By Sammy Rozenberg
The "weight" is over for Joel Casamayor (34-3-1, 21KOs), as he defeats rival Diego Corrales (40-4, 33KOs) by way of a split-decision to become the new WBC lightweight champion. and gets his career back on track in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After Corrales was unable to make the weight limit of 135 pounds, weighing in at 140 pounds and the fight was changed to a welterweight limit of 147, many Casamayor supports feared that their fighter would be outsized in the fight. That was not the case. the weight played absolutely no hand in the outcome.
Their first meeting was a war, with Casamayor winning by way of a six round TKO. The rematch was a tactical battle that saw Corrales win a split decision. The third meeting was mixture of the first two meetings.
The fight began with a tactical bout, both men feeling each other out with jabs and movement. In the fifth round, Casamayor was pushed down and the referee counted the fall as a knockdown, which only seemed to anger Casamayor. In the seventh round, a fight broke out as both fighters began to let their hands go.
It appeared that Corrales was never able to hurt Casamayor, or stop his left hand that landed often. The movement, left hands and body work of Casamayor seemed to be the difference in the fight.
The scores were 114-113 for Corrales, 115-112 for Casamayor and 116-111 for Casamayor.
Joel Casamayor had no issues making the lightweight limit, even at 35-year-old, and should be considered one the best, if not the best lightweight among the current crop of lightweight fighters.
IBF lightweight champion Jesus Chavez, WBA title holder Juan Diaz, Julio Diaz, Zahir Raheem and Jorge Barrios are the top names at the weight. Casamayor has more than enough ability to beat any of them.
The most lucrative bout would be against Juan Diaz, now signed with Don King, but it's not likely that the young fighter will want to tangle with Casamayor in the near future.
At the late stage of his career, Casamayor is going to target the big money fights. The win over Corrales brings his career back from the bottom of the pit. Usually on the end of a disputed decision, Casamayor finally gets the nod from the judges in a close fight.
One thing is certainly for sure, Diego Corrales will never fight as a lightweight again. After nearly starving himself to make the 135 pound lightweight limit, and weighing in at 140 pounds, Corrales will certainly fight as a junior welterweight in his next fight.
The junior welterweight market offers plenty of options. Corrales can face undefeated Ricky Hatton, who returns in January to the junior welterweight division. The man who was unable to make weight for their trilogy bout a few months ago, Jose Luis Castillo, is now at 140 pounds. A third fight between Castillo and Corrales is always going to sell because of the way both fighters match up in terms of their in-ring styles.
Corrales will have to wait in the wings if he wants to face either Hatton or Castillo. A deal has already been struck for Hatton and Castillo to face each other next Spring.
Hatton will be facing Juan Urango for the IBF junior welterweight title on January 13, in Atlanta, Georgia. Castillo is scheduled to appear on the undercard in his junior welterweight debut against an opponent that has yet to be announced. The card will be televised by HBO.
Should both of them be successful, they will face off against one another in the main event of an HBO pay-per-view event.
Junior Witter, who holds the WBC title at 140, is always there as an option, but holds very little in terms of being a marketable fight in the United States.
Other options include Ricardo Torres, Paul Malignaggi, Vivian Harris, DeMarcus Corley and Mike Arnaoutis.
The more profitable path, and also the most dangerous, is a move to the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, where the financial options are in plentiful. Corrales has been dreaming of rematch with Floyd Mayweather. Unless he is willing to take the risk of moving up to 147, the rematch with Mayweather will never materialize.
After the fight with Casamayor was over, Corrales was unsure if he was going to continue with his career.
On the undercard:
IBF/IBO flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan (27-0, 21KOs) brawled his was to a six round technical decision over Filipino boxer Glenn Donaire (16-3, 9KOs). Donaire was decked in the fourth round, but was able to survive to the sixth round. After Donaire claimed to have a broken jaw from a clash of heads, the bout was stopped by the ring doctor. The scores were 60-53 on all three cards, all for Darchinyan.
Super flyweight Nonito Donaire (16-1, 9KOs) won an easy twelve round decision over Oscar Andrade (35-25-1, 18KOs) The scores were 118-109, 116-111, 116-111, all for Donaire. Andrade was dropped in the second round.
Jorge Lacierva (36-6, 21KOs) stopped Leivi Brea in the fifth round.
