Boxing Perspective: Jose Luis Castillo

It wasn’t too long ago when a loss to the likes of Sebastian Lujan would have been considered an upset of epic proportions and a severe blow to Jose Luis Castillo.

As the result shook out on July 30 in Southern California, it did prove a severe blow to the career of Castillo but an upset it was not.

Now in debt, out of the rankings and well past his best days as a fighter, the career of Castillo looks to be over after his latest loss.

Castillo burst on to the scene in 2000, earning Ring Magazine’s Upset of the Year honors when he applied consistent pressure, coupled with his trademark tight hooks and uppercuts to defeat pound for pound candidate Stevie Johnston.

What followed was one of the most solid lightweight campaigns of our decade with wins over Joel Casamayor,
Juan Lazcano, Cesar Bazan, Julio Diaz and a highly disputed loss to pound for pound kingpin Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a bout in which most ringside pundits felt Castillo had won.

Yet the defining moment of Castillo’s career would not come until May 7, 2005. An intriguing matchup of styles was expected, but possibly the greatest boxing match of all time was delivered.

After a toe to toe battle for 9 exhilarating rounds, Castillo put Diego Corrales on the deck twice in the 10th round and looked well on his way to putting an exclamation mark on the epic fight, but as was the case throughout the
battle, all was not as it appeared.

A big right hand stunned Castillo as the Mexican pressed forward and seconds later Castillo found himself with his hands down on the ropes, taking punches as referee Tony Weeks stepped in to end an unforgettable round and fight.

Unbeknown to anyone at the time, it would be the last hurrah for both combatants.

Two years to the day later, Corrales lay dead just a few short miles from the arena in which the epic clash took place as a victim of a motorcycle crash.

Castillo would suffer a fall of a different kind.

As it turned out, it would be Castillo’s last round at lightweight.

He avenged his loss months later with a KO of Corrales, yet more was made of the weigh in the day prior when Castillo failed on three separate occasions to make weight, never getting below 137.5 pounds.

To make matters worse, a member of Castillo’s camp was caught trying to lift the scale with his foot placed underneath.

Then, after a scheduled third fight was delayed because of a broken rib suffered by Corrales, Castillo fought a listless 12 round affair against an unwilling challenger in Rolando Reyes.

That set the table for a third clash with Corrales, but again, it would be the weigh in that would make headlines. A bloated Castillo couldn’t get down past 140, five pounds off the contract limit.

This time, there would be no fight. Instead, an overzealous commission fined Castillo $250,000. Burdened with massive debts, Castillo was forced to continue in the fight game.

He pressed on, but his days at lightweight were done, making the jump to junior welterweight. First
on the docket was a fight with Montreal based contender Herman Ngoudjo to set up a clash with champion Ricky Hatton.

Yet things did not come easy for Castillo, Ngoudjo was the busier, stronger man on the inside but Castillo used his experience and more accurate punching to edge out a split decision.

He would not share the same luck against Hatton. The motivated Englishman was the faster man and used Castillo’s famed bodywork against him and took the air out of Castillo with a forceful livershot that ended the Mexican’s night.

Yet rock bottom may not have found Castillo until he signed to fight Timothy Bradley in Mexico City on the undercard of a heavyweight title fight. Castillo’s weigh-in woes continued, never having been worse, weighing in at a disappointing 148 pounds, eight pounds above the contract limit, thus canceling the fight.

It all came to a head late in July of this year. Still with title aspirations but at welterweight, Castillo faced off with former title challenger Sebastian Andres Lujan. The busier, more energetic Lujan outworked and outdecisioned a shopworn Castillo, launching the Mexican legend into retirement.

Now, at 34, Castillo retires two divisions and years removed from his prime, with over $250,000 in fines racked up, with 2 of his last 6 scheduled fights canceled at the weigh in and having undergone a difficult divorce, for which he blames many of his inside the ring woes.

Castillo leaves the sport in turmoil and it’s a tale that is told far too often in the world of boxing.

Now, in the twilight of another great fighter’s career, we are left to wonder what fate will hold for a fan favorite and are left to only fantasize about a sport with pension plans, fair competitions and organizations that are honest in their mission statements of holding fighter safety as the top priority and no more sad endings to otherwise brilliant careers.

Luckily, with Castillo, the good far outweighs the good including one fight which no fan who saw it will ever forget.

On that note, happy retirement Jose Luis Castillo.