By Rick Reeno
This Saturday night, two fighters come from under the shadow of Floyd Mayweather Jr. to battle in what should be a fight of the year candidate. Diego Corrales was an unstoppable force for a better part of his career, his freaklike physical attributes had many experts comparing him to the second coming of Tommy Hearns. Standing close to 6 feet tall and weighing only 130 pounds, Corrales had size and strength advantages over most if not all of his opponents. Corrales was dealt two heavy blows to his career in back to back fashion. First Diego was dominated in his biggest fight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in a fight that saw Corrales taste the canvas several times until his corner stopped the fight. Following the Mayweather bout, Corrales was sent to prison for domestic abuse and most felt that we might never see Corrales at the top again.
Corrales came back to active fighting not long after his release from prison and fought 5 times in 2003, he won four by knockout and lost one to Casamayor due to cuts. In 2004, Corrales brought his career back to the top and landed a spot among boxing's pound for pound best. In early 2004, Corrales defeated Joel Casamayor in a rematch of their high pitched battle by way of a split decision, Corrales used his boxing skills instead of slugging to outbox Casamayor. Corrales followed up the Casamayor win in a very big way by beating the previously undefeated Acelino Freitas into submission. After three knockdowns, Freitas had enough and did not want to fight any further. Corrales snatched the WBO lightweight title with the Freitas win and also picked up the biggest win of his career.
Jose Luis Castillo had to fight a bit harder then Corrales to become a pound for pound caliber fighter. After being stopped in four fights, it appeared that Castillo would be another middle tier fighter. It appeared that way until he scored the upset of the year in 2000 when he decisioned Stevie Johnston, considered one of the best boxers pound for pound at the time of Castillo's win. Castillo would go on to fight Johnston to a draw in the rematch and then stopped all of his opponents until he ran into Mayweather. Castillo fought a spirited battle with Mayweather, but came up short on the score cards, some experts even felt that Castillo won the fight. The fight was so close that the two men staged a rematch. Unlike the first fight, Mayweather clearly outhustled Castillo to win their return bout. Mayweather moved up to 140 pounds and Castillo went back to dominating the lightweight division. Castillo grabbed big wins over Juan Lazcano, Julio Diaz and Joel Casamayor in order to position himself a spot on boxing's pound for pound list.
Now, the staff of BoxingScene give their picks for one of the most anticipated bouts of the year.
Matteo Alderson - It’s a tough pick; everything points to a victory for Jose Luis Castillo. He has an iron chin, he hits hard, and he has beaten the best lightweights in the world going back to his 2000 victory over Stevie Johnston. Also he should have gotten the nod in the first Mayweather fight. Just think about it, in the past year Jose has beaten Joel Casamayor and Juan Lazcano. Castillo is a bad ass plain and simple and Corrales was really rocked by Casamayor in their first fight in the fall of 2003. Still even though Castillo has been consistently successful I think that Diego Corrales is the more talented fighter and that Castillo’s struggles with the weight are going to hurt his sharpness, which is going to enable Corrales to win the fight. Seriously folks, Jose Luis has fought officially as a Junior Middleweight. Corrales by decision.
Tom Donelson - Diego Corrales has the following going in his direction. He can box and he can slug. In his second fight with Joel Casamayor, he out boxed a boxer, so he can go from Plan A to Plan B. The biggest negative is that in the big fights, he has ended up on his butt frequently. Castillo negative is that he can only fight one way. His positive is that he has a head of stone and gets stronger as the fight continues. While he may not have the one punch power of Corrales, his punches are strong enough. Corrales has to hurt Castillo early and dictate the pace from afar. As Castillo showed against other fighters including Mayweather, he will not quit. Castillo may prove too strong for Corrales in the second half of the fight. Castillo wins by decision or late round knockout.
Dr. Peter Edwards - Both men are on fire, but Chico is redhot. Corrales by a late round stoppage. Too much skill and power going for Corrales in the matchup.
David P. Greisman - Jose Luis Castillo has been active, facing high-class competition in Juan Lazcano, Joel Casamayor and Julio Diaz. Diego Corrales hasn't fought since last October, when he took down Acelino Freitas. Corrales may have ring rust, but he also has hunger, and few are doubting his ability to throw down and make a match with Castillo. Still, Castillo may be the Bernard Hopkins of the lightweight division, a smart, experienced champion who figures out a way to win, punishing his opponents in the process. It is a tough, tough fight to call, but I'm leaning towards Jose Luis Castillo by decision.
James Blears - It boils down to the good little guy against the good bigger guy. Jose Luis Castillo is naturally larger, stronger and heavier than Diego Corrales. If Corrales decides to slug it out, he'll get knocked out. The only way he could win is by using his not inconsiderable boxing talent, because Castillo although heavy handed, had style problems against Floyd Mayweather Jr, especially second time round. Fireworks could happen, but my bet is a unanimous decision for Castillo, with both fighters ending the night looking rather the worse for wear.
Jose Villegas - Corrales TKO 9: Im the world's biggest Jose Luis Castillo fan, but this is just a style nightmare for him in my opinion. Castillo is big and strong, but Corrales is even bigger and hits harder. The way to beat Corrales is to get on your feet and give him angles NOT come right at him and come right at him is exactly what Castillo is going to do. While I do think Corrales is going to win, I can almost guarantee this fight is going to be a shootout while it last. I think Corrales will get off the floor more than one time to stop Castillo late.
Sammy Rozenberg - Castillo by decision over twelve rounds. Corrales will be strong early, Castillo will come on late in to rop Corrales several times and take the decision.
T.K. Stewart - love this match-up and I believe it has potential to be FOTY - no question. I've had the pleasure and opportunity to see both guys fight in person over the course of the last four years, and consequently, I'm a big fan of both guys. I saw Jose Luis Castillo basically destroy Cezar Bazan on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather vs. Diego Corrales at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas back in January 2001. I then got to see a very good fight in March 2004 when Corrales faced Joel Casamayor for the second time at Foxwoods in Connecticut. Both guys always come to fight and this Saturday night should be no different. For a variety of reasons, I'm leaning toward the betting underdog Jose Luis Castillo as the victor in this one. Castillo represents what I love about fighters and fights. Jose Luis came up the hard way, has been a prizefighter since he was 16 years-old, turned pro in the dusty rings of Mexico, and he served an apprenticeship under the murderous left hook of Julio Cesar Chavez. The guy is a professional inside and out, backwards and forwards. I love his style, his demeanor and the fact that he never stops coming forward and throwing shots. Castillo is the physically strongest Lightweight on the planet and he just breaks opponents down.
To make a long prediction short: Corrales gets hits too much, walks into shots, is open for looping right hands, and I don't think he can take a true Lightweight's bodyshot. Don't forget, this is Corrales' first time against a true and quality 135-pounder. Acelino Freitas, who Corrales stopped in his last fight, was also coming up from 130 pounds. I don't feel "Chico" can stand up to a true Lightweight like Castillo. Jose Luis has an iron chin and I'd bet against Corrales being able to hurt Castillo enough to make him back off. Lastly, and most important, Corrales can't fight backing up - and if he tries to walk into Castillo like he did Mayweather, Casamayor and Freitas - he's likely to get beat up.
I like Castillo by stoppage after the 10th.
Rusty Rubin - Okay, the job here is to pick a winner, and it’s not an easy task. You can flip a coin and have about as good a chance of winning this one as not. I’ll take the guy with the bigger reach against the guy who may have some pretty badly cut and swollen eyes at fight's end. Corrales by a very close decision.
Ja Lang G. Greene - This is a pick em fight. How Corrales still makes this weight is remarkable. Castillo is a warrior. Great fight. Great for the sport. Look for Corrales to be strong early with crisp combinations. I think Castillo comes on and rallies late and even scores a knockdown. But I have to give the edge ... a very very very slight edge for Diego to pull this out.
Diego Corrales (Split Decision 12)
Dave Wilcox - What a great fight this should be. Will Diego's power be the difference? Will Castillo be too strong? This is a fight fan's dream in my opinion. I think the difference will be Castillo's iron jaw and stamina. Diego will land, but I don't think it will hurt Castillo. Castillo should wear him down and stop him late. I will fall short from saying Diego's chin is weak, but late in the fight it will be a factor I believe. This will be exciting while it goes. My pick- Castillo TKO by 11. It's amaxing to me that Castillo gets little fan fare to date. This fight should be his mainstream breakout and he will become the next Hispanic superstar.
Eric Rineer - That's a tough one! Two excellent fighters, both champions with a lot of heart. Without a doubt they are coming to fight and it's going to come down to which fighter is in the better shape. I'm going to go with Corrales on a unanimous decision. He rebounded nicely from his two defeats and is coming off big wins over Casamayor and Freitas. I think he continues to roll.
Pedro Fernandez - Going with age, speed, height, power...........Diego Corrales should bust Jose Luis Castillo up. Expect his power to assure the victory.
Jim Amato - Jose Luis Castillo has peaked. This should be his career defining fight. As he has matured as a fighter I see similararities between Jose and a young Julio Cesar Chavez. No he is not quite as powerful as Chavez was but he is almost as durable.
Diego Corrales is one of the hardest hitters pound for pound in boxing today. He has a good jab and although he is no Sugar Ray Robinson on his fight, he knows how to manuever around to get angles. The biggest question mark here is his chin. Floyd Mayweather Jr. did a number on him and Joel Casamayor had him down. This should be an exciting battle. The power of Corrales versus the chin and will of Castillo. I feel in the end that the chin will emerge with the win.
Rick Reeno - Castillo may have been stopped in the past, but he was never stopped above 130 pounds by knockout. Castillo, like Manny Pacquiao, grew a stronger beard as he moved up in weight. Castillo lost a few of his early fights due to the constant strain of making the weight limit. There are two things I favor in this bout, the body attack of Castillo and his chin. Both men are able to hurt the other, but I can see Castillo winning the slugging match. Given the thin waist of Corrales, Castillo's bodyshots would really do some damage. Castillo has to really keep his guard up coming forward or Corrales will put him to sleep. A very close fight, but I'm going to stick with Castillo by late round stoppage.