Corrales Gets Bamboozled by Jeremy "Fasttalker" Bjornberg - 10/11/2005 It is very hard for me to believe that a class act like Jose Luis Castillo would pull off a stunt like the one committed this past weekend. Castillo had his doctor use his foot to make him lighter, because he wasn't even close to making weight. Luckily experienced commissioner Marc Ratner was wise to the scam. Castillo's excuse was that he hurt a rib and couldn't drop weight, but I feel he was in the best shape of his life. Castillo was as strong as any Junior Welterweight and he seemed to have every advantage over the brave champion Diego Corrales. Castillo knew that fan hero Corrales would never cancel the fight. Diego has the biggest heart in boxing and as a huge fan of Diego, I have also learned he loves his fans more than any star athlete out there. Corrales does all the right things and as he said, he would risk dying to make weight. It is disgusting that Castillo did this and I lost all respect for the cheater. As the fight started, I immediately noticed that Diego had absolutely no sweat on his body. It looked like he came in cold, but even after three rugged rounds, still no sweat. Castillo, however, looked perfect in every possible way. Every punch that Castillo landed hit Diego flush. Diego was fighting back but getting beat slightly. Castillo drew first blood in the second round when he nailed Corrales with a straight right hand and Diego almost hit the deck. Diego staggered back but was able to come back and return some fire. Corrales used a lot of head movement early in the first fight with Castillo, but this time around he elected to use absolutely no head movement. It ended up being a terrible plan, as he was dominated from the opening bell. The beginning of the end occurred in round 4 when Castillo stunned the brave champion with a left hook, and then finished him with a knockout of the decade type of left hook. Diego went down like a sack of potatoes and barely got up by 10, but was in no position to continue. The fight was stopped and everyone in the crowd was stunned to say the least. All 4 rounds were excellent, but we all wanted even more. Diego was crushed but he has no reason to hang his head. His bravery should be rewarded with even more fans, as he obviously took on a bigger fighter, who had every possible advantage. I have a hard time not suspecting Castillo of this in the past, he always seemed a lot bigger than his opponents. I did pick Corrales but once I watched the fiasco at the weigh-in I did smell a fix. The whole televised card was pretty entertaining. The highlight was easily entertaining 112-pound champ Jorge Arce who stopped Hussein Hussein with ease. Young stud Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. also looked pretty good, but his opponent was a tomato can. Next week features a rematch between Contender finalists Peter Manfredo and Sergio Mora. Mora beat Manfredo the first time but Peter was weak from a war he had a few days earlier. ESPN has taken over the Sly Stallone TV show, and this is their debut of the much ripped boxing reality program. |