Even hardened ringside observers were left visibly shaking at the end of this fight, this war. This fight of the decade. 20 years ago today it took place: Diego Corrales Vs. Jose Luis Castillo. For the WBC, WBO and Ring Magazine lightweight titles.
Fans who assembled inside the Mandalay Bay in Vegas had no clue as far as what kind of savage, relentless, maybe you could call it once-in-a-lifetime action they would get for their paid entry.
It was, as it turned out, the closest thing any real fight–one with real lives on the line, with health very much at stake–came to emulating a ‘Rocky’ fight. These two superbly conditioned warriors, both unwilling to budge a single inch, basically stood in front of each other in a mano-a-mano war. Who would give in? Who would yield? Who would fall?
In the end, as all fans who have seen this fight (again and again, and again) know, it was Corrales who fell first. But “Chico” got back up. Twice. This in the 10th round – one of the greatest rounds ever recorded since people began filming boxing matches. Corrales, looking all done, spat out his mouthpiece, this after both knockdowns, with him losing a point the second time.
Then, his eyes busted up, his gas tank far past empty, Corrales somehow roared back, using supernatural fuel to hammer his Mexican hard man of a rival to defeat as he was on the ropes. Castillo was taking too many bloodthirsty shots as he was on the ropes, this in the opinion of third man Tony Weeks, who dived in to save Castillo.
Who was on the ropes? Both men were. But in terms of reality, “Chico” was on the floor, and “El Terrible” was stuck, in a no place to go position on the ropes.
And in the end, it was a stunning ending to a stunning, gruelling, gut-busting fight. FIGHT.
Both men/warriors/legends went to the hospital after the fight/war/slugfest for the ages, and it would be some time before either man would be able to soak in, and soak up, the appreciation and the accolades their savage war was more than deserving of.
The ending of the fight of 20 years ago (May 7, 2005) is much-celebrated, and with good/great reason. But we can never forget the brutal, non-stop, back-and-forth brutality these two men were seemingly happy (if that’s anything like the right word to use here) to put each other through prior to the ending of the fight.
Has there been a greater action fight since that day in Vegas of 20 years ago?
Diego sadly left us in 2009, while Jose Luis is all set to fight again, in June, against Ruslan Provodnikov.
We fans will never forget either MAN.
