Jermell Charlo became the king of the 154-pound division after his sensational knockout of Jeison Rosario to unify three titles on Sept. 26, a victory that lifted the smaller Charlo twin onto many pound-for-pound lists.
Only one man stands in the way of Charlo using the term “undisputed”: Patrick Teixeira, who holds the fourth belt.
You’re excused if Teixeira has not been on your radar. The 29-year-old Brazilian has had only a few notable fights and the first one, against Curtis Stevens, didn’t go well. Teixeira plans to change that perception, beginning with his title defense against highly regarded Brian Castano on Feb. 2 in Indio, Calif.
“I just have to keep winning fights, keep winning entertaining fights,” Teixeira, speaking Spanish, told Boxing Junkie through a translator. “[Castano] is a difficult fight. I think if I win this next one, people’s perspective will begin to change.”
Teixeira (31-1, 22 KOs) is from the small town of Sombrio in southern Brazil. The southpaw grew up playing soccer – what kid in Brazil doesn’t? – but a cultural icon ultimately led him in another direction.
His fascination of the famous martial artist Bruce Lee, along with a weight problem, led him into a local boxing gym and never left.
“At 13 years old, I was kind of a chunky kid. I was a little overweight,” he said. “It was around then that I saw Bruce Lee movies and thought, ‘I’m going to do that, I’m going to get into martial arts.’
“Then I discovered boxing and that’s where I am now.”
Teixeira turned professional in Sao Paulo only five years later and went on a tear, winning his first 26 fights (22 by knockout) to earn a shot at Stevens and a minor middleweight title on the Canelo Alvarez-Amir Khan card in 2016, a significant step up in opposition for him.
The fight lasted only 4 minutes, 4 seconds. Stevens, a big puncher, hurt Teixeira with a jab in the opening round. In the second, an overhand right put him down and hurt him so badly he couldn’t go on.
Teixeira looks back on that setback as a learning experience.
“That was a very difficult fight for me,” he said. “I learned a lot from that fight. I learned to manage my distance, to use my height (5 feet, 11½ inches). I changed my style a bit as well. I was always looking for a fight, looking to exchange punches. Now I try to be more elusive, try not to take punches.
“I know I could’ve fought better than I did [against Stevens]. Now I just want to create better memories.”
Teixeira took 14 months off after his loss, which allowed time for a nagging shoulder injury to heal. And then he got back to work, only this time as a junior middleweight.
He won his next four fights – including a unanimous decision over capable Nathaniel Gallimore – to set up a meeting with unbeaten and favored Carlos Adames for the “interim” WBO 154-title in November of last year in Las Vegas.
Teixeira overcame cuts under both eyes and some brutal shots in Round 7 to deck Adames with a body in the same round and go on to win a unanimous decision, 116-111, 114-113 and 114-113.
“It was tough with the cuts, but I was able to get through it because of my experience,” Teixeira said immediately after the fight. “It was a little harder, but my corner did an excellent job on the cuts.
“I am very happy to bring a world title back to Brazil. I want to make boxing bigger in Brazil. Soccer is our biggest sport, and this is a great moment for boxing in my country.”
It got greater shortly afterward when Teixeira was elevated to full champion, becoming only the fifth Brazilian to accomplish the feat. He’ll be making his first defense against Castano (16-0-1, 12 KOs) in a few months.
Castano should be a handful. The former amateur standout from Argentina, an excellent boxer-puncher, made a splash by outpointing Michel Soro in July 2017, won a secondary title by stopping Cedric Vitu and then stunned a lot of people by fighting Erislandy Lara on even terms in a split draw in March of last year.
Teixeira is well aware of Castano’s ability, in part because their paths have already crossed.
“I actually sparred with him four years ago,” he said. “It was good sparring. … I think what he does well is throw a lot of punches. He knows how to fight at a short distance. He’s shorter (5-7½) so he learned how to do that well.
“I know he’s a great fighter. I’m really focused on this fight.”
And if things go well on Feb. 2? Teixeira has his sights set on even bigger opportunities, including a showdown with Charlo for all the 154-pound titles.
“That’s why I keep working hard at the gym,” he said, “to keep growing, to be ready for those big fights.”
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