By Johnny Ortiz (photo by Tom Casino)
Both camps have signed in, all preparations have been duly recorded, both Jose Luis Castillo and Diego “Chico” Corrales are extremely confident that they will emerge victorious Saturday night when they again lock horns at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Now comes the hard part as they both anxiously await the bell that will signal the continuation of one of the greatest fights this writer has ever seen.
I have both pro and con observations concerning their first epic confrontation. It was to Hell and Back going into the later part of the fight, the 10th round was a round that will forever live in boxing folklore. The 9th round had both warriors still going toe to toe, Diego might have had the edge going into the classic 10th, when suddenly, Jose Luis connected with a beautiful left hook that dumped Diego on the seat of his pants.
Fighters sometimes do strange things in moments of duress, even without thinking such as spitting out a mouthpiece, I cannot be sure Diego knew what he was doing when he did it, but I do know that when he took it out of his mouth when he went down the second time, he was aware of doing so. Spitting it out and going to it with your gloved hand are two different things.
A fighter can instinctively spit it out, but you have to be thinking when you physically remove it knowing it will buy you time. Anyway you look at it, it allowed Diego precious time, time needed when he was rounding the corner heading into Queer Street.
After the first mouthpiece incident, I think referee Tony Weeks should not have allowed Diego to have the extra time to clear his head after Chico removed his mouthpiece the second time, he should have allowed the fight to continue, mouthpiece or no mouthpiece, what’s the worst case scenario, Diego gets his teeth knocked out? Jose Luis would have finished him off and he would have been declared the winner.
I take nothing away from the amazing courage of Diego Corrales, what he did took unreal bravado, coming back from the brink of disaster to stop Castillo took every bit of his lion’s heart. Whether or not Castillo got jobbed, we are blessed to witness a repeat performance. The second go-around should have all of the electricity and the intensity the first one provided.
It’s a hard one to pick; I tend to think the winner will be the one who came out of the fight the least for wear. Diego took a brutal beating, as did Jose Luis. Which one took the greater beating will in all probability wind up the loser. Either way, we the fans will be the sure winner.
Diego the taller of the two at 6’0, has the height and reach, I think he could make it an easier fight by fighting at long range, occasionally stepping in to throw his huge right hand as well as his great left hook when openings arise. It’s not going to happen, Diego has already gone on record as saying he has the better mental toughness, that his fans can expect to see the same thing as the last time he and Castillo met.
He believes he is the better inside fighter; I tend to think Jose Luis has the better advantage in that department given he is the more compact fighter.
As for Castillo, he thinks the second fight will be magnificent; he is ready for anything Diego brings. He now believes the stoppage was a good thing; his big issue was the mouthpiece bit.
He fully intends to make no changes in strategy as he heads into the rematch, he only hopes that Diego will fight the same fight as before, with that said, who could ask for more. It has only been five months since their vicious brawl. The winner will be the one who wants it more, in order to do so, he will have to be willing to put his heart and soul on the line. It will take every bit of courage and then some, this fight is the epitome of what boxing is all about, to be willing to go out on your shield only after you have given every ounce of energy humanly possible.
The only tragic thing about this fight is the fact that one of these gallant warriors has to lose, but truth be known, this is what fighters live for, the supreme test as to who is the better gladiator, the hard rounds spent sparring, the rigorous regimentation of training, the running, the diet, everything leading up to one thing…who is the better man?
May God bless both Jose Luis and Diego Corrales, in watching what will be another brutal war, let no man suffer any kind of serious injury. I have never met Jose Luis Castillo, but reading everything he has had to say, he appears to be a outstanding family man, a typical humble, polite young man who would make his adoring fans proud.
I first met Diego Corrales at one of the Playboy Mansion fight cards. When I was introduced to him, I started speaking Spanish, he stopped me and told me that he also spoke English which he did so very eloquently, I came away from our little chat very impressed with the nice looking young man. I again had the chance to renew our first meeting when he was chosen last year as our World Boxing Hall of Fame Fighter of the Year during our 25th Banquet of Champions dinner and inductions.
He was a worthy recipient; his acceptance speech was humble and gracious. He was a proud young man that evening, his beautiful wife was on his arm. Being on the WBHF Board of Directors, we have yet to name this year’s fighter of the year. It’s a pretty good bet that the winner this Saturday will make a very deserving honoree. This contest is for Diego’s WBC/WBO lightweight crown.
So my friends, sit back and enjoy this one, this outstanding kind of fight does not come around to often. With the utmost sincerity…may the better man win!
BOBBY CARLOS “FAMOSO” HERNANDEZ VS BOBBY PACQUIAO
It would be a better fight if Carlos were fighting Bobby’s big brother Manny. I like Famoso simply because he is the class fighter in this bout. Bobby’s coming off a couple of good wins, but they were not the caliber of a Carlos Hernandez. An impressive win here might just get Carlos another shot at newly crowned IBF champion Jesus Chavez.
Their last fight was an all out war; Jesus won a split decision in a fight that truly could have gone either way. Jesus went up to the lightweight ranks to win the title, it came at a costly price, the champion Leavander Johnson lost his life after their confrontation. Carlos would have to go up five pounds to challenge Jesus; Carlos has indicated that it wouldn’t pose any problem. Knowing Famoso, he would welcome the chance to fight Jesus, he believes he won their first fight…he’s not alone in his thinking. I for one would love to see a rematch between these two gutsy fighters.
I look for Famoso to win in grand fashion thus setting up a return go with Chavez, or who knows, maybe Manny may want to avenge his kid brother’s loss. Now there’s a fight boxing fans would enjoy, Carlos vs. Manny Pacquiao, the fight could be held in a phone booth. Carlos is our guy; he is an action fighter…Viva Famoso!
JORGE ARCE VS HUSSEIN HUSSEIN
This is another action packed bout. Their last fight was a bloody war, Hussein finally wilted under the constant pressure from the little guy from Mexico, but not before giving as good as he took. If this fight is anything like their previous bout, it could give even Castillo-Corrales a run for their money.
Jorge was pretty busted up yet he never ceased taking the fight to Hussein. Arce showed the heart that Mexican fans love, a give and take kind of fighter who throws caution to the winds in order to achieve victory. I like the little guy with the Golden Heart to repeat his win, but not without a courageous stand by the guy with the double name. This fight is for the WBC interim flyweight title. My advice to fight fans, have everything at your disposal, you do not want to miss a minute of this fight, with these two little warriors throwing everything they have…anything can happen!
JULIO CAESAR CHAVEZ VS JEREMY STIERS
This Jr. welterweight clash should end like most of Jr.’s fights, it’s not that Julio is not talented; on the contrary, he shows great promise. I just would like to see him fight someone other than a late substitute, as is Jeremy Stiers. With a record of 9 wins, 4 Losses w/6 KO’s, he doesn’t figure to be much of a challenge for the little lion from Culiacan.
Sporting an impressive resume of 21-0 w/16 KO’s, this fight shouldn’t go the distance; the kid from Kansas has probably never fought out of the state. It really isn’t junior’s fault, in a recent interview, he has said that he wants to start stepping up in class, his brain trust are dwarfing his education by sticking him in with stiffs, I have always maintained that if you have the talent you can only get better experience by fighting better-quality fighters. Make no mistake about it, the kid can fight, the time has come to start moving him up. Don’t get down on him, he will one day be someone to reckon with, but only by giving him the chance to show what he can do. “The Little Lion of Culiacan” will make daddy proud in this one.
THE FIGHT CARD CAN BE SEEN ON SHOWTIME PPV 9PM ET/6PM PT
ROY JONES-TARVER
I wrote last week that I believed Roy Jones had one great fight left in him…he did, the only problem was that he left it at home. I will make no excuses for Roy, my opinion of him, as one of boxing’s all-time great fighters is still intact. Roy Jones Jr. is just not the fighter he once was. Roy landed only 85 punches in the entire fight, that I believe comes out to about 7 punches per round. Please! Roy used to land 85 punches in three or four rounds. A fighter cannot win a fight if he doesn’t throw any punches…simple as that.
It was hard to watch, waiting for Roy to make his customary move like he once did. Tarver did what he had to do to win the fight, had Roy thrown punches in bunches the way he once did; it is conceivable that he could have won the fight. Antonio Tarver didn’t show me a whirlwind performance, he hurt Roy in the 11th, only to have Roy come back and hurt him. Tarver simply outworked Roy…he deserved to win. In total punches, he landed 158 out of 620; Roy came in at 85 landed out of 320 thrown.
In the jab department, Roy was completely embarrassed landing 11 of 113 thrown the entire fight. Roy landing only 11 jabs in a twelve round fight? Tarver’s output in the same department will not make anyone forget Sugar Ray Robinson, landing only 58 out of 279 thrown. Power shots went to Tarver 107 out of 341; Roy landed 74 out of 207 thrown. It really wasn’t a very good fight, Roy going through his once great moves without throwing hardly any punches, Antonio seemed satisfied with coasting to an easy victory.
The time has come for the once great Roy Jones Jr. to ride off into the sunset; nothing will ever diminish the impressive records he accomplished inside the ring. Once a fighter shows signs of being gun-shy, it is over, Father Time is always waiting patiently in the wings to walk once great fighters home. Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Roberto Duran are just a few who hung around a little too long, when they finally walked off the ring stage, Father Time was there to walk them home. Roy has earned the right to be mentioned in the same breath as these once great fighters, as with them, we will not see his like again.
Roy Jones Jr. has simply come to that point in time that befalls all athletes, in all sports that day finally arrives, some are very reluctant to heed the call, some bow out gracefully. Roy finished the good fight going the twelve round championship distance. Antonio Tarver had better thank his lucky stars that he got this version of the man I will always believe to be the greatest pound for pound fighter since the incomparable Sugar Ray Robinson instead of the one who once performed virtuoso performances against the very best fighters of his time.
HBO Sports reported that 405,000 PPV buys were generated from last Saturday’s fight between Jones and Tarver. It ranks second among all pay-per-view boxing events in 2005. This can only be attributed to the greatness and popularity of Roy Jones Jr. As I wrote last week, the times I spent with him one on one…are times I will always cherish in my boxing memory book.
I can only pray that Roy sees the handwriting on the wall and hangs them up, I do not wish to ever see a repeat of Hector Camacho beating up a once great fighter like Sugar Ray Leonard again, that is what is in store for Roy if he does not heed the call.
Fighters will come and go…there will never be another Roy Jones Jr.
Johnny Ortiz is a former co-owner of the world famous, legendary Main Street Gym and a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame board of directors.