DeMarcus Corley: Who’s Next for the “Chop?”

“I’d love to face Corrales. Given what he’s achieved and what I’ve achieved in our careers, I think it’s a fight people really want to see. If he wants to come up to 140, we can do that, too.”–DeMarcus Corley believes he still belongs amongst the world’s great fighters and wastes no time in calling out one of the best.

The Washington DC area is well known for producing top class level fighters and some recent world champions include Mark Johnson, Sharmba Mitchell, William Joppy, Maurice Blocker and Keith Holmes. The current king of the hill is none other than DeMarcus “Chop-Chop” Corley,

former WBO light welterweight champion whose blazingly fast and heavy hands had WBO titlist Miguel Cotto and WBC phenomenon Floyd Mayweather in trouble as no else had ever done before or since. Southpaw Corley also fought fellow lefty Zab Judah to a standstill, losing a close split decision before the Brooklynite went up to welterweight and unified three of the major belts. While “Chop-Chop” came up short in all three of those bouts, Corley is arguably one of the best fighters on the planet without a world title, a condition that he feels will change once he can secure another crack at a major belt, and the dangerous thirty-one-year-old is willing to fight anywhere from 135-to-147-pounds in order to prove it.

Do not miss this SaddoBoxing exclusive as DeMarcus Corley discusses possible fights with all of the major players in the light welterweight division today.

DeMarcus Corley, 29-4-1 (16), is an undersized light welterweight, an anomaly in a division where some of the top men weigh as much as 157-pounds or over on fight night. The Washington DC native often weighs in at 137 or so and will put on four or five pounds while Ricky Hatton, Kostya Tszyu, Miguel Cotto and Arturo Gatti all reportedly enter the ring as middleweights, having crossed the 154-pound threshold a few hours before climbing through the ropes. Despite the lightness, Corley’s punches still pack enough power to have had the normally quite durable Cotto nearly out on his feet and the solid chinned Mayweather wobbled.

It’s this combination of speed and power, along with the ability to make lightweight that give Corley’s stated desire to face the WBC and WBO champion in that division, Diego Corrales, real meaning. “I can make 135 easy,” declared DeMarcus, “and I’d love to face Corrales. Given what he’s achieved and what I’ve achieved in our careers, I think it’s a fight people really want to see. If he wants to come up to 140, we can do that, too.”

While Corrales is his first choice, Corley says he’ll take on anyone at lightweight with a major belt. A bout with WBA titlist Juan Diaz in particular would be intriguing, with the relentless, body punching pressure of the “Baby Bull” sure to produce fireworks as he meets the cagey, quick handed countering style of Corley head on.

Another possibility is a rematch with Judah and the DC fighter has no qualms about heading seven pounds north to do so. “I’m not looking to go up to welter, but if Zab would give me a rematch, I’d do it,” said Corley. “He only beat me by split decision and I really think things would be different if we did it again. I don’t think Zab wants to fight me though because I think he knows things would be different, too.”

Amid all the talk of weight class jumping, Corley has fought his entire career at light welterweight and that is still where his best chances at regaining world honors lie. The former WBO titlist has a unique perspective on former divisional kingpin, Kostya Tszyu, having sparred the Russian-Aussie destroyer extensively in the recent past and just may figure in any comeback plans the ex-championstill may harbor after his loss to England’s Ricky Hatton two months ago.

“I sparred with Kostya for several weeks in Australia and he’s a great fighter,” recalled Corley. “We always were looking forward to getting a fight with him because while he’s a great puncher, the punches he hit me with didn’t hurt me and I know that shots I hit him with, I’d be able to do that in a fight. When Tszyu fought Mitchell, he went and jumped straight on Sharmba, threw him down and roughed him up. That’s what Kostya does; he gets you in close and hits you with forearms, hooks and rabbit punches. He tries to manhandle a fighter and take his pride away from him while he’s in the ring. Ricky Hatton went in there to show Tszyu, ‘you’re not going to do me like you did Sharmba.’ Ricky Hatton did to Tszyu what Tszyu usually does to other fighters and he fought the perfect fight. I would love to go to England to fight Hatton. I was willing to do that when he was my WBO mandatory and I still am now that he’s a champion.”

Another recent development, which has held Corley’s interest, is Vivian Harris’ meltdown against Carlos Maussa to lose the WBA title. “Chop-Chop” obviously would like a crack at the new titlist but also would like to settle a score with Harris, who he feels disrespected him in comments made to the press. “I was shocked at the way that Maussa was hitting Vivian,” exclaimed Corley. “Vivian is supposed to be a better fighter than that but I think he hurt himself on both ends of the stick. He could have fought Ricky Hatton, in England, could have gotten a nice payday and a rematch clause. He fights Maussa for less than six figures, gets knocked out, and still loses his title. So he got screwed all the way around the board. He got that card on Monopoly, the one that says, ‘go directly to jail, do not pass go and do not collect $200.’

“I don’t know if Vivian can comeback from a knockout like that. I don’t think he’ll be the same and he just might be gun shy. I think that with my style and my speed that I would pretty much beat Maussa within five rounds. He leaves himself open too much, swings with wide punches but God blessed him in that fight against Vivian, though (laughs).”

Aspirations aside, when it gets right down to it, revenge is a prime motivator in who DeMarcus Corley wants to face again before the day comes when he hangs up the gloves for good. “I want to fight Cotto again,” he states flatly. “Why? Because I wouldn’t want to take a win the way that he got it. I mean, that’s not a legitimate win, he didn’t win the fight, the referee won the fight for him. I couldn’t sleep at night knowing that I didn’t clearly beat a person. If he would have beaten me by split decision, fine, but I never got the chance to have it go to the scorecards.”

Contact Curtis McCormick at thomaspointrd@aol.com