Tale of the Tape: Castillo v Casamayor
by
Carl Rice
12/4 - Tomorrow, Joel Casamayor will be looking to be 2-0 in the lightweight division. Unlike most boxers these days, instead of taking the easy route, Casamayor is coming at one of the premier lightys in Jose Luis Castillo, the man who gave Floyd Mayweather fits in their first fight and gave a good showing in the second fight. Although he lost both of those fights, Castillo was looked upon as Mayweather’s toughest opponent to date, and against one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound, that’s saying a lot.
Casamayor’s last fight was his first at lightweight, a 10 round victory against Daniel Seda, an undefeated fighter at the time. But before that, he split 2 fights with Diego Corrales and these fights, his detractors have said, have show that Joes has diminished in his skills. Now he takes on perhaps one of the biggest test of his career. Here’s how both fighters stack up against each other.
Ring Walk
Castillo, 50-6-1 with 45 KOs, has been fighting for a long time in obscurity. He started his career in 1990 and lost his first fight in 1993 when he fought for the Mexican featherweight title. He’d lose his next 2 bids to win the championship, but finally came through in 1997, although he’d lose that title in 1998. He didn’t gain nationwide recognition until he defeated Stevie Johnston for the WBC lightweight title in 2000. Johnson, who has a penchant for not always being at his best in terms of his physical condition, fought much better in the immediate rematch, but the bout was declared a draw.
He continued to dominate the lightys until he ran into Mayweather in 2002. In that fight, Castillo attacked Mayweather as he had never been attacked before by using his 5’8 height and 70' reach advantage to put Mayweather in situations he’d never been in before. Many have stated that Castillo actually won the fight, but Floyd was deemed the winner. After a tune up fight, he once again took on 'Pretty Boy' later that year but was less effective and Floyd was proclaimed the winner again.
Casamayor, 31-2 with 19 KOs, had a much more glamorized start. As a gold medalist as a member of the 1992 Cuban Olympic Team, the southpaw comes from a program known for boxing greatness. But after defecting, he started fighting in the United States. With speed to go along with his short stature (69.5' reach and standing at just 5’6) he gained his first title shot, the NABF super featherweight title, in 1999 and won the WBA title in that same weight class later that year. Slowly but surly, Casamayor fought his way through the ranks and was looking to get a fight with the two premier fighters in that weight class: Mayweather and hard punching Brazilian Acelino Freitas. He finally got around to taking on Freitas in 2002 and he did not disappoint. The fight was back and forth, but with Casamayor getting knocked down in the 3rd round and penalized twice by seemingly biased referee Joe Cortez, he lost on each of the judges cards by 2 points.
Trying to regain some of his lost luster, he stayed busy and fought tough guys, but when he fought Nate Campbell in 2003, even in victory, many people said that this was the first sign of Casamayor losing a step, as Campbell put on a terrific show and the judges’ cards don’t reflect how close the fight actually was. He then took on Diego Corrales; in the first fight, Casamayor was dominating the fight, as he put 'Chico' on the canvas twice. But then after he was put down by a hard left hook, the fight was soon stopped because of two ghastly cuts on Corrales’ mouth. In the rematch, Corrales fought a smart fight by using his reach and pulled out the victory.
Pre Fight Introductions
Castillo has not taken the easy path that many American fighters have taken. With there being such a glut of quality tough fighters in Mexico, he has taken on some tough customers that no one outside of Mexico had heard of early in his career. Also, take into account that he’s KOed 45 of the 50 fighters that he’s defeated, which shows that he’s got to have some pop. After beating Johnston, Castillo received instant credibility, and with the way he completely dismantled former Johnston conquer Cesar Bazan, most boxing junkies felt that this was the man to beat in the lightweight division.
One would think that the Mayweather fights would lessen his stature, but it enhanced it. This is because no one expected Castillo to do as well as he performed. And Mayweather obviously respected him because the only reason Castillo was given a rematch is because the first fight was so close. But in defeat, Castillo still remained a force to be reckoned with, especially after Mayweather moved up in weight. What most fighters can’t get adjusted to is the tenacity of Castillo: he just keeps coming and coming. That, combined with his bodywork, makes him one of the top pressure fighters in the world. The only time he’s faced adversity as of late is when he fights quick fighters, which works right into the hands of Casamayor.
Joel has remained high on the list of top fighters, mostly because of his boxing style, speed, footwork, and his combination punching. What he lacks in power he more than makes up with pure boxing skill. He is probably the closest to Mayweather in terms of that combination. He was champion for 3 years before facing Freitas; his problem in that fight was that he allowed Freitas to dictate the pace (as he is a slow started) and had to play catch up in the later rounds. Furthermore, his being labeled a 'dirty fighter' did nothing to help his case, as Cortez felt inclined to take away points for fouls that were suspect at best.
When he fought Campbell, Casamayor allowed his opponent to come at him and dictate the pace again, but toward the middle of the fight he started to let his boxing skills dictate the pace of the fight, not Campbell, and that’s how he pulled it out. Whenever Casamayor is comfortable, his will let his boxing skills control the fight, but if he’s a little tense or tight, it shows.
Referee’s Instructions
This is such a tough fight to call because of the skill each possesses. Each of them has problems with the skills the fighter in the other corner possesses. Casamayor will have to keep himself busy from the first bell and make sure he doesn’t allow himself to get caught up against the ropes or in the corner. But even if he does that, he will not be assured of victory. He will have to go to the body , which means that he will probably have to take some body punishment himself. He will have to strategically place his punches; his style was good for him against Corrales because Chico does not use his height well and doesn’t use his jab as much as taller men usually do. This is why in the second fight, Corrales did so much better (this and the fact that Corrales had Joe Goosen, Casamayor’s former trainer, in his corner telling all of Joe’s secrets).
Castillo will not be facing a Floyd Mayweather clone, but Casamayor is the closest that he’ll face to that. He will have to come at Joel just like he did against Mayweather; he’ll have to keep touching his man, staying in his face, taking a few punches to land one. He’ll have to go to the body, try to keep Casamayor on the ropes, and get dirty on the inside if Casamayor allows him to come in unhampered.
The Fight and the Decision
This fight is as even as one can get on paper, so the question comes down to how has the better skills in this fight. I like both of these fighters and I’d hate to pick against either of them, so I’m taking the low road and pick a draw.
I’m just playing, I’ll never pick a draw just because I can’t choose a winner. I see Casamayor getting off to one of his slow starts, but in this case, Castillo will come out slow as well, thrown off by the southpaw stance. Things start to heat up in the 3rd round, as Castillo starts to apply the pressure but Casamayor still has the ability to get away. The action is back and forth until Castillo puts Casamayor down in the 7th round; Casamayor gets up and survives the round, but he now starts thinking that he has to stay away. The problem is that he can’t stay away that much, and Castillo comes inside. But Casamayor shows that he’s a tough hombre and surprisingly does well with Castillo on the inside. Castillo keeps coming forward, but Casamayor uses his boxing skills to win an unpopular split decision.
On another note, you may have noticed that I did not do a 'Tale of the Tape' For Barrera v Morales III. This is because Thanksgiving was very hectic in my family. It’s nothing like the holidays to remind you how crazy you and your family can get. I have not even seen the fight yet and I hope to see it this weekend.
Please send all comments/opinions to crice@catsmpo.com
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