LAS VEGAS – The Boxing Writers gave out the award for their 2004 Fight of the Year at their annual dinner at Mandalay Bay Friday Night. Last night, they got their first candidate and probably victor for Fight of the Year in 2005.
In a finish that will be hard to duplicate for shear drama, courage and excitement, Diego “Chico” Corrales, on the verge of defeat after being floored twice in the 10th round, staged a furious rally late in the same round to score a stunning technical knockout over Jose Luis Castillo to win the WBC/WBO lightweight championship.
Corrales, his left eye swollen shut and a small cut under his right eye, had endured a vicious nine-round body assault by Castillo, the defending champion. The challenger looked like he had enough when he was dropped early in the 10th by a left hook and then again by another left hook near the middle of the round. After the second knockdown, Corrales intentionally spit out his mouth piece, drawing a one-point deduction from referee Tony Weeks. Corrales just did beat the count and didn’t seem to have much left.
But as the round entered its final minute, Corrales rocked Castillo with three-strong right-hands and a powerful left. Soon Castillo was defenseless, prompting Weeks to stop the fight. “It was a left hook inside,” Corrales said of the punch that turned the fight. “I didn’t want to let him off the hook. He was hurt. I had to go for it. The ref did his job.”
Corrales (40-2, 33 KOs) hadn’t fought in nine months, his layoff caused by internal problems with his management team. Yet, Team Corrales was confident going in against the seasoned Castillo (52-7-1).
“We’re going to go in and knock this guy out,” Corrales manager James Prince predicted. “This fight is going to come down to who has the biggest heart and the strongest punch.”
That was Corrales. “I’ve been waiting a long time to prove I’m a true warrior,” he said. “[Castillo] made it a fight. It was a war of attrition. It was a great honor to fight him. I’m proud to say, I’m a champ.”
Corrales was leading on two of the three score cards when the fight was stopped. The Post had Corrales ahead 86-85. But Castillo was looking at winning the 10th 10-7 or more because of the knockdowns and the point deduction. But before Castillo couldn’t finish Corrales, Corrales finished Castillo.
“He got hit with some bombs and he’s eyes rolled back,” Weeks said. “He just went limp and I stopped the fight.”
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Undisputed middleweight champ Bernard Hopkins mapped out what he called “the three-man hit list” he will face before calling it a career in January 2006. The first fight is July 16 against Jermain Taylor at the MGM Grand (HBO PPV) The final two targets are Felix “Tito” Trinidad and light heavyweight Glen Johnson.
It’s a closing trifecta that would in Hopkins terms “generate the great wealth and legacy” he is looking for to cement himself as one of the greatest fighters of not only his era, but of all time. “That would be the storybook ending of the American Dream of Bernard Hopkins to leave out just shy of the 41st birthday,” he said.
