By Huck Allen: WBO junior middleweight champion Brian Castano suffered a right biceps tear while training for his March 19th rematch with IBF/WBA/WBC champion Jermell Charlo, resulting in the fight being postponed 3 to 4 weeks.
The fight could be canceled due to mandatory defenses due for the two champions.
ESPN’s Mike Coppinger is first on the news of the injury for the 32-year-old Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs) for his rematch with Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs) on Showtime at the Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles
It’s believed that the Argentinian’s right bicep tear is a small one, and he should be able to return to action to reschedule the rematch with the 31-year-old Jermell in April.
It’s obviously disappointing news for boxing fans, but these things happen during sparring sessions. The only way to avoid them entirely is for fighters not to spar, but they’re not going to do that unless they’re injury-prone or old.
The reason for the rematch between Charlo and Castano is the controversial 12 round draw last July between them in San Antonio, Texas.
While many boxing fans felt that Castano had done enough to deserve the win, the judges scored it as a draw. Needless to say, fans were livid, feeling that Charlo had been given a gift draw and should have been given a loss.
Charlo got the better of Castano when the two were in the center of the ring, but the roles were reversed when the action was fought against the ropes.
WBO mandatory challenger Tim Tszyu has got to be unhappy about the injury because he’s been waiting for a title shot for some time. If the fight keeps getting pushed back, Tszyu may need to wait until 2023 for him to get a crack at the WBO belt eventually.
“Sources: Brian Castano suffered a minor right biceps tear while sparring, postponing the rematch with Jermell Charlo for the undisputed 154-pound championship that was set for March 19. The first fight, in July, was a draw. Castano is expected to recover in roughly 3 to 4 weeks,” said MikeCoppinger.
“Castano vs. Charlo..Look like no unification will take place..Who you can blame? Probably Castano,” said WBO president Paco Valcárcel, Esq on Twitter.
It’s an odd comment from the WBO president, but who knows what he was thinking? Injuries happen, and it’s obviously a disappointment that the fight will need to be pushed back a month.
But Castano will likely return to the ring in April for the fight, and there will be massive interest in the battle at the time.
Tickets went on sale about two weeks ago but there was no follow up press release, no press conference or virtual presser, no nothing. Now we know why. https://t.co/hnrij3dLyi
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) February 17, 2022
