This Saturday, November 2, Brian Carlos Castano, 15-0-1 (11 KOs), and Wale Omotoso, 28-4 (22 KOs), meet in an important clash of top-rated super welterweights. The bout, which takes place at MGM Grand Harbor in Oxon, Maryland, headlines a PBC on FS1 card, beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.

It’s a match between two men who came up the hard way, in life and in the ring. These two men, neither of whom had a proper childhood, are the reason boxing exists.

The tough guy is the working man, Robert DeNiro’s character tells his son in A Bronx Tale. Around the time of that movie’s release in Argentina, when Castano was about five years old, he learned that same lesson by watching his father, Carlos. Regardless of the weather or how he may have been feeling, Carlos rose with the sun each day, slid into the reflective clothing the streetsweepers of Argentine wear, and swept litter off the streets. Brian would join him, his face, and his shame, hidden behind a jacket.

Castano was born and raised in a Buenos Aires province named “The Slaughter.” La Matanza either got its name from the slaughter of indigenous people by European settlers hundreds of years ago, or from the slaughter of hundreds of Dingo-like dogs that terrorized the local farmers.

Though the name of his province has nothing to do with crime, one person is murdered every other day there, according to one report. While many poor youths get caught up in the drug trade, Castano was too busy working to get caught up in the street wars.

“I was ashamed at first to be seen sweeping streets,” Castano said. “I used to cover my head with a jacket. In time, I became proud that I was helping my family.”

Castano, along with his brother, followed their father, sweeping and picking up as much garbage as their little hands could off the dirty streets of his neighborhood. After putting away their brooms and shaking off the city’s dust, he and his brother accompanied their father as he went from corner to corner, selling bottles of water. Then it was on to the gym.

“ I grew up surrounded by boxers. ”Undefeated Super Welterweight Contender – Brian Carlos Castano

While his father, a professional welterweight, trained for an upcoming fight, Castano became a gym rat.

“I grew up surrounded by boxers,” he noted.

In time, he began working the bags, his little fists contributing to the constant thump-thump sounds of the gym. He was soon competing in and winning local tournaments. And the few times Castano strayed from his training, those nights when he stayed out a bit too long, his father would get on a bike and comb through the streets looking for his son. Once he found Castano, he’d tell him to come home, to not throw it all away.

His father did it so often that, in time, even Castano’s friends would tell him, “man, just go home before your father comes.”

Castano was lucky he had his father around. He eventually fought his way out of Argentina, rising to the top of the 154-pound rankings.

Called “The Hope” of Argentine boxing by the news site, Infobae, Castano’s routine hasn’t changed much. It’s the formula that kept him off the street and got him a win over Sergey Derevyanchenko in the World Series of Boxing back in 2013, a brief tenure as the WBA world champion, and earned him a disputed draw versus Erislandy Lara last March, a bout many feel he won.

A victory on Saturday night moves Castano one step closer to another world title. Just another step in the career of a true professional who owes his success in life to his vocation.

Article courtesy of PBC