Corrales Vs. Castillo

[digipoi]

Those of you who subscribe to Showtime, this a fight well worth the subscription fee. First a little article from one of the top websites in boxing.

http://www.ringtalk.com/news/view_article.asp?id=340&cat=4

LIGHTWEIGHT COLLISION COURSE WE DIDN?T SEE!

In a nine-month span between October of 1999 and June 2000, two men emerged with little or no fanfare.  Unbeknownst at the time, they were beginning a collision course to the most anticipated lightweight showdown since the great Julio Cesar Chavez stepped into the ring with Edwin Rosario in 1989.  These two men, World lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo and top contender Diego Corrales, will stand across the ring from one another tonight on Showtime Championship Boxing with the title, their legacies, their spots in the pound for pound rankings and possibly Hall of Fame induction on the line.

QUIET BEGINNINGS LEADING TO TONIGHT'S EXPLOSION!

Both men emerged under the shadow of superstars.  Corrales won the IBF 130-lb. title in 1999 from Roberto Garcia in a come from behind seventh round KO on the undercard of MikeTyson-Orlin Norris.  Corrales would top that in June of 2000 by upsetting the underappreciated Stevie Johnston on the last nationally televised fight aired on ABC, the same day as Shane Mosley-Oscar De La Hoya I.  Since then, each has faced great highs and lows.

CAREER PEAKS AND VALLEYS A CONSTANT MIRROR!

The 39-2 Corrales has picked up wins in recent goes with top names Joel Casamayor and Acelino Freitas (for his current WBO belt).  This came only after dealing with a period of incarceration for spousal abuse, and a devastating loss to Floyd Mayweather in which he was dropped five times.  Castillo has been even more impressive, holding off Johnston in a rematch and notching a stellar win over Cesar Bazan in 2001 on the Mayweather-Corrales undercard.  He followed that by arguably deserving the first of his two fights with Mayweather and gave a game effort in the rematch.  Last June, he beat Juan Lazcano (for the Ring title and the WBC trinket), and in his last fight bested Julio Diaz.

A SUPERFIGHT WITHOUT CREDIBILITY QUESTIONS!

Unlike so many big fights where either or both combatants have yet to prove themselves on the big stage, both Castillo and Corrales have shown that they can perform at the highest level.  At 52-6 as a pro, Castillo WILL push to come forward, working the body and looking to hammer Diego into a late round submission.  Corrales WILL use his jab, look to land his left hook, and make it a short night. 

SOME INTANGIBLES WORTH Y OF MENTION!

Castillo HAS been stopped four times on cuts; Corrales HAS been down seven times in his career.  Both men DO carry power late into fights.  There are few guarantees in the squared circle, but tonight the guarantee can be made: Two men are gambling that they will win by knockout and one of them will be right.

PREDICTION TIME?

Since I can?t remember actually seeing Castillo hurt, it?s hard to pick against the Mexican native.  Yes, Corrales has that freakish, Tommy Hearns-esque power but Castillo lives so close to the chest of an opponent that it may be difficult to make it count.  Sources also inform me that Corrales may have had difficulty shrinking down to 135 from 160 at the start of camp.  Castillo had no such problem, having fought twice in the last five months while Corrales is coming off of a nine month layoff.  For these reasons, I look for Castillo to wear Corrales down in a classic, scoring a tenth round TKO and that will leave us all clamoring for a rematch. 

Having watched Corrales since 1999 and following both fighters for a while, I tend to unfortunately agree with Rold (the author of this article) on the prediction. Why I say unfortunate? Im such a Corrales fan, quite simple. As a huge fan of the sport, its such a mixed emotion having to admit that your fighter can be bested in a close scrap.

To those with mixed emotions on boxing, this will be a good one. The type of fight to build the fanfare. Thank you Showtime for hooking us up!

[digipoi]

All I can say is "wow". After having the testosterone flowing through my blood as I watched the tenth round end prematurely with a TKO by Corrales, WOW. This after going down twice and seemingly bound to get KO'd himself, he pulls it all together. Awesome fight. The excitement caused me to throw my son's toy dirt bike across the room, breaking it in half.

If you havent paid the courtesy to watch it "live" tonight, at least catch the replay. Look up the times through your set top schedule. You wont be disappointed. Truly an extraordinary fight.

[digipoi]

"Average" sports fans beware... This fight may be addicting.

[digipoi]

Corrales, Castillo talk rematch!

By Andre Courtemanche

A conference was held today for the camps and participants of one of the greatest fights in history, last Saturday's Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo lightweight unification showdown, to discuss their lingering thoughts on the fight and their plans for the future. The theme coming from now ex-champion Jose Luis Castillo and his people seems to be an urgency to get back in the ring with Diego Corrales as early as this November and right what they consider was a wrong that took place. Meanwhile, Team Corrales say they are in no hurry to jump back in the fire with Castillo, in fact promoter Gary Shaw hinted a bump up to 140 to face the Hatton vs. Tszyu winner may be next on the agenda. Bruised, sore and both still champions in their hearts, Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo say they respect each other tremendously and thank the boxing world for the adulation and respect they've been shown after their epic struggle

[digipoi]

For those that never got the chance to watch this one, heres a link with some great photos. Just look at the two faces down at the bottom. The aftermath of what happens when you have two warriors with extremely large hearts. Please, if you have the chance, watch this fight. It was probably in the top three best fights Ive ever seen.

Huge Photo Gallery!

[digipoi]

Truly awesome fight and I get more responses on a John Ruiz thread, lol.

Get out there and watch the replay before I turn off the damn interweb. :angry:

[digipoi]

i like ribs with garlic mashed potatoes.

[baseballpro9]

i like ribs with garlic mashed potatoes.

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h :happy: aha, I like Salmon with veggies!

[MuddyMuDmaN]

Truly awesome fight and I get more responses on a John Ruiz thread, lol.

Get out there and watch the replay before I turn off the damn interweb.  :angry:

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LMAO digipoi...I've been waiting to catch a replay of the fight before posting in this thread....but it hasn't been shown yet. I sooooooo want to see it. I watched 2 of the 3 Gatti Ward tilts and all three Barrera Moralez bouts. I can't wait to see if this one lives up to the post fight hype. :-)

PS. I'm more of a ribs and garlic mashed potatoes fan than salmon and veggies, myself, but both are better than the frozen pizza I had tonight. :pinch:

[digipoi]

I felt it was better than Barrera/Morales 1 and all 3 Gatti/Ward fights.