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Diego “Chico” Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo’s Saturday night boxing match was complete with courage, captivation and commanded our attention with its pure excitement, round after round. Last week, when writing an article about this potential match-up, I indicated the chances of this fight being the inspiration for a second fight. After this clash of two brave warriors, the evidence of Corrales vs. Castillo I will be leverage used by the promoters and the boxing public to campaign for a Corrales vs. Castillo II. The outcome of this fantastic match was unforeseen and will be a hot topic in the boxing world. Referee Tony Weeks’ stoppage of the fight could be debated for days. With Castillo knocking down Corrales two times in the tenth with physically powerful left hooks, I thought the fight was going to end with Castillo earning the win via knockout. Corrales, who displayed his heart in fights with Joel Casamayor and Acelino Freitas, walked a similar line of courage while recovering from the two knockdowns and proceeded to pressure Castillo, leading Weeks, to call the bout to an end.
My mind played with the options of Castillo; why didn’t he take a knee, enabling him to get some rest and energy. After the count, he could have hugged on Corrales until the end of round ten. This could have helped Castillo win round ten and possibly win the fight, either by stoppage or on the scorecards. Corrales used this tactic to regain his power and stamina. In both knockdowns, Corrales rode the counts close to the end; he did not stand there and try to take blow after blow, without responding. In the last knockdown, Corrales spat out his mouthpiece and as a result, lost a point, a wise move to help him regroup.
I’ve always stood near my claim on the notion that the lightweight division is one of the most talented and the leading provider of the most competitive match-ups in boxing, not other glamour divisions such as the light heavyweights or the heavyweights. This fight has earned its nomination slot in the “fight of the year” category. The great part about boxing is the anticipation of future fights, with Felix “Tito” Trinidad vs. Ronald “Winky” Wright, coming up this Saturday, Kostya Tszyu vs. Ricky Hatton, June 6, and Floyd Mayweather vs. Arturo Gatti, June 25. It is very clear that boxing’s first half of the year, when all these future match-ups are said and done, will provide boxing fans and writers with enough insight to argue about the pound-for-pound slots. Then, Bernard Hopkins fights Jermain Taylor on July 16, signaling all of the top pound- for-pound members in the mix, either making a mark or making their way down the list.
What is even more interesting is the tough opposition. None of the future fights mentioned are easy bets. Corrales and Castillo represent just the tip of great fights in 2005. You have to be optimistic about up and coming match-ups, especially now thanks to Corrales and Castillo’s large output of bravery and determination. No matter which side you favor, when discussing this fight, you have to salute Corrales and Castillo for making it happen. I just pray that these two boxers are OK physically and take a summer vacation, so they can relax mentally. Like I always protested in my past articles on the lightweight division, lightweights will fight another rematch, if room for debate is there. I make no exception in this case either. Another fight between Corrales and Castillo has a strong chance of happening again. There is only one sport like boxing, which can produce two champions in one fight, a sport with a champion at heart and a champion in determination.
Shaun Rico LaWhorn can be reached at filmmaking_mentality@msn.com
