Castillo knocks out Corrales; paves way for Part III

Ringside report by Mike Sloan, Victor Perea & Sean Wippert

photos by Chris Cozzone
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Could the unthinkable become a reality? Was it possible that Diego "Chico" Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo could not only replicate but surpass the sheer brilliance that was their epic May 7 encounter of earlier this year?

Entering Saturday night's highly-anticipated rematch between the two lightweights at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas, such questions were asked throughout the boxing world as experts and fans alike wondered if the magnificence that was Corrales/Castillo I could be re-invented.

Their initial encounter has been dubbed the fight of the new millennium and many involved within the Sweet Science have likened the legendary showdown as quite possibly the finest example of fistic brilliance in the sport's lengthy history. Such lofty and colorful words have been used to describe the beautiful butchery that took place back in May but even if one would use Webster's Dictionaries and Thesauruses, there aren't enough words in any language that could encapsulate their first war.

The lightweight division has had its share of legendary battles throughout the years, but even boxing historians have a difficult time in mustering a fight from the good ol' days that equals, let alone eclipses, the monumental first showdown between Corrales and Castillo. Constant re-airings of their first brutal war loop seemingly endlessly on Showtime and the eagerly-awaited rematch has enjoyed much pre-fight hype on ESPN's SportsCenter, among others, during the last few weeks.

Corrales and Castillo had their work cut out for them if there was ever to be a better battle than when they electrified the boxing world almost exactly five months previous. Most expected that the taller, lanky Corrales would utilize his height and reach advantage this time around and try to out-box Castillo, but once the opening bell tolled to kick off the contest, the two warriors collided in mid ring like two stock cars immersed within a demolition derby.

There would be no counter punching from the outside and the fight wouldn't last nearly as long as most hoped. In fact, the tussle ended emphatically less than a minute into the fourth round when "Chico" was counted out by referee Joe Cortez.

To say the least, Corrales/Castillo II failed to live up to Part One. But the fight wasn't without drama, excitement and a spectacular finish. Everything that formulates an exhilarating battle between two elite fighters was on hand; it's just that tonight's fight ended too soon and it was decidedly a bit one-sided compared to their first encounter.

Castillo willingly welcomed Corrales into a virtual phone booth war and while Corrales did land his fair share of hooks and uppercuts, the shorter more bullish Castillo pecked away with sneaky left hooks and sizzling uppercuts. Castillo was momentarily rocked in the second round, but that was truly the only time "El Terrible" was in any danger during the contest. Castillo staggered Corrales in the third with a straight hand and then finished the job the following round. It was a picture perfect semi left hook/left uppercut that crashed heavily onto Corrales' jaw, sending the world recognized lightweight champion sprawling onto the canvas.

Corrales laid on the mat for a few seconds and eventually crawled onto his gloves and knees, but by the time Chico picked himself totally up off the floor, Cortez had already reached the count of ten. Corrales stumbled into the ropes in his own corner, an impactful vision of defeat at the hands of a nemesis he so dramatically stopped when they first met.

The official time of the knockout came at just :47 into the fourth round and it was the only time in Corrales' career where he was convincingly stopped. His previous losses to former champion Joel Casamayor and pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather were considered debatable, but this time Diego was knocked fully out. It was sweet revenge for the Mexico native, a former champion who had sought revenge after he succumbed to Corrales' miraculous comeback stoppage in May.

"He's a great champion, a true champion," Castillo said afterward. "He was very strong tonight but I knew I could beat him. He got me the first time and now I got him this time. There is no questioning this one."

The outcome of the fight almost automatically sets the stage for a rubber match, a third fight that Corrales handler Gary Shaw claims will happen sometime in early 2006. There was a rematch clause in the contract provided that Corrales lost and according to the loquacious promoter, the option will be exercised to the fullest. The third fight, Shaw insisted, will be held at a contracted weight of 135 pounds, a weight that Castillo couldn't make on the day of the weigh-in on three separate attempts to the scales.

"I am not going to muck up his win whatsoever," a disappointed Corrales said in the moments following his heart-breaking loss. "I am not going to try and make an excuse about a supposed weight advantage he may or may not have had. I won't do that to him because he earned the win. I made a dumb mistake by dropping my right hand and he took advantage with a great punch."

There were rumors floating around in the days and weeks leading up the successor of 2005's Fight of the Year that if Corrales would duplicate his magnificent feat, he might lace up with arch rival Mayweather sometime next year. Such a super fight is now put on ice indefinitely as Corrales now has to play the role of Castillo; trying to avenge a knockout loss and reinstate himself as the world's best.

Arce makes short work of Hussein

by Victor Perea

Just a few days prior to tonight's fight, WBC interim flyweight champion, Jorge Arce 41-3-1 (30), sat down with Fightnews and told us all about his future plans. Everything ranging from a possible fight with undefeated WBC light flyweight champion Brian Viloria, to plans for his reality series Dancing for a Dream. In all reality, Arce spoke very little about his rematch with Australian Hussein "Hussy" Hussein, and many people took that as Arce being overconfident and looking too far down the road, at a time where he should have his full attention to the two fisted matter at hand. Apparently Arce must have known in his head, what we found out tonight.

"I'm the best 112lb fighter out there," said a victorious Arce after defeating Hussein by second round TKO victory. "I don't know what happened. My fist just touched him and he went down, am I ready for the best, bring on the best"

At Wednesday's press conference Arce told Fightnews that he wanted to win this rematch quicker and more convincingly, something he was amazingly able to accomplish tonight in Las Vegas. From the very beginning of the fight, Arce was the obvious aggressor. Not every punch he threw was backed with all his power, but his consistent jab commanded ring control, and was occasionally followed by a straight right. Only halfway through the first round, Arce's constant jab and quick feet opened up a window for a huge overhand right that sent Hussein crashing hard on to the canvas. Hussein who lost to Arce in March of this year, rose from the ground and seemed ready to continue; however his inactivity throughout the fight may have been signs that he still had images of the pounding he received in March haunting him.

Hussein used holding techniques very early in the fight even before he was dropped by Arce who moved around Hussein with little effort and landed three punch combinations as he went around. Midway through the second round he backed Hussein into the ropes and unleashed what seemed to be an endless array of body shots.

Hussein made it off the ropes and managed to stay on his feet crossing the ring to escape Arce's hail of punches. Shortly after getting off the ropes, Hussein was met by Arce's loaded left hook, which was so brutal you would have thought it came from Jeff Lacy not 112lb Arce. Hussein's feet lifted off the ground out from under him, and sent him down for the last time. Shortly after making it up to beat the 10 count, Hussein's trainer, Jeff Fenech ended the fight in the same manner as the first battle between the two, throwing in the towel at 2:50 of the second round. Saving his fighter from receiving any additional consequences of staying in the ring with Arce.

Fenech was taunted by some in the crowd for stopping the fight so early on, yelling at him that he did not give Hussein a chance to make a stand or comeback. However, Fenech knows his fighter better than anybody else present, and believes he made the right decision

Jorge Arce said he will wait for the result of WBC flyweight champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam when he takes on Daisuke Naito of Japan on October 10; if Wonjongkam retains his belt Arce would be his next mandatory contender.

"I will fight anybody, I will beat anybody, I will fight Wonjongkam in his own house if he wants, I will knock him out," said Arce. "No matter what happens with that, I will fight Rosendo Alvarez before I move up in weight." After his performance tonight I am more than sure promoter Bob Arum will grant Arce's wish and "show him the money." As long as he is putting on shows like he has so far this year, the bright lights of Vegas will always welcome Jorge Arce back for more.

Chavez, Jr. scores fifth round stoppage over Stiers

by Mike Sloan

Young Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. took his sweet time in picking apart the rugged Jeremy Stiers and eventually stopped him in the fifth round. Stiers proved to be a much tougher test for Chavez then most expected, but Chavez still wound up passing the exam with nothing less than flying colors. A vicious body assault, a trademark from the Chavez heritage, slowly eroded the stamina of Stiers and as the rounds wore away, it was obvious that it would be just a matter of time before the Kansas City, MO, native folded.

Chavez showed poise and patience when the pesky Stiers wouldn't give in during the first four rounds, but a searing left hook from Chavez, followed by a lethal body attack, paved the way toward victory in the fifth. Stiers hunched over from a stinging right hand and once Chavez smelled blood, he rushed in for the kill. Stiers backed himself along the ropes and Chavez pummeled his helpless adversary, punctuating the assault with another sinister right cross. Referee Richard Steele quickly leaped in and rescued Stiers from further abuse. The official time of the stoppage came at :47 into the round, awarding Chavez with another victory.

Chavez, from Culiacan, Mexico, improved to 23-0 after scoring his 18th knockout and he appears destined for at least moderate greatness. Time will tell, obviously, exactly how far the junior Chavez will go, but Top Rank is pushing him along at an expected snail's pace. He is still very young and needs to still fine tune his abilities, but now that he is nearing his 25th professional bout, it shouldn't be long before the competition level for Chavez increases. Obviously he shouldn't be thrown in with the elite of the junior welterweight class anytime soon, but opponents not from the Midwest should hopefully surface within the ring opposite of Chavez eventually.

For his efforts, the game but seriously out-gunned Stiers fought hard but wound up dipping to a respectable 9-5 with 6 KOs. Stiers is the perfect opponent for Chavez right now; he's tough, can take a punch and isn't too overly skilled to exploit the weaknesses that Chavez possesses. Hopefully within the next year or so, the boxing world can be treated to a showcase featuring Chavez against someone within the top twenty-five or thirty.

Pacquiao upsets Hernandez, who cries 'Robbery!'

by Victor Perea

Carlos "El Famoso" Hernandez 41-6-1 (24) came into Saturday night's fight versus Bobby Pacquiao 26-11-3 (11), as one of the heaviest favorites on the card. The former world Champion was looking to once again make a name for himself in the boxing world, wanting to put himself in position to battle for a piece of what is arguably the most competitive weight division in boxing. With almost half of today's pound for pound best fighters listed as super featherweights, the division has more champions than seems possible.

To get himself back in the mix, Carlos Hernandez needed an impressive win over someone often referred to as a journeyman, Bobby Pacquiao. Although very few ringside observers would tell you Hernandez was impressive, most made it clear that they at least thought he won. In a somewhat controversial split decision, Hernandez failed to show two out of three judges enough impressiveness to even win the fight.

Hernandez believes he won the fight outright, "I won the fight, the people know it."

Lack of effective aggressiveness is very likely what left Hernandez without a victory. Hernandez started out slowly. It seemed that he was feeling out Pacquiao, timing his heavily thrown punches. Unlike Pacquiao, Hernandez was very limited in throwing his jab throughout the first round. Pacquiao had control of the fight moving around the ring and throwing jab after jab and behind it a straight left all of which found a home somewhere on Hernandez. A booming right uppercut landed clean sending momentum down Pacquiao's side, as he continued to move and throw, very actively and effectively landing his punches, to win the first round.

Hernandez was quick to answer the bell for the second round, not waiting for Pacquiao as much, it seemed as if he wanted to take the fight to Pacquiao, but he was met by more jab-straight left action that stopped him from doing so. Hernandez countered Pacquiao's flurries with body punches in numbers until the last seconds of round two, when Pacquiao landed an unstoppable left hook to the head; a clean shot that sent Hernandez stumbling back onto the ground. Hernandez was able to get up in time to beat the 10 second count, and end the 2nd round.

A frail and wobbly Hernandez came out for the third and was met by non stop action from Pacquiao, who was looking to end the fight. As the round wore on Pacquiao started to show signs of wearing out from throwing so many punches. Pacquiao had covered Hernandez in a blanket of punches up to this point in the fight, and was losing his accuracy as the fight continued. Hernandez seemed surprised by the fight he had in front of him, as if he never expected it to play out like it was.

With his face starting to swell and his nose clearly bleeding, Hernandez managed to storm back into the fight landing multiple right hands to finish a hard to score third round.

Pacquiao ate 9 or 10 good overhand rights over the next two rounds, some that left people wondering how he stayed on his feet. Strong enough to stay up and take the punishment, Pacquiao was clearly out of gas for the majority of the next three rounds. As if to completely do the opposite of what he accomplished in the first three rounds, Pacquiao was throwing fewer punches that carried much less power than they did in previous rounds, all allowing Hernandez to gain precious points. Pacquiao seemed to have lost the energy to move around the ring as he was successfully doing earlier in the fight.

Midway through the fight Hernandez was almost even on my scorecards after battling back from the beating he took in the beginning of the fight. Hernandez continued to land overhand rights sparingly as he complained of Pacquiao leading with his head, something Pacquiao was warned about. Pacquiao landed a huge straight left that could have evened up the round as it came to a close.

At late point in the fight many ringside observers believed Pacquiao had failed to win a round since the third. With Pacquiao out of gas, Hernandez abandonned his plan to end the fight, and his sense of urgency was thrown out as he seemingly was content with mimicking the inactive pace of Pacquiao. Hernandez threw more punches through the end of the fight, but very few of them had any power.

Pacquiao battled through most of the last two rounds, with a newfound burst of energy and determination looking to score another much needed knockdown. Pacquiao landed a whaling right hand the biggest punch of the tail end of the fight. Hernandez countered every time Pacquiao threw a punch as both fighters seemed to swing only when provoked by the other. Both fighters seemed frustrated as the fight drew to a close. Hernandez, tired of Pacquiao's clinching, continued to push Pacquiao on the back of the head, until at one point in the 10th round he pushed Pacquiao halfway through the ropes. With only seconds left in the fight, Hernandez finished the fight by throwing punches, as Pacquiao clinched him hoping that his domination in the early rounds, and late surge were enough to win the battle.

The final bell rung, sending Pacquiao with his head down, seemingly to be consoled in his corner, as Hernandez was raised victoriously by his team as they waited for the decision. Hernandez celebration was short lived as it was announced the judges had reached a split decision. Scores were read 97-92 for Hernandez, 95-94 and 95-93 for Pacquiao. The decision sent the mostly Hispanic crowd into frenzy, unwilling to accept the judges' decision. Most ringside observers had Hernandez winning the fight by a small or fair margin, myself included.

Buendia halts Guereca in 4th, looks impressive

by Mike Sloan

In what was the evening's lone "official" welterweight bout, upcoming prospect Juan Buendia was hoping to keep his unbeaten record alive against the gritty Bernardo Guereca. And once the fight began, it seemed apparent that "El Carnicero" was going to accomplish his pre-fight mission. Guereca stood his ground for as long as he could, but the Albuquerque, NM, native was in over his head.

Buendia, from Durango, Mexico, took his time in picking apart his out-gunned foe, systematically wearing him down with slick uppercuts on the inside and counter left hooks from a distance. Guereca was wobbled at least once in every round, but the tough competitor never left his feet. Buendia patiently awaited for the openings in Guereca's defense to unfold and when he did, he capitalized in droves. Buendia wound up staggering Guereca badly early in the fourth round and after a few more crisp shots were planted Guereca's jaw, referee Richard Steele jumped in and stopped the mugging.

The official time of the stoppage came at 1:07 of the fourth, allowing the promising Buendia to improve to 11-0 by scoring the sixth knockout of his career. The sparse crowd booed Steele's decision to call off the action, but Steele's decision was correct; there is no need for a fighter to take unnecessary punishment. For his efforts, Guereca dropped to 14-6-1 with 3 KOs.

Reyes edges Cabrera

by Victor Perea

In a 10 round lightweight bout, Oxnard California's Rolando Reyes 26-3-2 (8), edged out a decision win over lightly regarded Ivan Cabrera 11-6-1 (3) of Mexico City, Mexico.

Reyes has now won his last 5 fights, Cabrera loses his fourth fight in six outings.

Reyes who did not put his NABO lightweight title on the line, almost had Cabrera out in the second round after landing a right hook, left uppercut combination, somehow Cabrera not only managed to stay on his feet but also managed to finish the round.

The much more experienced Reyes seemed to lose confidence as the fight continued allowing Cabrera to unload on him with body shots while on the ropes. Cabrera was swinging away at Reyes with hard body shots until a big overhand right from Reyes back Cabrera off.

Reyes backed himself into the corner on several occasions throughout the fight, seemingly allowing the outmatched and outgunned Cabrera to stay in the fight. Cabrera's defense and aggressiveness managed to win him one of the judges scorecards. Reyes finally took control of the fight again in the last 2 rounds of this 10 round affair, landing over a dozen straight shots on Cabrera. Several of those shots were right hooks that shook Cabrera who began to clinch, as they were separated 2-3 times, each time Reyes picked up were he left off.

The beginning of the tenth round proved too much for Cabrera who to this point had been all heart, as Reyes landed a full bodied straight right. The solid right immediately put Cabrera on one knee and left Cabrera throwing even less powerful punches to end the fight.

Judges Scorecard Read: 96-94 for Cabrera 96-93 and 97-92 for Reyes.

Santos outslugs Yelgon, stops him in 1st

By Sean Wippert

Undefeated jr welterweight Americo Santos of Garland, TX, looked to be hungry for yet another notch on his unmarred record and he succeeded in doing so by blistering Jeremy Yelton of Charleston, SC. Santos came out of his corner quickly and went on the offensive, attacking his foe from the outset. He decided that throwing body shots was the best way to go. He started low and wound up a few times ending with a cross or two that landed well. Yelton, not to be outdone, returned good fire. The action was heated to say the least, until Santos put together yet another good combination that ended everything with a heavy uppercut. The shot staggered and then dropped Yelton at the 2:40 mark of the first round. He did not get up. The win moves Santos moves up to an impressive 23-0 19 KO's while dropping Jeremy Yelton to 17-3 8 KO's.

Matirosyan obliterates Morales

By Sean Wippert

Olympian jr middleweight Vanes Matirosyan started out with an impressive amount of offense that pushed Tony Morales around the ring. Morales fought back but seemed a bit overwhelmed by Matirosyan's output as a right hook slipped in and dropped him somewhat early in the opening round. It wasn't much longer before yet another combo from Matirosyan produced a Morales standing eight count. After coming to his feet, Morales was yet again barraged by a charging Matirosyan, who clearly sensed blood and charged in for the kill. The result of the attack was a stoppage of the fight called by Referee Jay Nady. The official time was 2:37 of the first round and was ruled a TKO. The constant assault moves Vanes Matirosyan to 5-0 2 KO's and drops Tony Morales 5-3 4 KO's.

Santiago stops Young in 3!

By Sean Wippert

The opening bout of the evening featured undefeated featherweight Mario Santiago of Ponce, Puerto Rico taking on Feliberto Young of Los Mochis, MEX. Both fighters seemed to use the first few rounds to feel each other out. There were scattered skirmishes that showed promise, but nothing too damaging. The second round was highlighted by a hard left/right combination from Young that backed Santiago back a bit. The return fire from Young stopped any further advance from Santiago. Action picked up a bit in the third round as Santiago began to press the issue with a few good right hands, seizing control of the action in the process. Young countered but found himself in harm's way as yet another hard right hand found its mark. The punch dropped Young to the canvas and ended the fight as Young was unable to get up. The fight was ruled a KO at the 2:39 mark of the third round. The win moves Mario Santiago to an exceptional 12-0 6 KO's and awards Feliberto Young his first loss, dropping him to 5-1-1 4 KO's.

Bonus photos