Jermell Charlo, Brian Castaño fight to split decision draw in junior middleweight title bout

Welp, so much for finishing with an undisputed champion. Jermell Charlo and Brian Castaño fought to a split decision draw after 12 rounds of highly entertaining boxing, but the story is to be continued. The junior middleweight division was hoping to crown its first undisputed champ in the four-belt era, but it was not meant to be.

The final score cards were 114-113 for Castaño, 117-111 for Charlo, and a 114-114 Draw. It’s not entirely clear what Nelson Vasquez was watching to decide it 117-111 for Charlo, but it was not out of the realm of the possible to give him the slight edge.

I personally had it 115-112 for Castaño. Charlo impressed over the final three rounds, with his best work coming in rounds 10 and 11. However, I thought that Castaño had done enough in the first nine rounds to secure a fairly insurmountable lead. I thought Charlo needed a knockout or some knockdowns in those final three rounds, but the judges disagreed.

If you were betting at home, DraftKings Sportsbook offered +1800 odds on a draw. Charlo entered the fight a -265 favorite while Castaño was a +210 underdog. Odds on the fight going the distance were -180.

Charlo is now 34-1-1 for his career while Castaño is now 17-0-2.