Saturday
26 May 2012
         

Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo are poised to return there for a fall rematch

1 Jul 2005 17:15       hits 4586 Print version

Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, who waged one of the greatest fights in boxing history on May 7 in Las Vegas, are poised to return there for a fall rematch.

They will meet Oct. 8 at the Thomas & Mack Center on Showtime PPV pending completion of a buyout of an option that promoter Artie Pelullo holds on Corrales' next fight. It should be completed this week.

"When a fight takes the whole boxing public and general sports fan's attention, it demands consideration for an automatic rematch," Top Rank president Todd duBoef, Castillo's promoter, told ESPN.com on Monday. "Therefore, we have been compelled to pursue the possibility of doing this in October. I think the economics and the public demand for it should not hold back the fight from happening. There's been overwhelming demand for a rematch. We're excited about it."

Corrales (40-2, 33 KOs) and Castillo (52-7-1, 46 KOs) went toe-to-toe in a lightweight unification bout that left those who saw it in awe of its brutality. In a two-way pitched battle, Castillo finally knocked Corrales down twice in the 10th round before Corrales, badly hurt and his left eye nearly swollen shut, launched an improbable rally and stopped Castillo.

There was also an element of controversy over the 10th round, when on each knockdown Corrales spit out his mouthpiece. It cost him a point but gave him valuable recovery time.

The fight was immediately hailed by fans and media as an all-time great bout on the same level as revered classics such as Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier III, Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello I and the Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera, Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield and Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward trilogies.

Although Castillo said he wanted an immediate rematch and Corrales said he was also open to one, it looked as though it might have to wait. Pelullo, Corrales' co-promoter, exercised an option 10 days ago that bound Corrales to a rematch with Acelino "Popo" Freitas.

Corrales stopped Freitas, Pelullo's franchise fighter, in the 10th round last August. But because Pelullo gave Corrales the shot at then-titleholder Freitas, he became a partner on Corrales' next two fights with promoter Gary Shaw.

Pelullo and Shaw co-promoted the first Corrales-Castillo bout along with Top Rank. Now, Shaw and Top Rank's Bob Arum are finalizing a buyout of the option, which will allow Corrales to fight Castillo again.

"I have been approached to reconsider the rematch between Acelino Freitas and Diego Corrales in order for Corrales to have a rematch with Castillo, which I had to honor of being one of the promoters of their first fight," Pelullo told ESPN.com. "If we can work everything out, which I think we will, it will allow Diego to pursue further glory by knocking out Castillo for a second time.

"In the meantime, Freitas is fighting in his home country of Brazil on pay-per-view in July. And then we'll take one step at a time."

Initially, Corrales' team expressed concern that because the May fight was so brutal, perhaps they should not fight again. At the post-fight press conference, Joe Goossen, Corrales' trainer, said, "They should never fight again. It's too much."

But money talks. Showtime has already completed its deals with Arum and Shaw, and Arum has secured a site fee in the $3 million to $4 million neighborhood from Las Vegas hotel magnate Steve Wynn, who recently opened the Wynn Las Vegas resort on the Vegas strip, and Harrah's.

Corrales earned $525,000 and Castillo $300,000 for their first meeting. They will both earn substantially more the second time around.

Besides an anticipated rematch in the main event, the undercard is expected to also feature a pair of rematches of all-action fights from this year:

A flyweight sequel between Jorge Arce and Hussein Hussein. Arce won their bloody first bout on a 10th-round TKO in the co-feature on the March 19 Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao card.

A junior lightweight rematch between former titlists Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernandez, who waged a sensational fight May 28 on the undercard of the Julio Cesar Chavez-Ivan Robinson bout. Chavez won a split decision in a fight that begged for a rematch.


Source: espn.go.com

prev. news
  Tyson headed for 4-rounders?
next news
DaVarryl challenges Wladimir to box-off  







News: Fight Diego Corrales -VS- Jose Luis Castillo

WBC poised to order Castillo-Corrales III 14 Oct 2005 14:53

WBC poised to order Castillo-Corrales III

Edited Press Release: Although there was already an immediate rematch clause in place for a third bout, WBC President Jose Sulaiman announced today that he will recommend that the WBC Board of Governors require an immediate rematch between current champion Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo. On Saturday, Castillo knocked Corrales out in what was supposed to a world championship lightweight bout but turned into an over-the-weight contest read more ...
Fighters show class, promoters clash at the Castillo-Corrales postfight press conference 10 Oct 2005 18:27

Fighters show class, promoters clash at the Castillo-Corrales postfight press conference

Prior to his arrival, Arum had mentioned the rib injury that had inhibited Castillo’s training, making it difficult to drop the weight in a timely manner. Castillo added to it by saying he’d been unable to spar for nearly two weeks; that his training had been limited to shadowboxing. When asked how much he’d weighed before the weigh-in, Castillo responded with read more ...
Corrales - Castillo - III? 9 Oct 2005 12:20

Corrales - Castillo - III?

In one of the most controversial prize-fights in recent years, Jose Luis Castillo scored a searing fourth round knockout and gained furious revenge over Diego Corrales Saturday night. Just as the rematch of 'the fight of the century' was approaching the astonishing temperatures of the May 7 original, Castillo slammed an arching left into his rivals jaw and laid Corrales out for the 10 count in front of a nigh near sold out Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. read more ...
Castillo wins by knockout 9 Oct 2005 09:58

Castillo wins by knockout

This time, Jose Luis Castillo never gave Diego Corrales a chance to come back. Castillo landed a vicious left hook in the fourth round Saturday night to stop Corrales, avenging his defeat from their dramatic first fight with a punch that landed so flush he threw up his hands in victory even as Corrales fell. Castillo left the ring without the lightweight titles Corrales brought in read more ...
Jose Luis Castillo failing to make the required weight 8 Oct 2005 12:36

Jose Luis Castillo failing to make the required weight

Despite Jose Luis Castillo failing to make the required weight, the eagerly awaited rematch between WBC/WBO lightweight champion DIEGO CORRALES and Castillo IS DEFINITELY ON! Castillo, the former two-time WBC lightweight champion, failed to make the required weight of 135 lbs for the WBC/WBO lightweight championship today at Caesars Palace during the official weigh-in for Saturday’s Showtime Pay-Per-View Event at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas read more ...
Castillo: I'm 1000% ready! 5 Oct 2005 16:14

Castillo: I'm 1000% ready!

Two-time world champion Jose Luis Castillo shook out at Caesars Palace today and said he is "1000 per cent ready" to take on Diego 'Chico' Corrales in 'One More Time - The Epic Rematch' at the Thomas and Mack on Saturday night. "Corrales won the first battle - but I am going to win the war and believe me, this second fight will be a war," said Castillo. Castillo, with a large crowd wrapped around an outdoor ring, shook out read more ...
Corrales-Castillo II: drama will rule! 23 Jul 2005 21:59

Corrales-Castillo II: drama will rule!

It evoked more emotions than any script ever produced in Hollywood. On October 8, 2005, Diego "Chico" Corrales (40-2, 33 KOs) and Jose Luis Castillo (52-7-1, 46 KOs) will produce the sequel to their first encounter in Las Vegas, Nevada of what was at very least the fight of the decade. How do I know this? It was all in the emotions. read more ...
Exclusive Interview: Diego Corrales 5 Jul 2005 15:15

Exclusive Interview: Diego Corrales

- It's looking like you're going to be fighting Jose Luis Castillo in an immediate rematch of your May 7 classic. How do you feel about that? Diego Corrales: I'm excited, I think it's going to be another great fight. I think this is the fight that the fans want to see and the fans know what they're going to get with this one. I get to put everything to rest now." read more ...