Diego Corrales is one of the most exciting boxers of the past decade. However, after two straight losses and a failure to make weight in his last fight, Corrales jumped up two weight classes to take on a strong welterweight contender in Joshua Clottey. The fight is labeled as a welterweight bout but these two met at a catchweight of 149 lbs. The welterweight limit is 147 lbs. Clottey has only two losses, a controversial DQ against Carlos Baldomir and a unanimous decision to Antonio Margarito that saw Clottey injure his hand in the 4th round.
Diego Corrales vs. Joshua Clottey
Clottey lands some hard shots in the first round and it seems evident that Corrales will go down tonight, even if that isn’t saying much in a Corrales fight. Corrales suffered numerous knockdowns as a lightweight and moving up two weight classes isn’t going to help that trend. More of the same for Clottey in round two as they fight more on the inside and Corrales starts to bleed from the nose. It doesn’t appear as though Corrales is hurting Clottey and that’s bad news for Diego.
Corrales is doing a lot of body work in the third round and it’s a pretty good idea. He needs to slow him down somehow because Clottey is still landing some serious shots. Diego is warned for a low blow in the fourth round and he’s connected on a lot of those throughout the fight as he has targeted the body. They’re back to fighting on the inside in the fifth round and the fight is becoming reminiscent of the first Corrales/Castillo fight. Corrales gets Clottey in the corner but it’s Clottey that lands the better punches with his back on the ropes. Clottey is teeing off on Corrales and isn’t showing signs of wearing down. Corrales is in trouble.
Clottey looks to have slowed down in rounds six and seven. Corrales is consistent and staying busy throughout the rounds while Clottey is saving up for one big burst every 60 seconds. Clottey may have just taken the round off to rest for the final three rounds but the body work appears to be paying off for Corrales. Clottey knocks Corrales back a few steps at the end of round eight but he survives until the bell.
Corrales is knocked absolutely silly halfway through the ninth round. Corrales is on wobbly legs and gets a gift when Clottey pushes him down, saving him from what probably would have been a knockdown. No matter, Clottey puts Corrales down with a combination thirty seconds later. Corrales pulls, well…a Corrales, and spits his mouthpiece out to buy more time after the knockdown. Corrales has to produce a miracle in the tenth and final round.
A miracle doesn’t happen but Cottey gets another knockdown in the 10th and Corrales again spits out his mouthpiece. That earns him a point deduction. Corrales needs to get a knockout in the final minute to win but he’s managed to pull it off before. Not tonight though, as Clottey avoids Corrales to close out a terrific fight. Clottey gets the unanimous decision with scores of 97-90, 98-89, and 100-87.
This puts Diego Corrales’ future in doubt. He was considering retirement before deciding to move up to welterweight because he felt he couldn’t make 135 or 140. He deflected questions of retirement post-fight and said he would return but he wasn’t sure at what weight. If he does come back I don’t think it will be at anything other than 147 and even then he needs to pick his opponent very carefully. There’s no need for him to get in there with a stronger puncher. A fight with Paulie Malignaggi would be awesome.
Other Results From The Week
– Pongsaklek Wonjongkam successfully retained his WBC Flyweight Title, again. This time a 7th round TKO of Tomonobu Shimizu.
– Matt Godfrey scored a quick win over Felix Cora Jr in a second round TKO upset on Friday Night Fights.
– Travis Walker remained undefeated with his heavyweight win over George Garcia. Walker eked out a split decision.
– Chazz Witherspoon also kept his heavyweight record unblemished with a 7th round TKO of Charles Davis.
– Enzo Maccarinelli retained the WBO Cruiserweight Title with a first round TKO of Bobby Gunn.
Spit Bucket
Check out my review of Joe Calzaghe vs. Peter Manfredo here.
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