A day after they were kept separated on the same stage after their press conference, Brian Castano and Jermell Charlo came face to face after they made weight Friday afternoon.
Charlo, draped in an American flag, smiled and shook his head up and down. Castano stood stone-faced before they eventually turned toward photographers in front of the stage.
Their supporters made plenty of noise in a ballroom at The Westin Los Angeles Airport, before the 154-pound champions were interviewed for Showtime’s stream and eventually went their separate ways.
Minutes earlier, Buenos Aires’ Castano stepped on the California State Athletic Commission’s scale at 153¾ pounds. Houston’s Charlo officially weighed one pound lighter, 152¾ pounds, more than a pound below the contracted limit for their second 154-pound title unification fight.
They’ll fight again Saturday night for Castano’s WBO belt and Charlo’s IBF, WBA and WBC championships in the main event of a “Showtime Championship Boxing” tripleheader at nearby Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Caesars Sportsbook has listed Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs) as more than a 2-1 favorite over Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs).
Castano, 32, and Charlo, 31, fought to a controversial split draw last July 17 at AT&T Center in San Antonio. Both boxers demanded an immediate rematch following their closely contested 12-round fight.
Barring another draw or a no-contest, the Castano-Charlo winner will become just the seventh fully unified champion in any division during boxing’s four-belt era. The six fighters who’ve accomplished that feat are middleweights Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor, junior welterweights Terence Crawford and Josh Taylor, cruiserweight Oleksandr Usyk and super middleweight Canelo Alvarez.
Showtime
9 p.m. ET; 6 p.m. PT
Jaron Ennis (28-0, 26 KOs, 1 NC), Philadelphia, 146½ pounds vs. Custio Clayton (19-0-1, 12 KOs), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 146½ pounds, 12 rounds, IBF welterweight elimination match.
Kevin Gonzalez (24-0-1, 13 KOs), Culiacan, Mexico, 121 pounds vs. Emanuel Rivera (19-2, 12 KOs), Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, 121¾ pounds, 10 rounds, junior featherweights.
Credit: Boxingscene
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