Diego Chico Corrales appreciation thread

[NiGe2011]

Going to go to bed now. But what I really want to do is stay up all night and talk with others about Diego's life and what he meant to the sport. But good sense must prevail and I must get up for work in the morning. But I just wanted to reiterate one more time how GREAT it is in the dark and sad moment that there is a ray of light in the way of so many people showing how Diego touched the sport of boxing, and thus in his own way, touched their lives.

Thank you so much Diego. From all of us. And we will all miss you.

[The Fix]

nice touch putting chico on the top banner over feedback.

[MartyJannetty]

Diego Corrales: A True Warrior

Up until that fight in May of 2005, I would consider myself a casual fan of the sport of boxing.

Sure, I watched all of the HBO and Showtime cards, caught the big names on PPVs when I could, watched ESPN fights when it was a name I recognized, watched The Contender. But I was not yet a die-hard boxing fan.

My older brother, Mario, who is a writer for 15rounds.com, has always been die hard and had been telling me this was a fight I needed to see. I did not know much about either fighter, although I had seen Corrales fight on the undercard of James Toney-Evander Holyfield in his loss on cuts to Joel Casamayor, and he did impress me.

Through On Demand I saw the Corrales-Freitas fight. Again I left impressed and was very excited to see Corrales step in the ring with a guy who had never been down in his career and had a great pedigree.

I wasn't expecting the fight to meet my expectations. But from the opening bell, I knew I was watching something special. The fight had everything. It was a brawl, yet tactical. Both fighters showed tremendous amounts of heart and will. Each round was close with each fighter having their moments. There was a lot on the line and both guys were willing to give it everything in order to be named the winner. At the end of each round I literally had goosebumps. I had never seen a fight quite like this. I had yet to see Gatti-Ward or Hagler-Hearns, so I was not used to this kind of war.

Round by round, my mouth never closed, my jaw stayed dropped. Castillo was cut bad, and Corrales' eyes were merely slits.

Then, in round ten, Castillo landed quite possibly one of the most perfect left hands I had ever seen, even more devastating due to the fact that Corrales stepped right into it. Corrales getting up at all was a true test to his heart. Not a half minute later he was down again, mouthpiece on the ground, and I thought it was over. He got up again, and Joe Goosen, his trainer, told him he needed to get back in there.

Corrales did just that, and while still mentally not there he landed some hellacious blows, stunning Castillo. He got Castillo against the ropes and landed a flurry that most definitely had Castillo out on his feet, and referee Tony Weeks stopped the fight.

I could not believe my eyes of what I had just seen. I asked myself, "Is this what I have been missing for all these years?"

Ever since that fight, I have watched any form of boxing I could get my hands on. I have gotten ahold of many of the major fights of the last twenty-five years, including fights overseas. I have finally seen Gatt-Ward, Hagler-Hearns, Jirov-Toney, Holyfield-Qawi, Holyfield-Bowe, and had been able to see Monshipour-Sithchatchawal, and as amazing as those fights were, nothing will ever have the effect that watching Corrales-Castillo live on television did.

I owe my allegiance to the sport to both fighters, but especially Corrales. His showing in that fight, especially that 10th round, showed me what heart really is. I have seen that fight dozens of times and every time I still cannot believe what I am seeing.

Although Corrales' career did not end on a high note, having lost his last three fights, he will always be remembered as one of the true warriors of the sport. He never quit, he always pressed the action, he never backed down even after being put on the seat of his pants numerous times. Even though I do not consider him an all-time great, and he has had some things in his personal life that I don't agree with, I can only remember Corrales as the guy who made me the fan I am today.

Thank you Diego, and may you rest in piece.

[Technical_Skill]

Im not just upset in the boxing sense of things

what i cant handle about life is the fact that anyone of us can go at any min, thats what was shown today,

When its your time to go, you go.

Its very saddening, we waste so much time preparing for the future and not enjoying life,

When there is no guarantee any of us will wake up tommorow.

[PBF G.O.A.T]

R.I.P Chico Corrales

Diego Corrales, a former world champion boxer who scored one of the most memorable knockouts in boxing history, died Monday in a three-vehicle accident near his Las Vegas home.

Corrales was driving a 2007 Suzuki 1000 motorcycle, traveling northbound on Fort Apache Road in the southwest part of the city, when it inexplicably struck the back of a 1997 Honda Accord, Las Vegas police spokesman Sgt. Tracy McDonald said.

McDonald said the motorcycle careened into the southbound lane and, at some point, he was tossed off the bike.


A 2004 Mercedes-Benz traveling in the southbound lane was unable to brake in time. McDonald said the driver, who was not identified, "was unable to avoid striking the motorcycle and possibly the operator of the motorcycle also."

"Diego Corrales lived an 'X Games lifestyle,' " his promoter, Gary Shaw said. "He was a true warrior. He did everything hard and fast. He loved anything to the extreme. He was the kind of guy in the ring you never had to worry about quitting. I don't know how many times he would say, 'They'll have to kill me first.' "

Corrales' wife, Michelle, who is seven months pregnant, was on the scene and identified the body shortly after 11 p.m. PT. The accident occurred at approximately 7:30 p.m. McDonald said there was no outward evidence of drugs or alcohol involved.

He could not say how fast the motorcycle was traveling.

"There is still a lot of evidence to go through," McDonald said.

Corrales, who was 40-5 and held world championships in both the junior lightweight and lightweight divisions, was the victor in one of the most storied bouts in the sport's history.

On May 7, 2005, he and Jose Luis Castillo engaged in a toe-to-toe slugfest for nine rounds at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Twice Castillo knocked down Corrales in the 10th round and appeared on the verge of knocking him out.

But Corrales arose after the second knockout and fought back with a fury, and he wound up stopping Castillo in what would become the 2005 Fight of the Year. It also would be his last victory.

"No one who ever saw that fight will ever forget it," Shaw said. "There weren't that many people in the arena that night, but I know there are hundreds of thousands of people who now say they were there because that was one of those nights. He belongs in the Hall of Fame based on that fight alone."

In a June 2, 2006, story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Corrales spoke of his love of extreme sports. He told a story of jumping from a plane at 14,000 feet, snowboarding on rocky terrain and scuba diving with a school of sharks.

He said he liked the rush he got from those types of sports.

"I'm only young once, and unless someone hasn't told me something yet, I only get to live once," Corrales told the Review-Journal. "If I couldn't do this stuff now, stuff I always wanted to do, I would never get a chance to do it."

The father of five children, Corrales struggled through the last part of his life. He had financial difficulties and used part of a signing bonus he had received from Golden Boy Promotions to pay back taxes he owed.

However, Golden Boy was seeking the money back because it turned out he was not free to sign with the company and still was under contract to Shaw. As Yahoo! Sports reported last week, Corrales had signed a legal document promising to repay the money.

The knockout win over Castillo turned out to be the last of his career. He was knocked out in the fourth round of the Oct. 8, 2005, rematch with Castillo, a bout marked by a controversy when Castillo failed to make the lightweight division limit of 135 pounds.

Corrales agreed to fight at 147 pounds so as not to disappoint fans who had purchased tickets. But Castillo then failed to make weight for a planned June 3, 2006, rubber match, and that bout was canceled.

Corrales then didn't make weight for an Oct. 7, 2006, bout with Joel Casamayor and wound up losing his title on a split decision. In his last bout, on April 7, he was soundly beaten in a welterweight match by Joshua Clottey.

"He gave every ounce of himself every time he was in there," his manager, James Prince, said. "He was a fearless guy, and I'll always remember how hard he fought no matter what the circumstances."

[SnoopySmurf]

[Rudyo]

I will never forget what Shaw said when he went back to the corner, classic stuff.

R.I.P. Diego "Chico" Corrales

[Pugilistic™]

what a fight that was man

[micky_knox]

this is so sad

[cortdawg25]

God bless you Chico...