Carrington KOs Castro in ninth

On offense, Carrington did its job. He pushed the pace, worked the body and threw combinations with speed. Castro was forced back for several periods as Carrington stayed on him and kept the exchanges active.

Defensively, Carrington remained open.

Castro landed punches in most rounds, especially during exchanges in the center of the ring. Carrington was hit during the throw and again after his combinations were completed, allowing Castro to stay engaged rather than being stopped.

This pattern repeated itself. Carrington would advance and develop the offense, then take clean shots on the way back. The fight never ended in a sequence where Carrington controlled both the pace and the exchanges.

Castro remained competitive because of this. He managed enough offense to keep the rounds close and forced Carrington into prolonged exchanges rather than brief ones. Dashboards weren’t academic until the shutdown came along.

Carrington ended the fight in the ninth round. After sustained pressure, he pinned Castro to the ground and let go of his hands, landing a clean sequence that dropped him hard. The referee intervened to stop the fight.

The knockout was well timed and brutal. This secured Carrington the WBC title and gave the Garden crowd the finish they wanted.

The performance as a whole was a harder sell.

Carrington is now a champion, but the version of him that showed up Friday night is not the one that forces other featherweight titleholders to hesitate. He can attack. He can finish. He did not systematically shorten the exchanges or limit the responses.

The belt is his. The questions remain.

Winning a title is one thing. Holding him against fighters who punish defensive mistakes without needing nine rounds is another.

Carrington passed the test given to him. He did not succeed in a harder one which will come next.