Junior middleweight world titlist Patrick Teixeira has signed an extension of his promotional agreement with Golden Boy Promotions, the company announced on Friday.
"I am very happy to re-sign with Golden Boy," Teixeira said. "Thanks to this great promotional company, I was able to achieve my dream of becoming a world champion, and I am grateful for all they have done for me. I look forward to return to the ring to defend my world title and continue delivering great fights."
The signing comes ahead of Teixeira's first defense of his 154-pound belt. He will face mandatory challenger and former secondary world titlist Brian Castano (16-0-1, 12 KOs), 30, of Argentina, on a date to be determined in April.
The fight was signed earlier this month.
"Ever since we signed Patrick Teixeira, we never lost faith in him because we knew his potential," Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya said. "And because Golden Boy is a factory where talent is forged, we knew that sooner or later we'd guide him towards his dream of becoming a world champion. That's exactly what he did, demonstrating the special chemistry that exists between us and our fighters. We call that loyalty."
Teixeira (31-1, 22 KOs), a 29-year-old southpaw from Brazil, won a vacant interim world title by unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Carlos Adames on Nov. 30. In the tremendous action fight, Teixeira overcame major trouble to drop Adames in the seventh round for what turned out to be the winning margin.
The following week, Teixeira was elevated from interim titlist to the full titleholder when Jaime Munguia, as expected, vacated the title in order to move up to the middleweight division.