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This Saturday, Showtime will air one of the most intriguing cards so far this year. Two excellent match-ups are on tap in two exciting weight classes as Jose Luis Castillo and Jeff Lacy put their world titles on the line against the talented opposition presented by Julio Diaz and Rubin Williams respectively. Will the defending champions hold onto to their precious belts and move on to lucrative unification fights or, will we see a violent changing of the guard as the challengers rip away the glamour, prestige and wealth that comes with a world title crown? Obviously, we must all wait until Saturday when the smoke clears to see just who remains standing after twelve rounds of highly contentious combat, but until then Saddoboxing presents a brief examination of these two contests and the backgrounds of their participants.
Of the four fighters who are scheduled to take part in the Showtime telecast, Jose Luis Castillo is by far the most senior in terms of career accomplishments. Starting out as Julio Cesar Chavez’s main sparring partner while still a teenager, Castillo, 56-6-1 (45), rose up through the ranks of Mexico’s homicidal domestic boxing scene, knocking out countless hardened professionals and journeymen while only losing to future WBC titlist Cesar Soto and future IBF lightweight belt-holder Javier Jauregui in Mexican featherweight championship bouts, and Julio Alvarez in a domestic super featherweight title scrap.
In 2000, Castillo came seemingly out of nowhere to stun highly regarded WBC lightweight champion Stevie Johnston over twelve very hard rounds. Castillo then narrowly kept his new title in a draw against the masterful southpaw in a rematch before going onto victory against the likes of former champion Cesar Bazan and a trio of journeymen.
Perhaps Castillo’s finest moment came, strangely enough, in defeat. Facing super featherweight kingpin Floyd Mayweather Jr. in April 2002, Castillo raked the elusive American with hard, short punches to the head and body as Mayweather answered back with sharp counters and fleet footwork. When it was all over, Mayweather was declared the winner and Castillo had controversially lost the WBC crown.
Castillo and Mayweather went at it again eight months later, but this time the new champion was not so keen to engage the Mexican and out-pointed Castillo handily. Undeterred, Castillo then set about rebuilding his career. Wins came in quick succession in several bouts over journeymen, Saul Duran among them, with the thirty-one year old proving just too much for the opposition to overcome.
Finally, the break he was waiting for came in the form of a bout against the sharp punching Californian Juan Lazcano for the vacant WBC lightweight title. For twelve rounds, the two went at it tooth, fang and claw until finally Lazcano began to wilt under the unyielding pressure he was put under by Castillo. Although the action was close throughout the battle, it was Castillo who emerged as the new champion.
Next, Castillo defended the crown against Cuban southpaw and former super featherweight titlist Joel Casamayor. Both men had their moments but the hard-nosed Mexican was fresher in the later rounds and pulled out all the stops, battering Casamayor heavily enough to take a split decision. There has been talk of Castillo facing WBO strap-holder Diego Corrales should he prevail in Saturday’s bout against Julio Diaz.
As Castillo’s opponent on Saturday night, Diaz, 30-2 (22), has also had to overcome adversity to get where he is today. The twenty-five year old Californian proved to be the best prospect of his age group on the American lightweight scene as he knocked out such peers as Justo Sencion and Dario Esalas before caging an IBF eliminator against former world title challenger Angel Manfredy at the end of 2000. Diaz was near brilliant and threw many more punches than the economical Manfredy, who chose his moments carefully behind atight guard that caught some of Diaz’s output.
The judges favored Manfredy’s efforts over Diaz’s and while the youngster was disappointed, he wasted no time in mounting another run at the top. A major setback occurred soon however as Diaz was shocked by Juan Valenzuela and knocked out in the first round. Four opponents were felled in subsequent fights before Diaz gained the opportunity to match fists with in an eliminator, again for the IBF crown. Diaz wasted nothing as he proved to be the smarter fighter, placing hard shots between gaps in the stronger Burton’s defenses. In the eleventh round, the action was stopped and Diaz was finally in position to realize his dream of contending for a major world title.
IBF champion Javier Jauregui was as much of a veteran of the Mexican wars as Jose Luis Castillo, but that didn’t stop Diaz from putting on a career best showing at the San Diego Sports Arena. Jauregui had picked up all the tricks of the trade in his fifty-nine-fight career, but could not overcome Diaz’s advantages of youth, speed and power. At the end of the twelve rounds, Diaz had won the IBF belt and looked forward to high-profile unification matches with the other titlists in the lightweight division.
It was not to be however. At odds with the IBF, the Coachella, California man chose to surrender the crown and face Castillo for the WBC title rather than to defend the IBF version against top-rated challenger Leavander Johnson. Was that a good decision? That all depends on the outcome of Saturday’s hotly anticipated fight between these two talented lightweight campaigners.
The other pairing on Showtime’s telecast pits IBF super middleweight titlist Jeff Lacy against the once-beaten challenger from the mean streets of Detroit, Rubin Williams. Lacy, 18-0(14), has proved to be one of the dwindling number of success stories that have come out of the American Olympic boxing program of late and has achieved a good deal under the watchful eye of promoter Gary Shaw. The Florida native won his first eleven fights against the usual experience-building level of opponent before the first hurdle was placed in his path in the form of Ross Thompson. Although presented with early difficulty, Lacy handled the test well, scoring a clear-cut unanimous decision.
Winning his next five bouts, Lacy then arrived at a shot for the vacant IBF super middleweight title against the veteran Canadian Syd Vanderpool. The American solved Vanderpool, as he proved too strong for the older man, stopping the Kitchener, Ontario native in the eighth round, winning a world title in only his seventeenth bout. A defense against Omar Sheika went well, with Lacy recording a unanimous decision this past December.
Rubin Williams, 26-1 (15), comes into this big opportunity against Lacy on the strength of a seven-fight win streak. The Detroit native won his first nineteen outings before running into mercurial Colombian power-puncher Epifiano Mendoza a year and a half ago. Mendoza knocked out Williams within one torrid round and gained the regional NABA middleweight title in the process. Williams has since resumed his winning ways, claiming victory in seven bouts against largely solid journeyman level opposition. Although Lacy represents a dramatic step up in competition for Williams, the champion may find himself at a rare strength disadvantage. Williams has fought as high as cruiserweight, weighing 180-pounds or more on at least three separate occasions. Although the challenger is likely the naturally bigger man, he may find that insufficient to overcome Lacy’s likely skill advantages.
Regardless of how these two bouts play out, the balance of power in the lightweight and super middleweight divisions could possibly be altered, and that alone makes these exciting must see events.
Richard Eberline can be reached at richardeberline@fastmail.fm
