Brian Castaño

Castaño made his professional debut on September 2012, months after his win over Derevianchenko. He beat Alejandro Antonio Dominguez with a round 4 technical knockout at Luna Park. Castaño won his first 8 fights, 7 by way of knockout, before being sidelined due to an arrhytmia which caused several medical complications.[4][5] After recovering, Castaño relocated to the United States.[6] Castaño maintained his winning streak, winning four fights over the course of a year while fighting out of the U.S.

On November 2016, Castaño fought Emmanuel de Jesús for the WBA interim super welterweight title. After knocking De Jesús down on round 1 with a flurry of punches, Castaño went down at the beginning of round 2, following a cross from De Jesús. Castaño survived the round and as the fight went on, De Jesús started slowing down. Castaño eventually won the fight with a body shot towards the end of round 6.[7]

Castaño stepped up against former world title challenger and long-time contender, Michel Soro. Castaño won a close fight by split decision (115–113, 115–113, 112–116). The judges seemed to prefer Castaño's activity and consistency over Soro's calculated pressure, who admitted he had started slow in a post-fight interview.[8] Two months after the fight, Castaño said that Soro's promoter, Univent, had yet to pay most of his purse.[9]

After Demetrius Andrade vacated his WBA (Regular) title, the WBA elevated Castaño to regular champion. Shortly thereafter, the WBA ordered a fight between Castaño and WBA (Super) champion, Erislandy Lara.[10] Castaño would first face Cedric Vitu on 10 March 2018. Castaño showcased his talent, and defeated Vitu via a 12th-round TKO, dominating him from start to finish to retain his WBA (Regular) title.[11]

On 2 March, 2019, Castaño defended his title against former world champion Erislandy Lara. The fight ended in a split draw, one judge scoring it 115–113 for Castaño, one judge scoring it 115–113 for Lara while the third had it 114–114.[12][13]

On June 25th, 2019, the WBA announced that they are stripping Castaño of his belt, because he did not sign the contract for a rematch against Cedric Vitu, his immediate mandatory challenger.[14]

In his next fight, Castaño faced veteran Wale Omotoso. The fight was a one-sided affair in favor of Castaño, up until the end of the fifth round, in which Omotoso declared a shoulder injury was too painful to proceed, awarding Castaño with the victory.[15]

On 13 February 2021, Castaño defeated WBO light middleweight champion Patrick Teixeira via wide unanimous decision with judges' scores of 119–109, 120–108 and 117–111 in his favor.[16]

Castaño faced unified light middleweight champion Jermell Charlo on 17 July 2021 in San Antonio, Texas in a showdown for the undisputed light middleweight championship. A competitive fight between them ended in a split draw, the second of Castaño's career, with scores of 117–111 Charlo, 114–113 Castaño and 114–114 even.[17] The result was controversial, with much attention being brought to judge Nelson Vazquez’s 117–111 Charlo card, which was described as "terrible" by Andre Ward.[18] After the fight, an upset Castaño opined, "[Charlo] won the second, tenth and eleventh [rounds], that’s it... I don’t agree with [the result]. I felt I was robbed, and I demand a rematch."[19]