Jermell Charlo vows to leave 'mark' in Brian Castano rematch

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They’re not necessarily tired of the discourse, knowing full well the debate and questioning come with the territory in boxing.

Still, they’re eager to put the conversation to bed.

Ten months after they fought to a split-decision draw in one of the most significant fights of 2021, junior middleweight stars Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano meet in a rematch Saturday night to again attempt to establish supremacy in the division (9 p.m., Showtime).

With a 36-1-1 record and currently holding three of the four major belts in the division (WBA, WBC and IBF), Charlo already believes he's not just the best at 154 pounds, but that he should already be climbing the pound-for-pound lists and be recognized as one of the division's greats. At 31-years-old, Charlo has defended his unified world title multiple times and avenged his only loss to Tony Harrison, securing a KO victory in the rematch to regain the WBC title, feats he believes have him knocking on the door of the Boxing Hall of Fame.

Still, for Charlo to enter the exclusive company he desires, there is critical work still to be done.

"I’m gonna show him," Charlo told The Post. "I’ve got to prove something, man. If I get tired of [the criticism] I wouldn't be able to prove anything to y’all. If I get tired of listening to what critics say, then I won't have a reason to keep fighting. I’ve got to have a fight in me, to always want to do this, to keep going, to stay hungry, I’ve got to continue to want this."

Many of those critics arose in the aftermath of his first bout with Castano. Most observers believed Castano should have left with the victory. Two judges scored the epic 12-round slugfest tightly, with Steve Weisfeld scoring Castano a 114-113 winner and Tim Cheatham scoring a 114-114 draw. Nelson Vazquez's card, however, immediately fell under large-scale scrutiny when he scored Charlo a 117-111 winner. Even Charlo admitted he was surprised by the much-lampooned scorecard, as the margin in the bout appeared razor-thin for its entirety.

Controversy over Vazquez's score, and sentiment that Castano, who is currently the WBO champion, was the worthy victor, only increased in the weeks following the fight. The lack of clarity on the division's top dog and the nature of the decision in the July 17 classic didn't sit well with Charlo or Castano, and both immediately rushed to get a rematch on the books.

"I just wanted a rematch because I knew I wanted to prove that I’m one the greatest in the division," Charlo said. "And I’m one of the best that can do it. They already throw my name up there with some of the top, and if they’re not putting me on the pound-for-pound lists it's for a reason. So I’m gonna make them hate on me, anyways. That's it, plain and simple. I want to be one of the greatest, I want to go straight to the top. I want to fight one of the best. And if that's the case, that's all I gotta do, I gotta do that."

Charlo is trained by the heralded Derrick James, who just recently helped Errol Spence on the way to becoming a three-belt unified welterweight champion. The lingering perception from the first fight – that Castano already beat Charlo – plays right into their laps.

"The advantage that we may have has to do with Brian Castano," James told The Post. "How he thinks he's going to knock Jermell out, that's an advantage to us.

"Castano will be more ferocious. He’ll be more aggressive, this time. When you expect the best version of him, that makes you be better. That makes you rise to the occasion as a fighter. That in itself will make Jermell be better."

The scheduled rematch in March was delayed after Castano suffered a biceps injury in training. That has only left more time for talk about the first fight, who deserved to win, and the division's hierarchy to fester.

On Saturday, the division's sovereignty likely will become clear, and the winner will leave the ring as the first undisputed champion at junior middleweight in the four-belt era. Before the classification change, Charlo already would have been considered undisputed or the best in the division, but still has to wait to secure all four belts. He already got the opportunity to do so, but will again have to wait for the win he promises.

Charlo and James were fine with the process, but now they’ve had enough waiting. With a win, they’ll reach so much of what Charlo most wants.

"I need this win to prove that I’m the undisputed champion," Charlo said. "I’ve got to put my mark on it. I can't just get in there and say ‘Oh yea, I’m the champ.’ No, I got to really be the champ. I’m the champ, I’m the man, but just this one belt that's holding me up, if not I would’ve been undisputed already in the old days. I would’ve been undisputed, but this isn't the old days, we’ve got to live in our generation, so I’m just going with the flow. I’m cool with that, though. I’m cool with the mindset that I have to keep going.

"I feel like fighting me two times is more dangerous for your career. It's going to be more dangerous."