The Showtime Championship Boxing tripleheader from Mandalay Bay closed with Jose
Castillo retaining the WBC lightweight title by split decision over Cuba’s Joel
Casamayor - this one was no easy assignment for the judges at ringside.
From the opening bell it would be Castillo in pursuit of the elusive Casamayor
with good movement, and a stinging jab and straight left hand - the Mexican
attacker would need time to better solve the problem in front of him.
What we had going was a replay of other pairings where southpaw meets orthodox
fighter … and while the action was never clearly defined as the fite went
longer, it did have its drama.
The mugging, straying shots into the DMZ and other assorted violations were
common in occurrence. Still, what was visible to the eyes of this ancient fight
watcher, was the better Casamayor skills and sharp shooting having the edge over
a brawling Castillo.
End result was a split decision Castillo win with scoring going Castillo
117-111, 116-112 and Casamayor 116-113. The numbers show how tough a call it was
… appears the pro Castillo calls came from those that are bigger on kamikaze and
banzai to those answering back from protective bunkers. The Castillo 9-2 vote in
rounds translates to a retirement plea.
My unofficial was Casamayor 115-113 under points system and 7-5 in round
scoring.
Post Scripts: Castillo ~ in style and technique Jose returns me to past
lightweight champ Paddy DeMarco who lost title in first defense against Joe
"Bones" Brown. Both short on finesse but long on heart, and battle to the beat
of the bugler.
Casamayor ~ Excellent technician especially when given
time to work. Not all that pretty in style but has tight defense and no fear
boxer-puncher in style. Unafraid to go into the trenches. Nearing the pick and
choose stage in a tough weight class.
