Tales
from the Tape: Castillo-Casamayor and The Ring 135-pound title
Mark E. Ortega
Ultimateboxingresults.com
February 25, 2009
With this Saturday being the highly anticipated clash between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz for Marquez’ Ring Magazine 135-pound title (and now the WBA and WBO titles as well), I thought it would be an excellent chance to take a look back at a card featuring another fight for the 135-pound world title from a few years back between champion Jose Luis Castillo and Joel Casamayor. With Nate Campbell moving up to 140-pounds after failing to make weight a few weekends ago against Ali Funeka and Manny Pacquiao set to fight Ricky Hatton for the 140-pound world title, Marquez-Diaz has become a bout between the clearly two best fighters in the entire division.
Similarly, when Floyd Mayweather, Jr. moved up from lightweight in 2004, it made Jose Luis Castillo’s bout with Juan Lazcano not only for the vacant WBC 135-pound title, but for the vacant Ring Magazine title as well as Castillo and Lazcano were recognized as the #1 and #2 fighters in the division. Castillo won a close decision in a memorable fight, making him the recognized #1 fighter in the division. At the same time, Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor, fresh off their rematch that saw Corrales awarded with a split decision victory, were both making the move to 135-pounds instantly making it one of the hottest divisions in the sport. A string of title would go off one after another between the likes of Casamayor, Castillo, Corrales, Acelino Freitas, and Julio Diaz. Add to that the emergence of the young and exciting Juan Diaz and you had a lot of excitement being generated in one of the premiere weight classes.
Showtime Championship Boxing was behind this series of fighters more than any network, airing most of the title fights that took place at lightweight. On this particular night, December 4, 2004, Showtime also put a couple of interesting supporting bouts underneath the Castillo-Casamayor bout showcasing two emerging fighters in heavyweight Samuel Peter and newly-crowned IBF super middleweight champion, Jeff Lacy. Peter would be taking on Jeremy Williams in the first bout, while Lacy would be making the first defense of his title against tough two-time world title challenger, Omar Sheika.
Jeremy Williams is a guy you always wonder about, how he would have done had his career been managed better or if he had focused 100% on boxing. If he had made the move to cruiserweight early in his career, many thought he could have been a force there and won a belt. In his one world title attempt, in 1996 to Henry Akinwande, Williams was knocked out in three rounds and never mounted a streak worthy enough to contend for one again. In fighting Samuel Peter, 20-0 at the time, Williams could make a serious move towards another shot at the age of 32. A win would not get him one instantly, but it would be impressive. One thing about Peter, is it is hilarious to think that people believe he was 24 at this time. I just cannot believe that this man is that young, he looks old enough to be my father. Throughout his career questions about his age have been raised on various boxing message boards, and for good reason.
The first round was a rather close one, with good action happening throughout, which is odd to hear considering that it was heavyweights who were fighting. Williams did a good job of boxing, but you could see flashes where he would leave himself wide open and nearly get blasted by a big shot. This offered some foresight to what would happen in the next round.
About twenty seconds in, Peter lands an absolutely brutal wide left hook that has Williams out before his head bounces off of the canvas. The announce team goes silent for what seems like eternity, and you instantly fear for the health of Williams. Medical personnel climb into the ring and start to take precaution. Williams is sitting up without speaking or moving for a few seconds, and then thankfully answers some questions asked by the staff.
In the post-fight interview, Samuel Peter makes absolutely NO sense. Just to show you what I mean, here is word-for-word what came out of Peter’s mouth.
“First of all, I want to give praise to the almighty God, because I know the joy of the lord is my strength. Um, well I was really prepared for this fight, you know. ‘Cuz I really know, I knock Jeremy Williams. I don’t watch his tape, I don’t know anything about him because I’m a man, a real man. That’s what I said from the beginning, a real man.
I don’t watch anybody’s tape. You know when I was running, me and my coach, I told my coach, ‘When I’m on the street, I pick up two golf balls’, and I told my coach, ’I’m gonna knock this guy out.’ Ask my coach. And I said, ‘What does this mean?’ My coach has two balls and he said, ‘You see these two balls?’
Then Jim Gray cuts him off. So what I got from that at the end is that Peter has big balls, as in a lot of guts? I also love how he says he was really prepared for this fight, and immediately follows that with him saying he didn’t even watch any tape of Williams, nor does he ever watch tape because he is a real man. I think it would have served Peter some good if he watched some tape on either of the Klitschkos. When they show Peter the highlight of the knockout, he delivers again:
“Yeah the left hook is, you know, I didn’t plan a left hook. But you know, this is me, this is me, this is me. (the punch lands) That’s it, that’s what it all about. I believe he will be okay because the joy of the lord is my strength, as I was saying earlier. I want to fight Vertrilly Klitscko.”
Jim Gray looks dumbfounded and brings Jeremy Williams into the picture and asks him this brilliant question: “Hey I don’t know if you remember, were you unconscious before you hit the canvas?” He then, without hesitation, shows Williams the replay of him getting knocked silly. Jim Gray: a man of worth.
The next bout was a perceived showcase fight for emerging 168-pound force and former Olympian, Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy. Lacy had just won the IBF super middleweight title from Syd Vanderpool when he scored an eighth round TKO just two and a half months prior in only his 18th professional bout. Lacy was a belt holder who promised to be active, never sitting on his belts. He lived up to that billing, never fighting more than five months apart during his title reign. Following his loss to Joe Calzaghe he would only fight less than five months apart one time, looking unspectacular in each of those four bouts.
Omar Sheika, ironically, will be fighting in a little over three weeks against Roy Jones, Jr. in a surprising PPV-headlining bout. Entering the Lacy bout, Sheika was a winner of three straight over non-descript opposition following four straight losses (SD12 and TKOby10 to Scott Pemberton, UD12 to Eric Lucas, TKO4by Thomas Tate). Sheika had unsuccessfully challenged for a belt twice before, against Lucas and Joe Calzaghe. Lacy would be his third chance, and he promised not to waste it.
Tally another mark for fighters entering the ring to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” to two in these columns as Omar Sheika elected to make his walk to that song (Junior Jones also came out to that song against Marco Antonio Barrera in another Tales from the Tape).Sheika was proof that, in boxing, if you prove to be in exciting bouts you will get more than your fair share of opportunities (see: Arturo Gatti).
Oddly, both fighters were 27 years old. It is interesting because Lacy was on his way up and Sheika was perceivably on his way out.
Throughout the course of the first half of the fight, Sheika elected to fight in spurts, letting off four or five punch combinations and then tying up Lacy before he could do anything. Sheika was picking up a lot of the early rounds, and was landing big right hands at will. In the second round, Sheika stunned Lacy with a right hand and followed up with some left and right hooks that also got through. Sheika was also digging shots to the body, winding up as if he was throwing a haymaker in a video game. Sheika was winning his rounds big while Lacy was edging the rounds you could find for him. Through six, I had Sheika ahead 4-2 in terms of rounds.
From that point on, the fight changed momentum. Sheika was electing to trade more with Lacy rather than try and limit his output. At the end of the seventh, an insane exchange occurred that had Lacy landing the slightly better shots. Sheika wasn’t on sturdy legs to start the eighth yet was still engaging with Lacy and having his moments. Lacy edged the round again. In the ninth, Lacy started to mix his punches up and hurt Sheika. A double left hook by Lacy lands and the round again ends with an awesome exchange. At this point, Lacy had more behind his punches. The tenth round saw Lacy continue the assault, hurting Sheika but not being able to put him down. Sheika was absorbing an incredible amount of damage, which is interesting because he could not handle the same from Scott Pemberton a few fights before.
The twelfth round is the kind of final round you always hope for in close fights. Both guys came out with a complete disregard for defense, standing toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring exchanging power shots like it was the end of a Rocky film. Lacy had clearly won, but much credit was given to Sheika as well for giving a tremendous effort in the underdog role. The official scores, 115-113, 115-113, 117-111 tallied a unanimous decision for Lacy and Sheika had come very close to lifting a major belt for the first time. I had it 116-112 for Lacy as I thought he swept the final six rounds.
Joel Casamayor was coming off an incredibly boring decision victory over Daniel Seda, one of Showtime’s worst main events ever. The Seda fight was his first at 135 following his loss to Diego Corrales for the vacant WBO 130-pound title four months prior. For what he has done in the ring, Casamayor may be one of the most underappreciated elite fighters of the past few decades. He came to the United States from Cuba and quickly turned professional. He had to get to work quickly, as he did not start his pro career until he was 25 years old. Casamayor would win the interim WBA super featherweight title against Antonio Hernandez in 1999 and pick up the full version of the WBA title almost a year later from Jong-Kwon Baek. After a few defenses of his belt, a failed attempt to unify them came when he unsuccessfully challenged Acelino Freitas in January of 2002, losing by unanimous decision. A controversial win over Nate Campbell on HBO put him back in the mix, and he would beat Diego Corrales on cuts soon after to put him in line for a title shot. Instead, he fought Corrales again for the vacant WBO 130-pound title, losing by split decision. Casamayor decided at this point to move up to lightweight, and a victory over Seda later he would challenge Castillo for the recognized world title at lightweight.
Jose Luis Castillo had just established himself as the best 135-pounder in the world, but it took him 57 fights as a professional to do so. Castillo turned pro at the young age of 16, losing four bouts early in his career before getting a shot at WBC lightweight champion Stevie Johnston in June of 2000. Castillo made the most of his opportunity, winning a majority decision in Ring Magazine’s Upset of the Year. Castillo proved his merit in the rematch which ended in a draw, allowing Castillo to hold onto his title. The rematch was originally announced as a majority decision victory for Johnston, but it was later discovered that Ken Morita’s scorecard had been added incorrectly and that the fight was a draw. Castillo would not be notified this until Johnston came into his locker room to give him the belt back.
Castillo would make a few pedestrian defenses of his title before meeting Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in April of 2002. Mayweather would win a unanimous decision, although many in the boxing community thought that Castillo did enough to hand Junior his first loss. They would rematch in December with Floyd emerging with a much more clear and concise victory than he had before. Mayweather would defend the titles twice and then make the move to junior welterweight, leaving a void at lightweight that would be cleared up in a bout between Castillo and Juan Lazcano, the #1 and #2 lightweights in Ring Magazine. In an entertaining battle, Castillo would be awarded the victory and the distinction as the best fighter in the division.
The fight began at a slow pace, with Casamayor winning most of the early rounds as he would move around the ring, occasionally landing a straight left hand that would make Castillo look foolish. For the first half of the bout, Castillo did not look to even be in the same league as Casamayor. He would follow “El Cepillo” around, attempt to get inside on him, and instead get tagged by a few power shots and not have enough time to land anything in return before Casamayor would disappear out of harm’s way. Through six rounds, Castillo had maybe won two of them. The sixth round was when Castillo turned the corner, landing some premiere body shots in an attempt to slow down Casamayor. The plan worked, and the second half of the fight was much more competitive.
Casamayor was holding a little too much, and in the clinch Castillo was doing great work, firing to the body and then coming back with left and right hooks to the side of the head. Casamayor would do well for early portions of a round and then Castillo would grind him down and do enough damage to justify being awarded the round. In the ninth, Castillo would start off strong, peppering Casamayor with some big right hands. Casamayor would then land two straight lefts that would snap back Castillo’s head. Castillo ate them gladly, and I scored the round even. The championship rounds is where Castillo made an incredible run, winning all three of them on each judge’s scorecards. Casamayor seemed more inclined to war it out with Castillo, which was a strategic nightmare on his part.
At the end of the tenth, both fighters were exchanging dangerous blows with Castillo landing the better leather. The eleventh round saw both fighters take the beginning of the frame to gain some energy back. Castillo would be the first to get his second wind, going up and downstairs effectively. Castillo ripped a shot upstairs and then to the body to end the round impressively.
Heading into the final round I had the bout 5-5 with the 9th round even, meaning the fight was on the table. Castillo would land some bombs in a six-punch combination that Casamayor answered with shots in between. The last twenty seconds of the round featured some incredible action that saw Casamayor getting strafed by power shots, mainly left and right hooks upstairs. A beautiful Castillo left uppercut would force Casamayor’s mouthpiece into the bright lights, putting an exclamation point on the round in Castillo’s favor.
No one on the Showtime crew could take a guess at who would be awarded the victory, it was that close. When it came time to be announced, to nobody’s surprise it was a split decision. The first score was 116-112, in favor of Castillo. The second score was 115-113, in favor of Casamayor. The third and deciding score was a much too wide 117-111 in favor of Castillo, allowing him to retain his title.
In the post-fight interview, Castillo called for a fight against Diego Corrales in May and Tszyu in September. Thankfully for us, that fight came together and both men delivered possibly the greatest 135-pound fight in history. Castillo would never get his chance at Tszyu, as the war with Corrales demanded a rematch. By the time Castillo was done with all of that Tszyu would lose his title to Ricky Hatton and retire from the sport.
This weekend’s Marquez-Diaz bout promises to provide a lot of intensity and some fireworks are likely. I favor Diaz by decision, but can see the fight playing out many different ways. In other words, this isn’t one I would bet on. In opening bout action, Chris John travels to the United States for the first time as he defends the featherweight title he won from Marquez against local attraction, Rocky Juarez. If Juarez can fight like he did at the end of the Barrios fight, this is winnable. If he decides to not fire any punches like he has done in all of his losses, you can chalk up a loss barring a hometown decision much like the one he nearly got against Barrios. Either way, Saturday promises to deliver a few fights worth viewing, and on free (well, sort of) television, no less.
With this Saturday being the highly anticipated clash between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz for Marquez’ Ring Magazine 135-pound title (and now the WBA and WBO titles as well), I thought it would be an excellent chance to take a look back at a card featuring another fight for the 135-pound world title from a few years back between champion Jose Luis Castillo and Joel Casamayor. With Nate Campbell moving up to 140-pounds after failing to make weight a few weekends ago against Ali Funeka and Manny Pacquiao set to fight Ricky Hatton for the 140-pound world title, Marquez-Diaz has become a bout between the clearly two best fighters in the entire division.
Similarly, when Floyd Mayweather, Jr. moved up from lightweight in 2004, it made Jose Luis Castillo’s bout with Juan Lazcano not only for the vacant WBC 135-pound title, but for the vacant Ring Magazine title as well as Castillo and Lazcano were recognized as the #1 and #2 fighters in the division. Castillo won a close decision in a memorable fight, making him the recognized #1 fighter in the division. At the same time, Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor, fresh off their rematch that saw Corrales awarded with a split decision victory, were both making the move to 135-pounds instantly making it one of the hottest divisions in the sport. A string of title would go off one after another between the likes of Casamayor, Castillo, Corrales, Acelino Freitas, and Julio Diaz. Add to that the emergence of the young and exciting Juan Diaz and you had a lot of excitement being generated in one of the premiere weight classes.
Showtime Championship Boxing was behind this series of fighters more than any network, airing most of the title fights that took place at lightweight. On this particular night, December 4, 2004, Showtime also put a couple of interesting supporting bouts underneath the Castillo-Casamayor bout showcasing two emerging fighters in heavyweight Samuel Peter and newly-crowned IBF super middleweight champion, Jeff Lacy. Peter would be taking on Jeremy Williams in the first bout, while Lacy would be making the first defense of his title against tough two-time world title challenger, Omar Sheika.
Jeremy Williams is a guy you always wonder about, how he would have done had his career been managed better or if he had focused 100% on boxing. If he had made the move to cruiserweight early in his career, many thought he could have been a force there and won a belt. In his one world title attempt, in 1996 to Henry Akinwande, Williams was knocked out in three rounds and never mounted a streak worthy enough to contend for one again. In fighting Samuel Peter, 20-0 at the time, Williams could make a serious move towards another shot at the age of 32. A win would not get him one instantly, but it would be impressive. One thing about Peter, is it is hilarious to think that people believe he was 24 at this time. I just cannot believe that this man is that young, he looks old enough to be my father. Throughout his career questions about his age have been raised on various boxing message boards, and for good reason.
The first round was a rather close one, with good action happening throughout, which is odd to hear considering that it was heavyweights who were fighting. Williams did a good job of boxing, but you could see flashes where he would leave himself wide open and nearly get blasted by a big shot. This offered some foresight to what would happen in the next round.
About twenty seconds in, Peter lands an absolutely brutal wide left hook that has Williams out before his head bounces off of the canvas. The announce team goes silent for what seems like eternity, and you instantly fear for the health of Williams. Medical personnel climb into the ring and start to take precaution. Williams is sitting up without speaking or moving for a few seconds, and then thankfully answers some questions asked by the staff.
In the post-fight interview, Samuel Peter makes absolutely NO sense. Just to show you what I mean, here is word-for-word what came out of Peter’s mouth.
“First of all, I want to give praise to the almighty God, because I know the joy of the lord is my strength. Um, well I was really prepared for this fight, you know. ‘Cuz I really know, I knock Jeremy Williams. I don’t watch his tape, I don’t know anything about him because I’m a man, a real man. That’s what I said from the beginning, a real man.
I don’t watch anybody’s tape. You know when I was running, me and my coach, I told my coach, ‘When I’m on the street, I pick up two golf balls’, and I told my coach, ’I’m gonna knock this guy out.’ Ask my coach. And I said, ‘What does this mean?’ My coach has two balls and he said, ‘You see these two balls?’
Then Jim Gray cuts him off. So what I got from that at the end is that Peter has big balls, as in a lot of guts? I also love how he says he was really prepared for this fight, and immediately follows that with him saying he didn’t even watch any tape of Williams, nor does he ever watch tape because he is a real man. I think it would have served Peter some good if he watched some tape on either of the Klitschkos. When they show Peter the highlight of the knockout, he delivers again:
“Yeah the left hook is, you know, I didn’t plan a left hook. But you know, this is me, this is me, this is me. (the punch lands) That’s it, that’s what it all about. I believe he will be okay because the joy of the lord is my strength, as I was saying earlier. I want to fight Vertrilly Klitscko.”
Jim Gray looks dumbfounded and brings Jeremy Williams into the picture and asks him this brilliant question: “Hey I don’t know if you remember, were you unconscious before you hit the canvas?” He then, without hesitation, shows Williams the replay of him getting knocked silly. Jim Gray: a man of worth.
The next bout was a perceived showcase fight for emerging 168-pound force and former Olympian, Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy. Lacy had just won the IBF super middleweight title from Syd Vanderpool when he scored an eighth round TKO just two and a half months prior in only his 18th professional bout. Lacy was a belt holder who promised to be active, never sitting on his belts. He lived up to that billing, never fighting more than five months apart during his title reign. Following his loss to Joe Calzaghe he would only fight less than five months apart one time, looking unspectacular in each of those four bouts.
Omar Sheika, ironically, will be fighting in a little over three weeks against Roy Jones, Jr. in a surprising PPV-headlining bout. Entering the Lacy bout, Sheika was a winner of three straight over non-descript opposition following four straight losses (SD12 and TKOby10 to Scott Pemberton, UD12 to Eric Lucas, TKO4by Thomas Tate). Sheika had unsuccessfully challenged for a belt twice before, against Lucas and Joe Calzaghe. Lacy would be his third chance, and he promised not to waste it.
Tally another mark for fighters entering the ring to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” to two in these columns as Omar Sheika elected to make his walk to that song (Junior Jones also came out to that song against Marco Antonio Barrera in another Tales from the Tape).Sheika was proof that, in boxing, if you prove to be in exciting bouts you will get more than your fair share of opportunities (see: Arturo Gatti).
Oddly, both fighters were 27 years old. It is interesting because Lacy was on his way up and Sheika was perceivably on his way out.
Throughout the course of the first half of the fight, Sheika elected to fight in spurts, letting off four or five punch combinations and then tying up Lacy before he could do anything. Sheika was picking up a lot of the early rounds, and was landing big right hands at will. In the second round, Sheika stunned Lacy with a right hand and followed up with some left and right hooks that also got through. Sheika was also digging shots to the body, winding up as if he was throwing a haymaker in a video game. Sheika was winning his rounds big while Lacy was edging the rounds you could find for him. Through six, I had Sheika ahead 4-2 in terms of rounds.
From that point on, the fight changed momentum. Sheika was electing to trade more with Lacy rather than try and limit his output. At the end of the seventh, an insane exchange occurred that had Lacy landing the slightly better shots. Sheika wasn’t on sturdy legs to start the eighth yet was still engaging with Lacy and having his moments. Lacy edged the round again. In the ninth, Lacy started to mix his punches up and hurt Sheika. A double left hook by Lacy lands and the round again ends with an awesome exchange. At this point, Lacy had more behind his punches. The tenth round saw Lacy continue the assault, hurting Sheika but not being able to put him down. Sheika was absorbing an incredible amount of damage, which is interesting because he could not handle the same from Scott Pemberton a few fights before.
The twelfth round is the kind of final round you always hope for in close fights. Both guys came out with a complete disregard for defense, standing toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring exchanging power shots like it was the end of a Rocky film. Lacy had clearly won, but much credit was given to Sheika as well for giving a tremendous effort in the underdog role. The official scores, 115-113, 115-113, 117-111 tallied a unanimous decision for Lacy and Sheika had come very close to lifting a major belt for the first time. I had it 116-112 for Lacy as I thought he swept the final six rounds.
Joel Casamayor was coming off an incredibly boring decision victory over Daniel Seda, one of Showtime’s worst main events ever. The Seda fight was his first at 135 following his loss to Diego Corrales for the vacant WBO 130-pound title four months prior. For what he has done in the ring, Casamayor may be one of the most underappreciated elite fighters of the past few decades. He came to the United States from Cuba and quickly turned professional. He had to get to work quickly, as he did not start his pro career until he was 25 years old. Casamayor would win the interim WBA super featherweight title against Antonio Hernandez in 1999 and pick up the full version of the WBA title almost a year later from Jong-Kwon Baek. After a few defenses of his belt, a failed attempt to unify them came when he unsuccessfully challenged Acelino Freitas in January of 2002, losing by unanimous decision. A controversial win over Nate Campbell on HBO put him back in the mix, and he would beat Diego Corrales on cuts soon after to put him in line for a title shot. Instead, he fought Corrales again for the vacant WBO 130-pound title, losing by split decision. Casamayor decided at this point to move up to lightweight, and a victory over Seda later he would challenge Castillo for the recognized world title at lightweight.
Jose Luis Castillo had just established himself as the best 135-pounder in the world, but it took him 57 fights as a professional to do so. Castillo turned pro at the young age of 16, losing four bouts early in his career before getting a shot at WBC lightweight champion Stevie Johnston in June of 2000. Castillo made the most of his opportunity, winning a majority decision in Ring Magazine’s Upset of the Year. Castillo proved his merit in the rematch which ended in a draw, allowing Castillo to hold onto his title. The rematch was originally announced as a majority decision victory for Johnston, but it was later discovered that Ken Morita’s scorecard had been added incorrectly and that the fight was a draw. Castillo would not be notified this until Johnston came into his locker room to give him the belt back.
Castillo would make a few pedestrian defenses of his title before meeting Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in April of 2002. Mayweather would win a unanimous decision, although many in the boxing community thought that Castillo did enough to hand Junior his first loss. They would rematch in December with Floyd emerging with a much more clear and concise victory than he had before. Mayweather would defend the titles twice and then make the move to junior welterweight, leaving a void at lightweight that would be cleared up in a bout between Castillo and Juan Lazcano, the #1 and #2 lightweights in Ring Magazine. In an entertaining battle, Castillo would be awarded the victory and the distinction as the best fighter in the division.
The fight began at a slow pace, with Casamayor winning most of the early rounds as he would move around the ring, occasionally landing a straight left hand that would make Castillo look foolish. For the first half of the bout, Castillo did not look to even be in the same league as Casamayor. He would follow “El Cepillo” around, attempt to get inside on him, and instead get tagged by a few power shots and not have enough time to land anything in return before Casamayor would disappear out of harm’s way. Through six rounds, Castillo had maybe won two of them. The sixth round was when Castillo turned the corner, landing some premiere body shots in an attempt to slow down Casamayor. The plan worked, and the second half of the fight was much more competitive.
Casamayor was holding a little too much, and in the clinch Castillo was doing great work, firing to the body and then coming back with left and right hooks to the side of the head. Casamayor would do well for early portions of a round and then Castillo would grind him down and do enough damage to justify being awarded the round. In the ninth, Castillo would start off strong, peppering Casamayor with some big right hands. Casamayor would then land two straight lefts that would snap back Castillo’s head. Castillo ate them gladly, and I scored the round even. The championship rounds is where Castillo made an incredible run, winning all three of them on each judge’s scorecards. Casamayor seemed more inclined to war it out with Castillo, which was a strategic nightmare on his part.
At the end of the tenth, both fighters were exchanging dangerous blows with Castillo landing the better leather. The eleventh round saw both fighters take the beginning of the frame to gain some energy back. Castillo would be the first to get his second wind, going up and downstairs effectively. Castillo ripped a shot upstairs and then to the body to end the round impressively.
Heading into the final round I had the bout 5-5 with the 9th round even, meaning the fight was on the table. Castillo would land some bombs in a six-punch combination that Casamayor answered with shots in between. The last twenty seconds of the round featured some incredible action that saw Casamayor getting strafed by power shots, mainly left and right hooks upstairs. A beautiful Castillo left uppercut would force Casamayor’s mouthpiece into the bright lights, putting an exclamation point on the round in Castillo’s favor.
No one on the Showtime crew could take a guess at who would be awarded the victory, it was that close. When it came time to be announced, to nobody’s surprise it was a split decision. The first score was 116-112, in favor of Castillo. The second score was 115-113, in favor of Casamayor. The third and deciding score was a much too wide 117-111 in favor of Castillo, allowing him to retain his title.
In the post-fight interview, Castillo called for a fight against Diego Corrales in May and Tszyu in September. Thankfully for us, that fight came together and both men delivered possibly the greatest 135-pound fight in history. Castillo would never get his chance at Tszyu, as the war with Corrales demanded a rematch. By the time Castillo was done with all of that Tszyu would lose his title to Ricky Hatton and retire from the sport.
This weekend’s Marquez-Diaz bout promises to provide a lot of intensity and some fireworks are likely. I favor Diaz by decision, but can see the fight playing out many different ways. In other words, this isn’t one I would bet on. In opening bout action, Chris John travels to the United States for the first time as he defends the featherweight title he won from Marquez against local attraction, Rocky Juarez. If Juarez can fight like he did at the end of the Barrios fight, this is winnable. If he decides to not fire any punches like he has done in all of his losses, you can chalk up a loss barring a hometown decision much like the one he nearly got against Barrios. Either way, Saturday promises to deliver a few fights worth viewing, and on free (well, sort of) television, no less.
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