Boxing pound in the standings: Jermell Charlo will not reach the top 10 after an irregular performance

It was definitely a weird tournament fight with a pound of potential pound branches. Jermell Charlo and Brian Castaño for the 154-pound starters, meanwhile, would not be crowned four-time champions when they reunited last Saturday in San Antonio.

Instead, it’s exciting, tense, and very skillful the junior middleweight summit ended in a controversial draw. It was much more controversial when Nelson Vasquez revealed his 117-111 scoreline in favor of Charlo after a close fight that they thought Castaño had done enough to win.

Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs), a 31-year-old from Houston who held WBA, WBC and IBF titles, is certainly worthy of praise for the late rally he saw exploring the last three rounds. judge’s scorecards. However, there was a feeling – at least until I read the score cards – that it was too little, too late.

A big part of the credit for not being able to get the undisputed crown and parachute from Charlok in the top 10 of the P4P rankings is that of Castaño (17-0-2, 12 KOs), the Argentine WBO champion, for his defense, toughness and fighting. All IQ exceeded expectations when it looked like a star-studded performance. But Castaño is not worth it because he made money as a betting favorite for Charlok.

If Achilles ’heel has been in Charlo’s round and explosive skill set, he has long been unable to punch enough as a dangerous counter-drill, often too selective at the start. Carlo typically uses the threat of his power as he gets closer to disarming his opponent and waits for the perfect opening to go like a cobra that catches prey.

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Yes, as Castaño deserves it, he barely made any mistakes that add to Charlo’s finish and coil to his custom top. But Carlo’s willingness to quit so many times while working on the back of the rope only hurts his chances of winning the entire fight.

With an elite mix of speed and power and a vicious edge in the fight, no one doubts whether Carlo will one day have the power to raise the P4P rankings. But Castaño’s fight proved Charles ’only defeat – the 2018 decision against Tony Harrison was debated – not an aberration, as Charlo was too selective in his selection in that fight, as he was in the 2019 rematch he won until late. elimination.

Having an effective anti-drill with a knockout capability is a dangerous task if you achieve that. It’s a fighting style, Canelo Alvarez and Gervonta Davis have achieved tremendous success and achieved P4P recognition.

Carlo has the skills to fit into that group, but he still hasn’t figured out how to defeat the strengths within the ring like his contemporaries. What’s worse, he hasn’t gotten the need to know if a fight is going to be too late.

Many experts believed that because of his fight against Castaño, it would be a career to define Charles ’career for four 154-pound world titles, offering him the chance to prove that he is definitely the best junior middleweight fighter in the world. Instead, he offers another kind of question.

Can Charlok use the fright and decision in favor of Castaño to return to the lab with coach Derrick James and fix what happens before his first physical finish? Or that Charlo has come close to being an undisputed champion but that there will be no definition of lessons to learn from his career in the Castaño fight?

Kilo-pound classifications

Honorable Mention: Juan Francisco Estrada, Artur Beterbiev, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Jermall Charlo, Jermell Charlo