The Rubber Match
Most fight fans are collectively holding their breath for the next 24 hours. Can Jose Luis Castillo make the Lightweight limit of 135 lbs. for one more fight; a task that proved to be too difficult in the second chapter of the Castillo/Corrales Trilogy.
Their first fight in March of 2005 was hands down Fight of the Year, and possibly the best fight in the last 20 years. Corrales pulled out an unlikely KO victory in the 10th round after tasting the canvas twice. This fight, if you remember, was part of my top ten must haves. After not making the limit, Castillo forfeited the right to earn the Lightweight Title in their second fight, which he won with a destructive KO in the 4th.
So where do we stand now? Castillo and Corrales are both confident that JLC will make weight, but more than a handful of writers doubt it will happen. Many casual fans may ask, what’s the problem with a fighter weighing 2-4 pounds more than their competition? The problem is, most fighters will fight in a division that is at times 20 lbs. less than their actual weight, taking this into consideration, losing 16 lbs. versus 20 lbs. is a big difference in a matter of weeks…especially when most fighters don’t carry that much body fat.
The first two fights of this trilogy have been marred with controversy, whether it be the first fight where Castillo backers claimed that Corrales would spit out his mouth piece to gain more time to recover, while in the second fight Corrales backers claimed Castillo made no effort to lose the 3 ½ lbs. which would make him stronger than the dehydrated Corrales.
In the long run their will be no loser in this fight, both men have proven their marketability and will have a line of potential fights in the waiting. This fight is for Corrales’ WBC Lightweight Title. Corrales is also recognized as the Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion.
Rokk’s Prediction: Who wins this fight? Who cares! They will both fight their hardest and will put forth a helluva fight as long as it lasts. If I had to pick a guy, I would say Castillo has a bit more of an edge, but not by much. Both men hold power in both hands and are willing to trade; this is the formula for fight of the year.
Saturday evening on Showtime: WATCH THIS FIGHT! I give this fight 10 out of 10 on my scale of explosive potential.
Overseas Action
Nikolay Valuev will be facing Owen Beck for the Russian’s WBA Heavyweight Championship in a fight that isn’t get much coverage from the American press and rightfully so. Valuev earned his title by defeating John Ruiz in a slightly controversial extremely boring fight. Who wins this fight? Zzzzz, if it goes to the cards Valuev will win, Beck has no shot of getting a decision in Germany. Just line up the victor with Serguei Lyakhovich so we can start unifying these damn Heavyweight titles please!
Finals are killing me; two more days until I can burn my books (or sell them back for 1/10th of what I paid for them).
