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Ring Knowledge | Can Corrales and Castillo do it again?
FRI October 7, JULIUS STECKER - This past May on Showtime, fans witnessed perhaps one of the greatest action fights of the past 25 years or so, maybe even longer. WBO lightweight champ Diego Corrales and WBC champ Jose Luis Castillo went toe to toe, back and fourth, for ten enthralling rounds leaving all at ringside and at home believing they had witnessed something special and historic.
Corrales, 40-2 with 33 KO's, and Castillo, 52-7-1 with 46 KO's, left a piece of themselves at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and even though Corrales came out victorious with a technical knockout, much was left unsettled.
Any remaining questions, especially about the mouthpiece being spit out twice by Corrales to fend off a knockout loss of his own, will be answered this Saturday night as the re-match, titled as "Uno Mas!" ... "One More Time!", pits these warriors for the world lightweight championship live at Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV. It will be another magical night for boxing, but the bigger question looms, can they give boxing enthusiasts the same effort? Fork over $49.95 to these well deserving fighters and find out.
Corrales is the current Ring Magazine and unified WBO/WBC lightweight champion who was destined for greatness early on. Corrales was a 6-foot, super featherweight freak, evoking memories of a smaller version of Thomas Hearns.
Diego won the IBF super featherweight belt with a knockout of Roberto Garcia in 1999 and defended it a few times setting up the first marquee fight of his
career with the ultra talented Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Mayweather proceeded to whoop the IBF champ in a brutal display, ending with a 10th round TKO of a battered and bruised Corrales, but the defeat was only the beginning of his problems. Coming out of that fight, Corrales had personal problems, which landed him in jail for a year, casting a shadow of doubt on his future.
Corrales took a good hard look at himself, vowed to return better then ever and joined forces with respected trainer Joe Goosen. The rededication lead him to the super featherweight crown with a victory over the skilled Joel Casamayor and later a beat down of the respected Acelino Freitas for the WBO title he now holds. And the icing on the cake came this past May when he stopped the rugged, iron-chinned Castillo.
Jose Luis Castillo on the other hand took a different road to the top of the sport.
Castillo began his career in relative obscurity in Mexicali, Mexico in 1990 and was knocked out four times in his first 27 fights. The start would seem to lead towards the path of a club fighter and ‘tomato can’ opponent, but Jose honed his talent and in 2000, beat a then top pound for pound fighter Stevie Johnson for the WBC lightweight crown. It was considered Ring Magazine’s 'Upset of the year' and he proved a few months later that his win was no fluke, when
fought Stevie Johnson to a draw.
Castillo went on to defend the title a few times and in 2002, respect for Jose reached an all-time high, when he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr., giving one of boxing's best his toughest fight. In many people’s eyes, Castillo should have won the decision and was given a rematch for his efforts, but Mayweather Jr. took the 12-rounder without much discussion otherwise.
Castillo would regroup and put together a solid string of wins over Joel Casamayor, Juan Lazcano and Julio Diaz, which lead him up to the Diego Corrales war. Maybe Castillo's activity, which saw him fight three times in 6-months including the Corrales bout, was too much and wore him out?
In an age of faulty and ridiculous pay per view cards, this rematch promises to give fans more then their money’s worth and in many ways, this fight encompasses why we watch boxing and what our sport is all about. Will power, resilience and determination make up the core of these two fighters.
Will they do it again? I think it may be impossible to duplicate, but if they give us at least half of what they gave us last time, it will still be the second best fight of the year.
Prediction: Castillo by 10th Round TKO
Hopefully, The End of a Career
Not to take anything away from Antonio Tarver's performance this past Saturday on HBO pay per view because he's a darn good fighter, but when I saw Roy Jones Jr. lose the decision, I could only think to myself, what happened?
Just a few short years ago, he was known as ‘Super’ Roy, and his ‘Royness’, yet now even his fans consider him ‘washed up’ and a ‘has been’. Let us not forget that Jones was a great fighter and was on top for q very long stretch of time. In his prime, he was one of the most talented fighters to ever put on the gloves. While Roy never had a career defining fight, he still had a brilliant career in which he will be a first ballot Hall of Famer, however, he will not be talked about in the same breath as 'Sugar' Ray Robinson or Muhammad Ali.
Hopefully, Roy realizes the end has come, and he doesn’t hold on as long as the aforementioned Ali and Robinson did.
Top 5 Pound for Pound
1. Winky Wright
Right now, Winky Wright is the best fighter out there.
He is technically sound, he has great defense, and he
dominates. Enough Said!
2. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
He is the most talented fighter around. But there is
something missing here.
3. Marco Antonio Barrera
What is not to like about Barrera. The guy is a
master inside the ring.
4. Jermain Taylor
How can I place him this high? Simple, he beat 'The
Man.
5. Bernard Hopkins
‘The Man’ started too late against Taylor. He will get
a chance to prove the judges wrong this December.
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