charlo is not ready to move up to 160
“I make it really easy. I’m actually 157 right now,” Jermell said when asked if this is his last fight at 154.
“I walk around at 155, 156. I’m really a solid 154-pounder,” Charlo continued. I love it, just like I love this weight division. It’s easy for me to make weight.
“I don’t want to move up to 160 because that contradicts my brother, and it contradicts Errol Spence because he wants to move up.
“But who knows what’s next for me, though. I didn’t get any work with Spence,” said Charlo.
Jermell needs to think hard before he decides to stay at 154 because he will be missing out on a lot of money by not going up to 160.
There are fewer opportunities for Jermell at 154, and he could end up wasting the last few good years he’s got left. At 31, Charlo is getting up there in age, and it won’t be long before some of the young lions take him down.
If Jermell chooses to stay at 154, these are his options for money fights:
- Tim Tszyu
- Errol Spence Jr
- Terence Crawford
- Erickson Lubin
- Sebastian Fundora
- Charles Conwell
- Israil Madrimov
Those are fights that Charlo could lose, all of them, and if that happens, he’ll miss out on big money at 160. Tszyu has an excellent chance of beating Jermell with his body punching.
Crawford and Spence would likely be considered the favorite against Charlo. The 6’6″ Fundora has so much size, power, and work rate that he might beat him as well.
Lubin has improved immensely since his loss to Charlo in 2017, and he might be good enough to beat him.