The Showtime Saturday offering for WBC lightweight honors featured defending
champ Jose Luis Castillo defending the strap against a young and determined
Julio Diaz, and a promised date with Diego Corrales riding on the outcome.
Took no more than a slow feeling out opening candle before things got serious …
and thru five rounds it was Castillo with an edge over a willing Diaz on the
strength of better accuracy.
Diaz grabs number six while working and scoring from both the orthodox and port
side stance … a fourth round inadvertent clash of heads had resulted in Diaz
being cut outside the left eye.
A more critical blow arrived during stanza seven, and would start the decline
for Diaz … a nasty cut to the right eyelid along with a now closing left eye
had the kid in serious trouble.
Castillo picks up the pace in round eight and is clearly pulling away over nine
stanzas - and then number ten the curtain dropped with Diaz down from left hook
and again from a flurry. Calls it no-mas at 2:23 seconds of round ten.
Post Scripts: Jose Luis Castillo ~ Sort of amazing, this 31 year old veteran of
a now 59 career appointments ( 52-6-1, 46), in that he’s still able to compete
at the pace he does. Kept the pressure going from rounds two until the finish,
and increased the tempo come round eight with not once seen taking a deep
breath.
The Corrales fight would be pretty much another one of them barn burners. The
thirty-five pounders another hot bed division with mucho talent waiting in the
wings.
Julio Diaz ~ See this 25 year old more a good fighter than
anything special. Showed true grit while still in the fight over early candles …
but adversity grabbed him first from the old "inadvertent" head butt and later
the more serious legitimate cut to the right eyelid. Was as much self concern
over the eyes injuries as it was from the 10th round left hook that put him down
for the first knockdown. Time will tell how the one called "The Kidd" rebounds.
Diaz now at 30-3, 22.
A Closing Thought: Regarding a Castillo-Corrales meeting come May, the guess
here is the opening three stanzas will be the big key. Castillo can be tagged
early … it goes to deep water you gotta like this tough and grizzled Castillo.
