Jermalo Charles had to show incredible patience in his quest to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion.
After a split draw in his first bout with Brian Castaño last year followed a three-month delay in their rematch due to Castagno’s injury, Charla had to wait again on Saturday night because Castagno appeared late in the arena .
When the showdown finally began, Charla survived Castaño’s early attacks and waited for the moment to pounce.
The moment came in the 10th round, and Charlot decidedly took advantage of it.
Charla became the first man to hold every 154-pound title in the four-belt era when he stopped his Argentine opponent by two knockouts on the 10th. He completed his remarkable quest, becoming only the seventh fighter to rule as the undisputed champion of any weight class since the beginning of the four-belt era in 1988.
“It’s a legacy,” Charlo said. “It’s something legendary. I am a legend. It’s a beautiful thing. “
After an entertaining bout with enough collisions, Charla (35-1-1, 19 KOs) twice quickly in a row threw Castaño on the 10th. Charla jumped on the ropes as a sign of celebration while the referee was still counting down his opponent, celebrating the addition of the WBO super middleweight champion Castagno to his belts according to the WBC, WBA and IBF.
Charla survived several impressive first rounds with Castagno (17-1-2) in a rematch of the split draw 10 months ago in Texas.
“I got in the bag around the seventh round,” said Charla, a Houston native and twin brother of middleweight champion Jermal Charl. “I started sitting a little more instead of boxing and moving so much. I saw that he was a little tired and I broke him. I just saw how my strokes were more effective. I became stronger in the following rounds if they didn’t know. “
Charla has impressively executed a tactical game plan against the full moon at Dignity Health Sports Park, a famous outdoor stadium south of downtown Los Angeles.
Castagno’s aggression and Charles ’sharp reactions led to big exchanges in almost every round, underscored by a sensational fifth round of relentless action. But Castaño’s early pace slowed in the middle rounds, and Charla finished it dramatically at 2:33 on the 10th.
Catching Castagno with the right uppercut and left hook for the first knockdown, Charlo a few seconds later threw Castagna again with both left hands to the head and left to the body, leaving Castagno on the canvas.
“We have shown that we are warriors,” Castaño said through an interpreter. “We both fought back and forth. It was a force back and forth, and then his right hand came up and stopped the fight. He is a champion. He hit me. He got me. But I’m fine. “
After in the second round of the penultimate bout of the show the undefeated heavyweight from Philadelphia Jaran Ennis stopped Custio Clayton with an angry right hand, the main event was slightly postponed because Castagno appeared late in the arena, according to the promoters of the fight.
The traffic and parking were horrible around the sports complex, where a match against the LA Galaxy Premier League was held at the same time as a battle card in the tennis arena that shares property with the football stadium, but it was unclear whether Castaño was late.
Both fighters still withdrew from the desire to exchange, Castaño pushed forward again, and Charles deftly counterattacked. Charla was sharp from the ropes, but Castagno defeated him in the moves during an exciting fourth round.
The fifth round went even better, with devastating blows from both fighters. Charla then picked up Castagno’s knees with a huge left hand in the seventh, but Charla curiously didn’t move to pursue.
It turned out Charles had a better plan.
Charlo’s victory is a landmark moment in the history of the best fighters between middle and middleweight.
The 154-pound division was established in 1962, and talents ranging from Thomas Hearns and Terry Norris to Felix Trinidad and Winky Wright have surpassed in weight. But no boxer has had all the major super middleweight titles since the creation and opening of the 4-belt championship era in 1988.
Charla won his first version of the 154-pound title in 2013, and in May 2016 he won the WBC belt. He lost it to Tony Harrison in December 2018, but returned it by knockout in a rematch and quickly added WBA and IBF belts stopping Jeison Rosario in September 2020.
Castagno has had impressive career fights in Buenos Aires, although he has been training in Los Angeles since January. He held the 154-pound WBA title version for three years before claiming the WBO belt last year.
Castagno was painfully close to an impressive upset during his first meeting with Charles last July with the same aggressive strategy. But judges in Charles’ hometown of Texas were unable to decide: one point for each fighter and a third for a draw.
