Update: As of February 16th, this fight has been postponed. Castano suffered a right bicep tear in training camp and was forced to withdraw. There is no word yet on when the match will be rescheduled.
After being given a close draw, which some believe should have gone to Castano, Charlo did the honorable thing and gave Castano an immediate rematch to clear his name. That fighting pride is something that can be respected about Jermell, and will make it all the more exciting to see another close fight between these two.
Jermell Charlo: A solid brawler who can also counterpunch at range, the ‘little Charlo’ is a deadly combination of ring IQ and truly bad intentions in the ring. He’s got a genuine chip on his shoulder and always seems to hold genuine animosity for his opponents, so look for him to come out aggressively headhunting and trying to punish Castano for daring to share the ring with him.
Brian Castano: Castano is an absolute machine. I swear his heart is a nuclear reactor. He doesn’t slow down, he doesn’t show fear, and you can probably count on one hand the number of times he’s backed up from an opponent. Between a solid up close defense and an astonishing work rate on the inside, look for him to bring the same game plan as last time, throwing devastating combinations from rounds 1-12 and refusing to give Charlo an inch of ground to work with.
Prediction: Castano by SD. Taking a risk here and calling for the underdog. Honestly, this fight could go either way, but I am giving the (very) slight edge to Castano just based on work rate and better quality of past wins.