Saturday night’s unification bout between Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano ended in a highly controversial split draw, despite consistent action all throughout the fight. It was evident from the beginning that both fighters were in top condition and intending to establish the pace of the fight. However, Charlo struggled to maintain any kind of pace early on and was overly selective with his shots, which led to some openings for Castano to capitalize on and take advantage of.
Steve Weisfeld scored it 114-113 for Castano, Tim Cheatham had it 114-144, and Nelson Vazquez scored the bout 117-111 for Charlo, making it a split draw and subject to controversy and confusion. Just by looking at the CompuBox numbers, it’s difficult to justify a score that is significantly in favor of Charlo. According to CompuBox, Castano out landed Charlo over the 12 rounds by a margin of 173 to 151. Castano also dominated in power shots, landing 66 more than Charlo.
Castano stunned Charlo multiple times throughout the 12-round fight with masterful right hands, successfully backing Charlo into the ropes. Charlo was far too comfortable fighting off the ropes, to which he would pay for in Castano’s beautiful display of pressure when having Charlo stuck to the ropes. Castano was successful in his combinations and flurries, specifically toward the end of the rounds, making it difficult for Charlo to convince the judges that his successes in the rounds were enough.
In the last three rounds, Charlo was finally able to deliver substantial action that would be in his own favor, landing successfully on Castano and hurting him in the 10th round, although he was unable to finish him. When Charlo used his jab, he was able to redirect key moments in the bout and take some of the momentum away from Castano. However, Charlo failed to see how impactful sticking to the jab was for him that night as he abandoned it multiple times, which would be his biggest mistake of the night.
Despite the heavy action that fans were treated to in San Antonio, it wasn’t enough to grant either fighter the win that night. In a case like this, a rematch is certainly warranted and is on Castano’s radar, as he made it clear in post-fight interviews that he believed he was robbed and wouldn’t shy away from a rematch.
