Questions have been raised about Brian Castano’s withdrawal from next month’s scheduled world title fight, with Tim Tszu’s camp admitting it could take more than a year for the undefeated Sydney fighter to get his mandatory title shot.
Tszyu’s plans to start 2022 as the co-main event on March 19 in Los Angeles on the same card as the Jermell Charlo and Castano world title rematch were shot down after the Argentine boxer pulled out with a bicep injury.
The opportunity for Tszyu would have been huge, with his US debut on a high profile card in Los Angeles against the No.11 ranked American Terrell Gausha, a contest the No.1 ranked Tszyu would have been expected to win and go on to fight the winner of the Charlo vs Castano clash.
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Tszyu’s people tried to “save the show” by approaching Charlo’s team about stepping in for the WBO champion, but they haven’t heard back from the American’s camp. It was a valiant effort, however the American might be forced into facing the IBF mandatory title challenger, Russian Bakhram Murtazaliev, if the rematch against Castano does not go ahead.
Charlo threw further shade over Castano’s withdrawal, with the IBF/WBA/WBC super welterweight champion, sceptical about the WBO champion’s injury claims
The three-belt champion initially doubted his rival’s claims after the announcement, and followed it up with a social media post calling for medical reports to support his reason for withdrawing.
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“Castano pulled out of the fight to buy more time for a bigger a– beat’n,” Charlo said.
“It’s not on me, it’s in me. The air we breathe is not the same. True essence of what Lions Only really means.
“I won’t let this type of adversity slow my grind. I peep all they moves, two steps ahead. Tell Castano show those doctor reports and take them VADA [tests] so we can move forward with knocking his a– out.”
Tszyu’s camp is currently in negotiations to fight in March or early April at the latest, with the star still aiming to get in a minimum of three fights this year. Yet Castano’s injury lurks in the background as the Australian moves forward and risks his mandatory shot in a bid to remain active.
The Argentine boxer has reportedly said he’d be ready to fight Charlo by April 19 which raised eyebrows. Paul Gallen injured a bicep tendon during a sparring session ahead of his victory over Mark Hunt, but opted against surgery due to the lengthy recovery period that would have followed.
Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings described the situation surrounding Castano as “bizarre”.
“All we know is it’s some sort of a bicep tear. If it is they don’t mend very quickly. That’s a concern. It’s obviously not a rupture because he’s still doing some training,” Jennings told Wide World of Sports.
“He’s put up a couple of videos of him still training. It may be a strain, a tear we don’t know. If it was a tear as reported you’d think it would be six months more than six weeks.
“That’s the other issue, should it be that we’re not getting that information that would mean a long, long wait for Tim and we’re not interested in that.
“It’s strange mate. I noticed something else that has come out online, he’s said he’d be ready by April 19.
“And everyone is now saying ‘hang on, if you’ve got a bicep tear of any magnitude, April 19 is only a month away’. It’s bizarre. It’s even more reason for us to be doubtful.”
At No Limit’s season launch this week, Tszyu vowed that he would take on Gausha a week or so after the initial March 19 date. However, picking up the pieces of the first event has seen Tszyu’s promoters work overtime on making his US debut a reality.
Jennings confirmed that talks with Gausha’s people are ongoing while the Aussie’s team also surveys the current landscape.
“If you have a look at all the guys in Tim’s division, those that are COVID ready and fighting are already locked into contracts for fights,” he said.
“Those that aren’t, aren’t even looking at fights. Then you’ve got to see who is available. You’ve got to try and get the best you can. And a lot of those big names that are coming back are getting beat up.
“They think they can return to the ring after two years and continue where they left off and they’re getting hammered. Tim stayed busy and we went out to the marketplace to see who we could actually get in the timeframe needed.
“You’ve got to be grateful to get anything, because the problems you have to go through to get it done makes it very slim pickings.”
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