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Boxing

Can Brian Castano upset Jermell Charlo?

Alexander Netherton
Can Brian Castano upset Jermell Charlo?(Getty Images)
The junior middleweights are set to fight for the undisputed designation.

Former world champion Sergio Mora believes that Brian Castano could pull off an upset against Jermell Charlo.

Charlo holds three belts going into Saturday’s junior middleweight fight, with the 31-year-old Argentine in possession of the WBO title.

The American, also 31, is the favourite but Mora sees value in punting on a Castano upset.

“The money is going to be on Charlo, but that sneaky money is a type of fight where you bet on Castano,” he told the DAZN Boxing Show.

“That's how impressed I was with [his performance against Patrick] Teixeira. I didn't know what to expect from the videos I saw.

“He puts that smart pressure [on]. He continues coming forward, blocking with his arms. But he knows when to throw the right punches. So he has a great time and then he gets on a good angle. He has good lateral movement. 

“I mean he's a good mix of a lot of things when you have a small fighter in a compact, strong fighter and his power. He has heavy hands as well. 

“So this is going to be a very tough fight. Very tough fight for Charlo. I'm telling you it will go to decision. I don't see either of them getting knocked out. But if the judges give Castano credit for defense and picking up shots, and if you can come with some volume punching, I can see him maybe pulling this upset, that's how good and our closest fights gonna get.”

Mora continued to praise Castano, even suggesting that the tie was close to a 50-50 chance for the underdog.

“Because Castano knows how to fight very athletically, and he knows that it comes with angles, he has strong hands, and he's a volume puncher, he throws so many punches. 

“That's what I think will give Charlo a lot of issues. And also he'll back up Charlo. Mark my words I'm telling you he's gonna be able to back him up  - we're gonna have to see Charlo box ,and he's gonna have to see him bang. I mean, this is going to be an exciting fight. That's the reason they're fighting for all the belts. This is the type of fight you want when you're fighting for the undisputed championship. It's not quite a toss up, but this is going to be good.

“Charlo by a hair, a decision. It's gonna be that close.”