Jermell Charlo on Saturday knocked out Argentina’s Brian Castano to become the first undisputed super welterweight champion in history.
Charlo, who fought to a controversial draw against Castano last year, battered the South American into submission in the 10th round of a classic battle in Los Angeles.
Charlo, the reigning WBC, WBC and IBF champion, earned Castano’s WBO belt with the win at the open-air Dignity Health Sports Park arena.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The 31-year-old Charlo sent Castano to the canvas twice in the 10th round, just as he had begun to get on top of a hard-fought battle that saw the two men share the opening rounds.
A crunching right hook to the body stunned Castano and Charlo followed with a left hook to the head that sent the previously undefeated Argentinian crumpling to the canvas.
With Castano unsteady on his feet, Charlo moved in for the kill. A powerful left jerked Castano’s head back violently and another punishing left to the body sent him to the deck for the final time.
“This is unbelievable,” Charlo said. “I gave it my all and that was the end result of it. This was nerve-racking. It felt like my first fight, where you get nervous. I had ants in my pants.”
“I knew Castano was going to give it his all, and I trained very hard. I was in great shape,” added Charlo, who improves to 35-1-1 (19 knockouts).
Charlo’s win elevates him to an exclusive club of fighters. He is only the seventh boxer to hold all four belts from the major sanctioning bodies — WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO — at the same time.
The six men to do it before are Bernard Hopkins (middleweight), Jermain Taylor (middleweight), Terence Crawford (super lightweight), Oleksandr Usyk (cruiserweight), Josh Taylor (super lightweight) and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (super middleweight).
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
After nearly six years away from the NBA, New Taipei Kings player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is set to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars mini-tournament as the coach of Team G League. The NBA announced Monday (U.S. time) that the Taiwanese-American player will join a trio of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers – Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond – as honorary coaches for four teams featuring 28 rising talents. "See you soon in the Bay," Lin wrote in an Instagram story sharing the news. As the All-Star Weekend will take place at