1
1
NOBODY COULD HAVE FORESEEN JUST HOW SPECIAL THE FIGHT WOULD BE.
There was an air of heightened expectation before the first bell. The Mexican legend, Julio César Chávez, accompanied Castillo on his ring walk, while the recently vanquished Freitas was seen in Corrales’ posse. At ringside the likes of James Toney, Winky Wright and Shane Mosely all looked thrilled just to be there.
2
TWO MASSIVE LIGHTWEIGHTS IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD Having never been down in 59 contests, Castillo’s chin was thought to be impenetrable while Corrales was widely regarded as one of the pound-for-pound hardest punchers in boxing. The American was on record as saying he would go through hell and die in the ring before quitting, while Castillo was both blessed and cursed with the grit in his soul that is a prerequisite of all great Mexican fighters. With two such ferrous wills to win colliding, something or nothing or everything had to give.
3
IT DIDN’T SO MUCH EBB AND FLOW AS VIOLENTLY HURL ITSELF FROM ONE CORNER
4
TO ANOTHER
The brutal intensity continued to build throughout the eighth and ninth rounds. When one man was wobbled or buzzed, he always seemed to instinctively unleash an immediate juddering reply to prevent his foe gaining the momentum a clean hit normally affords. At a time when lassitude ought to have been taking its toll, there was simply no let up. More than that, the accuracy and ferocity of the attacks endured unabated. Each round was an incessant show of quality and commitment, totally devoid of any hint of the trumpery that other fighters employ to steal a second or two of respite when the pace suddenly ups. The standing ovations that greeted every concluding bell kept growing in volume and duration.
When they rose for the tenth, Corrales’ right eye was now also beginning to swell out of view, while his left had become little more than a diaphanous slit. As the referee checked the tape on Castillo’s gloves, Corrales, as was his custom, blessed himself. The two men then touched gloves, something they had not done habitually at the beginning of the previous nine rounds: looking back it is almost as if they knew.
7
Ten seconds in,
A SHORT ELECTRIC LEFT
caught Corrales flush on the chin, sending him down in instalments.The punch took mere milliseconds to throw but a full three seconds more were needed for his crumpled body to complete the journey to the canvas. From bowed head, he dropped to a knee. From that knee he toppled sideways on to a supporting elbow. There, his centre of gravity continued ricocheting around his core and the reverberations rolled him on to the flat of his stomach. From this position he spat out
his gum shield, rose as far as his two knees,
glanced at his corner, and then focused on the
referee’s count. At eight, he stood up.
another slow collapse on to the ring floor the result of a couple of left hooks and a right uppercut through a now faltering guard. His gloved fist fumbled to again remove his gum shield, a gesture that in another fighter would have signalled that he had had enough. He then rolled over, eyed the referee and rose once more. This time at nine and more gingerly,
“DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE?�
8
Ten seconds later
CORRALES FELL AGAIN
9
“YOU GOTTA GET INSIDE ON HIM NOW”
10
When Corrales turned, there was a discernible change in his countenance. It wasn’t that the weariness had dissipated, but he somehow managed to muster a spark to light where before the deleterious effects of the knockdowns had caused only darkness. Suddenly he was alive again. While still in retreat, he was at least now slipping as many punches as he absorbed. Then, out of nowhere, he landed a right hook that jolted Castillo. A left then pushed the Mexican back on the ropes, where they continued to plough into one another with renewed purpose. One way or another they were going to end this now.
A BANGING RIGHT AND A COUPLE MORE CUFFING LEFTS
SHUNTED CASTILLO TO AN
ADJACENT SIDE OF THE RING. He was flotsam on the tide now but was still attempting to fire back. Corrales paused momentarily and then planted his feet. This was to be the site of the final stand. Chico’s back is to the camera but I imagine him simply swinging with his eyes shut, waiting to either stop or be stopped.
At two minutes and six seconds. “THAT MIGHT BE THE SINGLE MOST Corrales simply raised his right hand, spat EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACK WITHIN out his gum shield, A ROUND TO WIN A FIGHT THAT HAS and walked away. EVER HAPPENED.”
Corrales was asked “How would you describe this fight?”
“AN
HONOUR” WAS HIS SIMPLE REPLY.