By Tom Donelson
Five months ago, Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo staged a classic match. Rarely are masterpieces repeated. Orson Welles never truly matched his greatest film, Citizen Kane, which was produced early in his career.
And rematches rarely matches the intensity of the original. The second Ali-Frazier was a great fight in its own right but it did not match the original Ali-Frazier super fight or even the Thrilla in Manila. As a fight, it remains overshadowed in boxing history by the other two.
Who will win this rematch will begin with which of the two fighters makes the best adjustment. In this respect, Diego Corrales has the advantage. With his height and boxing skills, Corrales can choose his battleground. He can box and as he showed in their last fight, he can slug.
In his rematch against Casamayor, he changed his strategy. In their first battle, he attacked and was blistered by Casamayor's counter punching skills. In their rematch, Corrales used his height and boxed from the outside. He forced Casamayor to come to him and was able to pop shot Casamayor while winning the decision.
In his first fight with Castillo, he chose to fight in the trenches with Castillo. He fought Castillo's fight and hooked with a hooker. It nearly cost him the fight. He went down in the tenth as a result of a Castillo left hook but it was a Corrales' left hook that led to Castillo’s downfall as he was pummeled on the ropes before the fight was stopped.
So which Corrales will show up? The slugger, who digs in the trenches, or the boxer who will use his reach and fight from the outside? Corrales can win the rematch easier than he won the first fight if he fights from the outside and force Castillo to reach with his punches. He showed that he could win a war in the trenches but he could easily lose such as battle as he nearly did in the first fight. A war in the trenches is Castillo's fight.
As for Castillo, he is not going to become a boxer and as the smaller fighter, he has to move forward and pressure Corrales. Corrales is a warrior and he is willing to fight a war if pushed into it. If Corrales chooses to box, Castillo has to force Corrales to fight to fight small and give up his height advantage.
If Corrales shows discipline and fights from the outside, Corrales will win. Under this scenario, this fight will lack the drama of the first fight but it will still be a good fight, regardless. If Corrales goes back in the trenches, he gives Castillo a better shot of winning. This fight may match their first fight if it turns into a war in the early going, but I don’t see Castillo losing two wars in a row.
Corrales made the fight with Castillo more difficult that it needed to be. He can’t afford to do that twice. Corrales have shown in the past that he can adjust in a big rematch. He also has shown a warrior's heart and the wiliness to fight, even when fighting is not the wise course. Corrales’ strategy will determine this fight. We will either see a Corrales victory or the second chapter of a great trilogy.
