Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano agree to unification rematch

This past July 154 pound champs Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano put all four of their belts on the line and fought for all the marbles. The two had an explosive war that ended in a split-decision which led to a draw. One judge had their first encounter even at 114-114, one had it 114-113 Castano, and the third (Nelson Vazquez) had it 117-111 Charlo, which in many observers eyes was a ridiculous score, and even Charlo more or less admitted as much. The ending for many ended in controversial fashion. So it’s no shock the two decided to run it back. The boxers have agreed to terms for a rematch on Feb. 26, 2022, at Toyota Center in Houston that will crown an undisputed 154-pound champion, multiple sources have told ESPN.

The first fight was fought furiously from the opening bell, with Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs) applying nonstop pressure and Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) was effective in counter-punching. Charlo relied on an explosive counter left hook in the 10th round which was the determining factor for the draw.

Both fighters in the post fight interview believed they clearly won.

"I think ... he will try to avoid [the rematch]," Castano said after the first bout. "He will probably come up with something else. But in reality, it is me who is going to give him the rematch. If he doesn't want it, OK. We move on to the next fight." As for Charlo "I do believe I won the fight; I don't believe it was that close," said Charlo"I should be undisputed right now."

Whoever wins the rematch will become just the sixth fully unified champion in boxing's four-belt era, and the first unified champion at 154 pounds since Winky Wright in 2004. The rematch of this fight wasn’t easy to make. The rematch was threatened by sanctioning body obligations, but it's expected both mandatory challengers -- Tim Tszyu and Bakhram Murtazaliev will step aside. Both fighters are locked in and have the goal to unify. The two are well matched in proving they are better than each other. With the visions of being the unified champ, so the second should be just as good as the first one.