Castillo, Lacy Reaffirm Postions | A Look into Gatti's Desire for Floyd
by
Carl Rice
3/10 - Several things became evident after this past weekend’s fights. First, my boxing predictions are not as good when I don’t prepare by watching fight tapes; true to boxing form there are no excuses, I picked Julio Diaz to win a Majority Decision over Jose Luis Castillo. But at least I called that Diaz would be knocked down once or twice. Secondly, Diaz has recovered from that first round KO a few years ago. He was in against an experienced fighter and he can only learn from a fight like this. And thirdly, and most importantly, Castillo has reaffirmed his place as one of the top lightweights in the world.
Diaz was able to use his boxing ability for the first few rounds, but perhaps a sign of how the night was going to go was that Diaz’s nose was bleeding in the first round. Castillo, who got off to an average start, kept applying the pressure and continued to go to the body and land his left hook. Diaz, however, does have a tendency to stand in and fight, and against a experienced tough guy like Castillo is not the best of ideas. As a result, Castillo was able to totally take over the fight by the 5th round; Castillo was regularly able to get inside, work Diaz’s body, and enforce his will on the young contender.
But this fight did get a little dirty; Castillo was not against pulling out some dirty tricks to help his cause (perhaps he went to the Holyfield School of Headbutts). Diaz was cut over his left eye by a headbutt in the 4th, then was cut again a few rounds later, this time with a punch. Castillo would never be penalized, but referee Richard Steele (BOOOOOO!) came only one more headbutt away from deducting points from Castillo. But Castillo didn’t have to use those tactics later in the fight, as he closed in on Diaz, put him down twice, and convinced Steele to stop the fight in the 10th round.
But Shady tactics aside, Castillo’s performance has lined him up for THE matchup at lightweight against Diego Corrales. This is a fight that initially looks like a style matchup in favor of Corrales. Castillo is a pressure fighter and will come to Chico, and Corrales, in turn will try to counterpunch with his bombs. But Castillo is no pushover and will keep coming to Corrales and will no doubt inflict some damage inside. Right now I’m thinking that Castillo will be KOed, but I have to look at the tapes before coming to a final conclusion. And just think, the winner of this fight could even more up to 140…is it possible to have too many good fighters in one division?
But that fight seemed anticlimactic because of the slugfest that took place beforehand. Jeff Lacy put on a magnificent display of power and chin by stopping Rubin Williams in the 7th round. It was a fight that “Left Hook” Lacy was in control of from start to finish. But Williams came to fight, and landed several right hands that should have at least pushed Lacy back, but he didn’t even seem to blink. He NEVER took one step backwards and some of the shots he was taking landed flush. Williams should be given props also for displaying a good chin, but at the same time he was the bigger man; he had about a 4 inch height advantage and a 1 inch reach advantage (although both came into the ring just over the light heavyweight limit at 176).
Lacy not only showed that he comes into fights in tremendous shape, but he places his punches well. He successfully went to the body, which began to show its effect on Williams in the 4th round as he would regularly retreat to the ropes for support, and the left hook was fully utilized, but he also showed that he could use his right hand as well. Lacy also showed a wicked uppercut when Williams was on the ropes and even the punches that were blocked by Williams seemed like they hurt. Lacy’s power is obviously something that has to be dealt with regardless of who the opponent is.
After the fight, Lacy proclaimed to the world that he wanted Joe Calzaghe and become undisputed in the super middleweight division, and someone in his corner was yelling “He’s the New Real Deal”. Before this fight I was not totally sold on Lacy, and although he took some punches, he did a good job against a tall boxer in Williams. Moreover, Joe Calzaghe is obviously the top guy at 168 and it’s hard to see Calzaghe having anything for Lacy. Calzaghe has fast hands but he takes power out of them with his technique. And he showed against Byron Mitchell that he can be caught with power shots; it’s safe to say that he’s never faced a puncher like Lacy. But it will be a good fight as long as it lasts because both guys come forward and throws punches.
But Lacy must be looking toward the future and the light heavyweight prize has got to be in his scope within the next few years. This is a division that has needed a transfusion as of late. I know Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson are atop the rankings, but these are both 36 year old men who only have each other to fight. Lacy is a young lion ready to be proclaimed as the best in the world and the proper fights will do that for him. And if Jermain Taylor can avoid Bernard Hopkins and just let him retire, he can become undisputed at middleweight, possibly setting up the first title fight between undisputed champs at middle and super middle, young American Olympians no less.
Combinations
This Thursday two men will be looking to get back into the spotlight in the junior middleweight division. J.C. Candelo, who has lost two straight fight, the first being a KO loss at the hands of Kassim Ouma, will be taking on Marco Antonio Rubio, who has gotten back in the winning track after suffering a devastating KO loss at the hands of Kofi Jauntah. The fight will be shown on HBO Latino and although a victory will go a short way in reestablishing themselves as top dogs in the division, it will be a good matchup between two fighters on the cusp of officially being declared a journeyman.
Speaking of the Junior Middleweight division, Winky Wright will have a decision to make after his fight with Felix Trinidad in May. If he were to win, his only choice would be to look to take on Undisputed Middleweight Champion Bernard Hopkins, which would be a loss. But if he loses, he will have yet another difficult task in the form of Kassim Ouma. Ouma has firmly placed himself as the #1 contender at 154, and since Winky will still hold his title if he returns, he will have to take on a tough fight to restore some of his luster. Ouma has been calling on Wright to take the fight and only a loss to Trinidad can make it happen.
It is being reported that the proposed fight between WBC Champion Arturo Gatti and Pound for Pound #2 Floyd Mayweather Jr. is cancelled. (Let me apologize now because I’m about to go off) Wow. What a shock. I don’t think that Gatti ever planned to get in the ring with Mayweather because he’s not ready to cash in his chips. It would be different if he came out and said straight up that he’s just not looking at Mayweather right now. But he’s insulting the intelligence of boxing fans by saying that he’s not taking this fight because 15 weeks isn’t enough time to promote it.
Mayweather’s goading and HBO’s prodding forced Gatti’s hand into even accepting the fight. It become apparent that Gatti was having second thoughts during Mayweather’s court troubles. If Mayweather had to deal with court or jail time, it would let Gatti off the hook. But when Mayweather pleaded no contest and got off with no jail time he had to find another way out. He knows in his heart that there is no way he can outbox Mayweather and if he tries to just come forward against Pretty Boy, he gets carved up like a Thanksgiving Turkey.
Gatti hasn’t fought truly noteworthy fighter since getting hammered by Oscar De La Hoya in 2001. I know people will want to bring up Micky Ward, and granted, those were a good series of fights. Furthermore, I love Micky Ward and everything he stands for, but let’s be honest…that fight had no bearing on the title picture in the 140 lb. division.
Others may say Leonard Dorin, but who the F is Dorin? Anytime in his career he stepped up, he’s come up short and he would have been destroyed by any of the top 10 Jr. Welters. But OK, so if the so-called Blood and Guts Champion isn’t going to take on Mayweather, who is he going to look at next? Gatti is in the deepest division in boxing and any of the top 10 will do, but I suspect that he won’t take on any one of them, for he hasn’t done it to this point.
Quite frankly I don’t think Gatti is in that top 10 himself so perhaps it’s natural that he takes on someone that shares a comparable level of skill. Gatti was and is being propelled as yet another HBO manufactured superstar and his reign as “champion” comes to an end if he meets Mayweather, or any of the other top 10 at 140, for that matter.
One last thing…I will be in Las Vegas for Morales v Pacquiao next Saturday. Unfortunately, my friend who was supposed to go backed out, so I have an extra ticket. If there is anyone who would like to purchase this ticket from me, let me know.
Please send all questions/comments to crice@talkingboxing.com.
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