The final scorecard read off by Jimmy Lennon Jr. left an open wound for Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano.
"And judge at ringside, Tim Cheatham, scores the bout 114-114 even, a draw," the revered ring announcer echoed Saturday night. "The decision is a split-decision draw."
Charlo went from kneeling to gingerly walking to the center of the ring and shaking his head in disbelief. Castano threw his hands behind his head and gestured to the crowd at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Tex. that he didn't know how a draw was decided.
The dejection of neither man being crowned undisputed junior middleweight champion seeped in further during the post-fight press conference, as each junior middleweight champ stated his case as to why he should have won.
"I do feel like I won more rounds than he did — 117-111 (in my favor) was kind of a large range — but I feel there's no way possible that they could (score it) 114-114," said Charlo, who retained his WBA (Super), WBC and IBF 154-pound titles, and added that he wants a rematch. "Not to take away anything that Brian Castano did but I feel I punched a lot harder than he did."
Moments later, Castano spoke his piece.
"It was a tough fight, of course, but I feel like they robbed me," said Castano, the WBO titleholder.
He added: "I'm not taking anything away from Charlo — he's a big puncher, he caught me with some good punches at times — but I survived and overall I think I won the fight. Of course, needless to say, I want the rematch because he still has the three belts that I need and believe should be mine. And I'm ready for the rematch."
When it comes to controversial, questionable scorecards that decide a fight in boxing, there's only one way to conclude unfinished business and permanently wipe off the putrid residue that lingers from yet another bad boxing scoring decision — with a rematch.
It must be done for Charlo. It must be done for Castano. It must be done for the fans. It must be done for boxing, period.
There's the history aspect of it, as no mandatory bout should derail the opportunity to crown the first undisputed junior middleweight champion of the modern four-belt era. And then there's the simple need for closure that should activate a rematch, too.
Each champion believes he won Saturday night, with evidence to back up his claim.
Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs) can point to a second round and 10th round, where he hurt Castano with arguably the most impactful blows from the fight. A counter left hook from Charlo to an overly aggressive Castano midway in the second threw the Argentinian fighter into a frenzied survival mode. The same can be said for the power jab that split Castano's guard with the short left hand that followed in the 10th.
Though, Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs) has sticking evidence to lean on as well.
The undefeated Argentinian brought the fight aggressively to the unified champion, especially from the third round on when he blasted Charlo with a counter left hook of his own to have "Iron Man" reeling momentarily up against the ropes. He proceeded to only increase his volume to bank rounds with pure hustle and determination. He additionally made judges think twice with late bursts at the end of rounds.
At the end of the 36-minute war, judges had it 114-113 in favor of Castano, an inexplicable 117-111 for Charlo and 114-114, triggering the controversial split-decision draw and leaving the undisputed junior middleweight throne unassumed.
The immediate aftermath was uproar.
Fans saw Castano as the clear winner.
The boxing community — and beyond — condemned judge Nelson Vazquez, who somehow saw Charlo winning by the wide six-point margin.
That outrage should be channeled into an urgency to rectify. A rematch is the only move to make.
Charlo should be able to relate to Castano’s frustration. Many felt like Charlo did enough to get the nod against Tony Harrison in December 2018 but instead was on the end of a highly-controversial unanimous decision loss — his first defeat. Charlo had to wait one year to avenge that loss and did so via an 11th-round TKO. He must give Castaño another shot because the WBO titleholder’s performance more than warrants it.
Charlo-Castano II: Unfinished Business: Only one can be king.
Premier Boxing Champions — Let's make it happen.