It is very rare when a fight that has already fairly ambitious expectations actually surpasses them. The fight between Diego “Chico” Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo was one of these rare occasions as both boxers fought the fights of their lives in an action packed fight with a dramatic finish. When the two biggest punchers in the lightweight division stepped into the ring it was apparent that the fight was not going to go the full 12 rounds.  

The first half of the fight was fought almost literally in a phone-booth with both fighters fighting on the inside and refusing to step back. Corrales who is usually more effective when using his height and fighting on the outside was determined to beat Castillo at his own game by fighting up close. Both fighters had their moments in the early rounds with Corrales usually dominating the first half of each round and Castillo coming on strong in the second half. Most of these rounds were too close to call as both boxers threw every power punch in their arsenal determined to knock the other out.  

In the middle rounds of the fight both fighters showed visible signs of the accumulated punishment. Castillo had received a cut over his left eye and likewise the left eye of Corrales was beginning to swell shut from a number of Castillo’s right hands that landed. In a seesaw battle neither fighter seemed to be completely in control with both trying to impose their will and power only to have the same returned seconds later. Both boxers were fighting at a non-stopped pace which was visibly beginning to take more of a toll on Corrales who seemed to slow down slightly in the later rounds.  

In round 8 Corrales feeling urgency over the condition of his left eye came out strong determined to end the fight. Castillo weathered the storm only to come back strong in the later stages of the round. In round ten the fight finally had a significant change in momentum. In the opening seconds of the round a perfectly placed Castillo left hook dropped the weary Corrales to the Canvas. Corrales beat the count and received a few extra seconds to recover after losing his mouthpiece. Sensing that Corrales was really hurt Castillo let out an onslaught of punches finishing off with a left hook the put Corrales down for the second time in the round. Corrales once again managed to beat the count receiving extra time to recover as he removed his mouthpiece again. The referee Tony Weeks took a point from Corrales for spitting out the mouthpiece for the second time and let him continue the fight.  

The extra seconds Corrales received because of him removing his mouthpiece seemed to give him the extra time he needed to recover and continue to fight. Obviously hurt, Corrales put it all on the line by not trying to survive the round and instead fighting like he had nothing to lose. Castillo who perhaps was a little careless in his attack forgetting that even a hurt Corrales was dangerous because of his tremendous punching power walked into some heavy shots from Diego most notably a left hook that particularly seemed to hurt him. With Castillo hurt and against the ropes Corrales seized the opportunity and just went all out landing a few hard right hands and a vicious left hook that had Castillo out on his feet forcing the referee to stop the fight. The official particulars were Diego Corrales winner and now the WBC as well as the WBO champion of the lightweight division at 2min 6sec of round #10.  

After suffering two knockdowns Corrales came back to stop his opponent in the same round, now if that is not a dramatic finish I don’t know what is. Both fighters should be proud of their performance in a fight that will surely be a candidate and frontrunner for the fight of the year. As usual there was little bit of controversy regarding the stoppage with Castillo and some in his corner feeling it was done prematurely. Castillo certainly did appear to be hurt and could have perhaps suffered a serious injury if the fight was not stopped but considering he the referee the fight continue when Corrales was hurt I can understand why a warrior like Castillo would want to continue. Overall there were no losers in this fight because after the amazing performance by each boxer they should have no problems drawing crowds of excited fans to their future bouts. Truly an amazing fight that will surely further solidify the momentum of the lighter weight classes that are beginning to draw more interest and spotlight than the heavyweights.