WBO junior middleweight world champion Patrick Texieira understands the extra value of his fight against Brian Castano, not only because he will defend his title, but because the whole country of Brazil will be attentive to his performance.

The boxer has waited a long time for this opportunity and knows that a clash against an Argentine has a special element because of the historical rivalry between the two nations, although he goes far beyond the national element: he simply wants to be the best 154-pounder of these times.

They will clash on February 13 on DAZN, at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.

"The expectations are very great. We've been training hard in the United States for a while. We've trained the physical part, the technical part a lot. We're very anxious for that fight to take place," Teixeira told George Ebro.

"I know it's a tough, tough fight, but we're working on strategy well and I think we're going to do a great fight on our part. It's going to be a contrast of skills and techniques without power. I think mine are superior to his.''

Teixeira rebuilt his career after suffering a two round knockout loss to Curtis Stevens in 2016.

He studied that contest over and over, made a lot of changes and now he's become a world champion while winning his last five fights. A victory over Castano will take him to the next level.

"I changed a number of things, especially in my style. I studied my mistakes. That defeat forced me to use the technique more, to be a smarter boxer. I used to be looking for a fight. I used to want to impose my size more, my reach, but that setback showed me that I had to be smarter," Teixiera said.