Jermell Charlo stops Brian Castano in rematch, Boots Ennis dominates

Saturday night, from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, headlining a Premier Boxing Champions event, it was Charlo vs. Castano II that saw unified WBC, WBA and IBF World Champion Jermell Charlo and WBO World Champion Brian Castano in a rematch of one of their 2021 barn burner that ended in a draw. Both fighters were looking to be the first ever undisputed 154-pound champion in the four-belt era.

The card also featured red hot welterweight star, and potential pound-for-pound talent, Jaron “Boots” Ennis up against unbeaten Canadian Olympian Custio Clayton. The winner was in a good spot to see themselves slotted into an IBF title shot.

Starting off the telecast was Mexican contender Kevin Gonzalez putting his unbeaten record on the line against Puerto Rico’s Emanuel Rivera in a 10-round super bantamweight battle.

Before the night’s main event, both fighters had appeared very confident with both claiming that they would leave no doubt as to who is at the front of the line in the 154-pound division.


“I just have to be dominant. I must be the best Jermell Charlo, that y’all are yet to see. I’m going to dominate this fight way differently than I did the last fight”, predicted Charlo. “Knocking people out is what the f*** I do. That’s what I’m known for. I’m known for the power, and I’m known for the speed. That’s what I’m doing”, he boldly proclaimed.

Countered Castano, “Charlo is a top-tier fighter. That’s definitely true. But at this level, everyone has power. He’s strong, but there’s nothing about his power that truly stands out to me compared to other fighters I’ve faced”, he said. “The first fight motivated me because I thought that I won. I learned that I can’t leave this fight in the hands of the judges. I need to leave no doubt that I’m the superior fighter.”

In the chief support bout, friendly and likeable Jaron Ennis was as confident as ever saying, “I know we have a banger of a main event, but I’m coming to steal the show. You know what my motto is, I’m in and out like a lottery”, he said. “People are going to see me go in there and be seamless. This is just another day in the office for me. Another day, another dollar.”

For underdog Custio Clayton, he knew he was going into the chief support bout against boxing’s fastest rising star, but it was a fight he was looking forward to.

“This is the fight that I need to prove myself”, said Canada’s Clayton. "I’m a very smart fighter with a great ring IQ. I haven’t been able to show everything yet, but I think that this fight will bring it out of me. This win will show everyone that I belong on his level,” he said.

So, with the talking done, how did things play out? 

Results

In the nights main event, unified WBC, WBA and IBF world champion Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 18 KO’s) stopped WBO world champion Brian Castano (17-1-2, 12 KO’s) in the 10th round to solidify his status as the number 1 fighter in the 154-lb division. It was a back-and-forth rumble, not unlike their first fight. However, despite the constantly stalking Castano keeping it close through the first half of the fight, Charlo appeared to outwork Castano in the 2nd half of the bout. He finally caught Castano in the 10th round, dropping him twice, forcing the referee to step in and save him from anymore punishment. Despite a lot of pre-fight trash talk between the two boxers, both displayed class after the fight showing mutual respect.

In a post-fight interview, Charlo said, “This is unbelievable. I did it for us, USA! I did it for us.” He then added, “Maybe I’ll go up to 160 and get all the belts there”, he said with a chuckle.

Welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis (29-0, 27 KO’s) drilled undefeated Custio Clayton (19-1-1, 12 KO’s) by KO 2 in an IBF welterweight title eliminator. After a quiet Round1, Ennis came out locked and loaded in Round 2. He caught Canadian Clayton with a hard right to that head that dropped him hard. Clayton beat the count but was on very unsure footing, causing the referee to stop it. Ennis continues to impress and is on deck for a title shot.   

In a competitive, give and take tussle, Super bantamweight Kevin Gonzalez (25-0-1, 13 KO’s) remained unbeaten with a UD 10 Emanuel Rivera (19-3, 12KO).

Under Card

Middleweight Brandyn Lynch (11-1-1, 8 KO’s) UD 8 Marcos Hernandez (15-6-2, 3KO)

Bantamweight Marlon Tapales (36-3, 19 KO’s) KO 2 Jose Estrella (23-19-1, 16 KO’s).

Lightweight Jerry Perez (14-1, 10 KO’s) KO 5 Erick Lanzas, Jr. (10-1, 7 KO’s).

Super featherweight Jose Perez (10-1-2, 4 KO’s) UD 6 Anthony Chavez (9-3-1, 3 KO’s).

Heavyweight, Luciano Sanchez (1-0, 1KO), TKO 1 Adrian Silva (0-1)

Super lightweight, Jose Mejia (1-0, 1KO) KO 2 stopped Matthew Reed (1-3)

Heavyweight Geovany Bruzon (7-1, 6 KO’s) TKO 2 Daniel Najera (9-8-1, 4 KO’s)

Lightweight Anthony Cuba (4-0, 3 KO’s) TKO 2 Oscar Acevedo (7-1, 1KO)