Castillo’s greatness eludes all Except those who fight him

Castillo’s greatness eludes all Except those who fight him by Kevin Iole (Feb 2, 2006) Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME Give us your feedback -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAS VEGAS – It was a few days before Oscar De La Hoya was to fight Shane Mosley at the Staples Center. Stevie Johnston would be defending the lightweight title on a nationally televised card the afternoon of the De La Hoya-Mosley fight. Johnston had a catchy nickname — “Lil But Bad” — a lot of talent and the full support of Top Rank, the most powerful promoter in the business. A small knot of reporters gathered around Johnston as he spoke as many successful, confident fighters do. He talked of unification bouts and high-profile showdowns, of winning bouts of historic importance. He was, you got the sense, a man who believed he was going places. A few feet away, largely ignored, Jose Luis Castillo sat quietly, playing with a small wad of tape. Fernando Beltran, the fabulous Mexican promoter, caught the attention of a reporter who had wandered away from the crush surrounding Johnston. “Here is the next Chavez,” Beltran said, a bold statement to be sure and blasphemous to those rabid Mexicans to whom Chavez was the greatest athlete in Mexican history. Julio Cesar Chavez was all but done by the summer of 2000, with only a handful of fights remaining in his remarkable career. Chavez is the gold standard by which all Mexican fighters are measured. But Chavez’ greatness extended beyond his heritage. He is rightly one of the finest boxers of any era. When Castillo heard Beltran, he looked as if he would blanch. If you were a Mexican fighter, you never tugged on Superman’s cape, you didn’t spit into the wind, you didn’t pull the mask off the Lone Ranger and you absolutely, positively never compared yourself favorably to Chavez. And if someone else did, you had better question their sanity. It’s been nearly six years since Beltran spoke those words. As it turns out, he wasn’t far wrong. Castillo’s indomitable will and vastly underrated skills have made him one of boxing’s best, if not most unappreciated, fighters. Castillo fights Rolando Reyes on Showtime on Saturday in a bout that was originally to have been his third with Diego Corrales. In the last 18 months, Castillo has fought, in order, Juan Lazcano, Joel Casamayor, Julio Diaz and Corrales. The Lazcano fight was extraordinary for its brutal nature and the first Corrales fight was simply the best bout in the last 20 years. It’s been an extraordinary run. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who have defeated Nos. 1, 2 and 3 on the road en route to the Super Bowl, haven’t done much better. And go back in Castillo’s career and you’ll see a record filled with the best and the brightest in boxing. Two bouts with Johnston. Another with Cesar Bazan and one with Cesar Soto. Two with pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. and another pair with Javier Jauregui. But get beyond the hard-core boxing fans and you have a guy that draws blank stares from most. On the night of his epic first fight with Corrales, there were fewer than 6,000 fans in attendance despite massive media coverage promising a bloodbath. His rematch with Corrales came on pay-per-view, a week after a pay-per-view between Roy Jones Jr. and Antonio Tarver. Jones was coming off back-to-back knockout losses and a less-than-convincing majority decision victory over Tarver. Jones routinely blew off press conferences and essentially did nothing to promote his fight, yet it sold twice as much as the rematch of what some have called the greatest fight of all-time. And Rodney Dangerfield complained about a lack of respect? Even a lot of boxing fans couldn’t pick his picture out of a police lineup, yet he’s definitely a guy you don’t want to meet in a dark alley. His lack of recognition is largely because of what he is not. He is not a telegenic, fast-handed boxer like Mayweather or a fearsome one-punch knockout artist like Corrales. He’s not quick with a quip and he’s hardly boastful. Everything about Jose Luis Castillo is ordinary, expect when it comes to his surgical ability to break down a fighter to the body. Mike McCallum earned a spot in the Hall of Fame as well as the catchy nickname, “The Body Snatcher,” with his ability to win fights with a body attack. McCallum, though, was no better at going to the body than Castillo. He’s like rolling thunder, relentlessly moving forward. He’ll fight Reyes, a tough, professional fighter who, like Castillo himself, is vastly underrated. The problem for Reyes is that while boxing fans and the media may underestimate him, Castillo will not. It’s not his style. Reyes, I’m afraid, is in for a long night. He’s going to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday with slits for eyes and aches on every muscle in his body. And Castillo will quietly cross the border and return home. But this time, if someone compares him to Chavez, he won’t have to apologize. He’s that good. He may not be the best Mexican fighter ever — and, please, I’m not trying to debate who is — there aren’t many who were ever better.