Brian Castano to defend WBA title against Erislandy Lara on March 2 at Barclays Center

A fight between Brian Castano and Erislandy Lara was confirmed in November, but now an official date has been set for their upcoming bout.

Sources have informed FightNights.com that Castano, the current WBA "regular" junior middleweight champion, and Lara, a former titlist, will fight on March 2 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Castano (15-0, 11 KO's), 29, of Argentina, scored a sixth-round knockout of Emmanuel de Jesus to win the interim title in November 2016. He made two defenses of the belt before securing a 12th-round stoppage against Cedric Vitu. The boxer was then elevated to the status of WBA "regular" champion.

Lara (25-3-2, 14 KO's), a former Cuban amateur star who defected from his home country before residing in Houston, had been roundly criticized for his often boring, uninspiring fights. However, his April 2018 bout against unified 154-pound world titleholder Jarrett Hurd was a contender for 2018 Fight of the Year. Hurd (23-0, 16 KO's) dropped the 35-year-old Lara late to secure a split decision win. Lara was on a six-bout winning streak since losing a somewhat controversial split decision to Canelo Alvarez in July 2014.