By Terence Dooley
On Saturday night another greatly compelling boxing trilogy will draw to its conclusion as Diego ‘Chico’ Corrales squares off against Jose Luis Castillo at the Thomas and Mack Centre in Las Vegas.
Over the past twelve months plus these two men have produced every possible passion in us the fans has they warred to a win apiece.
Unfortunately, or depending on your perspective fortunately, adding to the intrigue is the fact that the portions of the trilogy claimed by each man so far have been smothered in controversy.
Fight one ended with Corrales getting up from two heavy knock-downs to blast Castillo into defeat in the tenth round. Corrales courted controversy by spitting out his gum shield after each knock-down to gain a few extra seconds, this move left the Castillo camp incensed to the extent that Jose felt the needed to come in for the previous fight with absolutely no intention of making the lightweight limit and therefore did not debilitate himself in the final weeks of preparation.
By coming in over the limit Castillo ensured that he did not have to sweat off those final, gruelling three lbs and could concentrate on ensuring he came in on fight night big and brawny. Although the weight difference between the two was negliable come fight night Corrales had been the one who had suffered making the weight and it showed in the fight as Castillo looked bigger and stronger than his opponent.
Much speculation has passed in the months since then, but the stroke pulled by Castillo should be called for what it was, he cheated plain and simple. By seemingly having no intention to make the weight he ensured his body suffered no last week weight watching trauma and in the ring it showed. If what he did is not wrong, as some attest, why was he fined and not given the opportunity to fight for the lightweight titles in fight two? The weight limits are there for a reason and fighters should respect them. In this rubber match Castillo will have to sweat the weight off to get to lightweight for the first time in a year, that may prove to be telling and validate the proverb that, ultimately, cheats never prosper.
As for the crime committed by Corrales in fight one I’m more inclined to extend him the benefit of the boxing doubt, spitting the shield is something that happens in the ring, in the heat of battle, it does not involve not cutting your weight and getting someone to put a toe under the scales to disguise that fact.
In fight one Diego went down heavily and got back up, the shield incident could have been a reflex action. Maybe Diego did buy himself a few seconds but is that akin to doing something wrong over a period of weeks? Would we have cried “foul” if Castillo had shown some sense and taken a knee when hurt in fight one? He’d not be breaking the rules yet he’d still be buying himself a few seconds. Cutting to the chase the controversy in fight one was baloney, Diego showed ring generalmanship whereas Castillo showed an inability to buy himself time in the heat of battle.
Controversy aside the in-ring action has been colossal during this trilogy. Fight one was a good tactical conjecture from Corrales which saw him drain Castillo early and left Jose not quite as sturdy as he usually is late in his fights. Logic states that you should stand off Castillo but if you do this he builds up a head of steam that will engulf you belatedly. By draining Jose’s energy early Corrales made sure that he was in a good position to capitalise late in the fight.
When Castillo did break through Corrales had managed to acclimatise to the hurt and was in a position to impair Castillo with his big bombs. Every time there had been a big exchange in the latter rounds Corrales had finished it strongly and he ensured that when he did go down he did not lose his belief. When the end came it was crazy but reasonable, Castillo did not adapt to the swing in fortune in the ring and paid the price.
In fight two Castillo was clearly the bigger man and both continued where they had previously left-off. Corrales threw better combinations but was reckless in allowing Castillo to find a home for his left hook. After four rounds it was shaping up into another barnburner only for Castillo to detonate a perfect left hook, the heaviest punch he had thrown in the fights so far, it did have extra weight on it, to leave Corrales on the canvas again, only this time there was no dramatic seesaw dénouement.
So where does that leave us? Logic would state that Castillo has the ascendancy; he must feel the first win was a freak occurrence on the part of Diego and he has already set-up a fight with Miguel Cotto. Best laid plans and all that but I feel that he may have underestimated how much his body will be drained making the lightweight limit for the first time in twelve months. This time there can be no stunt pulled at the weigh-in and I expect Castillo to be gaunt, dry and consequently weak in the latter stages. So far we have found out that Castillo is the better light-welterweight yet it seems Corrales is the stronger lightweight. I think that this fact will be a big factor come Saturday.
Another thing to consider is that Diego was put down and out in the last fight, people say there is not way he can come back. Well so far the trilogy resembles fight one, Corrales strong early only to be put down, and seemingly out, by Castillo. I think that Corrales is in the position he was in during round ten of fight one; I feel he can get up, metaphorically, and beat Castillo to take the series.
In fight two, when Diego went down, Corrales looked like a man, and I’d never question his fighting heart, who felt that the man in front of him was too big and strong on the night. Maybe, subconsciously, his boxing brain kicked in and he realised that he could get Castillo for a third fight, this time at lightweight, and fight on a level playing field. Corrales went down heavily in fight two but he has been on the canvas before and always got up, maybe he felt a prolonged beating from a bigger man would ruin him at this stage and is laying a trap for Castillo in this decider.
At lightweight Diego is bigger and has the greater firepower, ironic when you consider the three knock-downs against him, he is also, in my opinion, a smarter fighter within the confines of the ring. Diego is said to resemble Thomas Hearns in size, power and fragility, I keep thinking of the Thomas Hearns-Juan Roldan war in which Hearns was winning when on his feet. I suspect that Corrales knows he has to go to a hard place early in the fight to prevent Castillo building up steam; Diego might then stun us all by opting to box and use his greater reach and skills in the middle rounds thus preserving himself for a storming finish.
When sitting down to predict a fight you jump from one guy to the next and find it hard to maintain resolution, I’ve felt that way for this one. I felt from the start that this fight was there for Corrales to win but Castillo is a man I so greatly admire. Ultimately I had reached an impasse so I lay down and flicked on a CD, as the shuffle option selected a track the familiar sound of Jay-Z filled the room. I asked the Jiggaman what he thought, and the lyric: “Y'all fell into the booby trap, I set the trap just to see dude react, and now you can't leave, You opened the door god, I'm at you annually” jumped out the speaker, I realised that the Jiggaman was saying “Yes” to Corrales and so am I.
It is Corrales for me to take the trilogy on points in fight three after a gruelling and surprising fight, justice will be served and the perceived wrongs will make a right on this a special night for boxing.
