BOXING writing

Okay, so my quest to become a fairly decent boxing writer continues. Since I am in NYC this summer I figure it is a pretty good time to try to make some of the dreams happen before school starts again. Here is another article that I wrote up a while back and just have not posted until now. Again, I am looking for any opinions that can be offered- so don't be afraid to speak up! PS- Need any extra writers BoxingScene? ----------------------------------------------- CORRALES AND CASTILLO CREATE THEIR MASTERPIECE Nicholas George, 05-10-05 When Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo faced off on May 7'th experts and casual fans alike predicted a battle. But nobody was able to predict the masterpiece that these two warriors of the ring would create for the half filled Mandalay Bay crowd, and thousand others watching on TV. If ever there were a fight that was guaranteed to stand the test of time and go down in boxing history as an all-time classic it was this one. From the get go the fighters attacked each other with such a tenacity that ensured the fight was going to be a war. Most had predicted that Corrales would try to use his superior boxing skills to try and control the fight from the outside. They should have listened a little more closely to ‘Chico’ in the weeks leading up to the fight. Corrales repeatedly said that both men would be in the center of the ring trading their best shots with one another, a strategy that the majority of fight-fans thought would put him at a sizeable disadvantage. Apparently Diego didn’t get the memo. There were also many ringside experts who claimed that Castillo would not be able to take Corrales’ best shots for more then a few rounds. Castillo did not seem to share this belief, as he too was eager to press the action from the very opening bell. Essentially, both of these courageous warriors made a conscious decision to make this fight as entertaining as it could be, both would come forward and take the fight to the other until somebody could do it no longer. The result was simply breathtaking. Over the course of nine brutal rounds both men would have their moments, both fighters repeatedly hurting the other. When Castillo had his knees buckled by Corrales on numerous occasions he would respond each time by gritting his teeth, ducking his head, and coming back swinging. Corrales would display the same sheer will and tenacity by responding from multiple moments when he appeared stunned by Castillo. He would repeatedly survive each encounter by returning fire of his own, and coming out next round stronger then he had in the one before. Both fighters would be maimed as the frenetic violence would take its tole on their bodies. In the fourth round Castillo would have a cut opened over his left eye by what referee Tony Weeks ruled as a clash of heads, over the remainder of the fight blood would drip from the left side of his face. By the end of the ninth round Corrales’ own left eye would be swollen to the point where sight through it was out of the question. Yet neither fighter would give, each refused to slow their pace, neither would cease coming forward. It was such a brutal pace that something had to give. And in the tenth round it finally did when a perfectly placed left hook by Castillo deposited Corrales on the canvas. Spitting out his mouth guard Corrales arose at the count of eight. When the action resumed Castillo would pick up where he had left off, showering Corrales with power shots. Corrales would again taste the canvas as a result of what he would describe as an “accumulation of punishment”. Again the mouth guard would come out giving ‘Chico’ valuable seconds to gather his senses, but it would cost him a point deduction from Weeks, and with it likely any chance of winning a decision. When Corrales’ trainer, Joe Goosen, put the mouth guard back in, he would inform his fighter it was time to knock Castillo out. Corrales was known for his heart, and his ability to rise from the canvas, but at this moment he seemed to be at the foot of a mountain that was just too high to climb. But Corrales would do the impossible, stunning the attacking Castillo and forcing him to stop in his tracks. Soon it would be Castillo who was on the ropes, eyes rolled back in his head, taking multiple unanswered shots to the head. Weeks had seen enough, and he jumped in to bring the action to a stop. Castillo would never go down, and there was no more fitting an end for the fighter who had never tasted the canvas. Out on his feet, but still refusing to give in even as the fight was stopped, a final act of defiance. People are always wary of applying the term “classic” to a bout, but Corrales and Castillo would leave no question. Throughout the fight you never had a chance to think, every second of every round bringing glorious tension and violence as the men teetered back and forth on the edge of destruction. Even between rounds you would be watching closely, to see if Castillo’s cut had worsened, if Corrales’ eye would continue to swell, what the trainers would tell their weary fighters. It was not until hours after this bloody encounter that your mind could stop racing and you could reflect on how truly great it had been. If Castillo and Corrales had created their masterpiece using paintbrushes instead of tightly laced gloves it would be hanging in a museum somewhere right now. But since this is boxing and not painting the fight can linger only in our memories, though these two warriors ensured that it would stay there and be discussed for decades to come. Corrales’ might have said it best when he insisted that he go and congratulate Castillo claiming that this was “about Mexican pride”. And on this Cinco de Mayo when Castillo would take the post-fight stand swollen beyond recognition, and Corrales would have to be helped to the podium by his trainers, it was clear that pride had ruled here- the wounds each man bore were a sign of its passage. There are precious few occasions today when boxing fans have the opportunity to gloat over their loyalty to the sport, but this was surely one of them. Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales, both warriors of their trade, deserve our most heartfelt thanks for providing it. The only question that remains is; when will they do it again?