Last evening’s non-stop back and forth dandy, from Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV with WBC lightweight champ Jose Luis Castillo and WBO strap owner Diego Corrales was truly a one of a kind thriller.

Call it a battle of attrition in the proverbial trenches if you like - but be sure to include WW1 trenches, to better picture these two warriors that were willing to die with their boots on.

Most astonishing to this long time fite watcher, was in seeing both  fighters willingly make it so up close and personal - and then repeating the blistering hot exchanges round after round.

Never once did Corrales use the jab from the outside, as he opted to match the aggressive style of Castillo - and so it went, stanza after stanza with mutual rib crushers coupled with left hooks and right hands to the head.

As this hot-potato of a donnybrook neared the championship rounds, it appeared here that the Castillo "SOP" would get the job done during the run to the wire against what I expected, a more fatigued Corrales.

Castillo closes round nine with a strong finish … and now it is stanza 10 with Castillo quickly on the attack. And during a  exchange of power punches a big left-hook drops Corrales to the canvas.  

Diego takes the full nine count before ready to resume, after the mouthpiece is retrieved and washed - now another barrage from both gladiators and Corrales is once again heavily dropped - this time the mouthpiece is cleaned and a point deduction from referee Tony Weeks for an intentional fite version of "delay of game."

Now we see Castillo jumping in for the kill as he unloads with both hands … but then magic, as in Corrales magic, he suddenly answers the Castillo barrage with a whistling left hook that wobbles his foe.

Castillo tried regaining control but backed to the ropes he’s on the receiving end of another monster left-hook and the gloves drop to his side - Weeks seeing the defenseless Castillo, jumps between the fighters with a no-mas.

Hard to believe here that Castillo can still boast a 60 bout career without once being dropped to the canvas. The picture of his being battered on the ropes brought back memories of seeing photos of a final fifth LaMotta-Robinson series - much like the yesterday "Bronx Bull" on that disastrous  Feb. 14, 1951 meeting that never once went down.

During the ludicrous post-fight ring chat with grinning idiot Jim Gray, the cameras told the rest of the story … the winning Corrales sported a closed and puffed left-eye and a cut below the right. Castillo’s left eyelid displayed an ugly full length gash.       

Closing Comments: Expect a return will be in order … but to be sure it won’t come to us free as in last night - good news is the fighters will end up with a bigger take home check.

GEL