Browne gets off the canvas to take a unanimous decision victory!
If fans recall, the WBC, WBA and recently WBO ranked #2 light heavyweight Marcus Browne was supposed to be in a title fight with Sergey Kovalev in July.
A domestic violence dispute, which resulted in two arrests, ruined his title shot opportunity. He would eventually be replaced by Eleider Alvarez.
The Recap
Tonight, he returned to face the former 2008 Olympian Lenin Castillo. Little was known about Castillo prior to this fight other than being a big puncher at 18-1-1 with 16 knockouts. He is also ranked #29 by the WBC.
Regardless of the lack in popularity, Castillo gave the undefeated Browne problems stylistically.
Browne is a great example of a boxer-puncher. He relies on his jab to create openings where he can move in at mid-range distance and land big shots.
However, Castillo did a great job of stuffing the jab which in turn would confuse his opponent.
Many times in the fight, Browne (who is a southpaw) found himself changing stances frequently. This is an indicator that he was looking for an opening that he could not find from his current position.
Castillo was even able to drop the confused Browne in the fifth round. As his opponent came in, he connected flush on the jawline with a check left hook. He then followed up with a lazy right hand that diverted attention away from another left hook that caused Browne’s glove to touch the canvas.
Unfortunately, with what seemed to be a successful start to executing a working game-plan, he never really did more than stuffing the jab and scoring a knockdown. The action in this fight was minimal at best, but still controlled by Browne.
Watching this fight, one could only wonder – if Castillo would have actually let his hands go, he could have been the cause of an upset.
Nevertheless, Browne took a conclusive decision victory despite the 10-8 round he lost.
Although he improves to 22-0 with 16 knockouts, given his performance, it’s hard to say that he is truly ready for the top fighters at light heavyweight.
By: EJ Williams
