Boxing

Corrales, the best 140 Pounder: I Beg to Differ

By Ron Widelec

02.06 - This article is a direct response to Kevin Lole's recent article "The best 140 pounder in the World". In this article Lole claims that the best junior welterweight in the world is none other than Diego Corrales. This may come as a shock to those of you that thought that Kostya Tszyu, the undisputed, unified, champion at this weight, was the best. What may have come as even more of a shock, was that according to Lole, the best 140 pound fighter in the world is a guy that fights at 130 pounds, and has not had a meaningful fight since 2001.

This lofty claim is hard to justify. Corrales has never fought at 140 pounds, and has never been the best fighter at any weight in which he has fought. The closest he came was being considered one of the best fighters at 130 pounds. However, when he went in the ring to prove he was the best, he received one of the most lopsided beating in recent championship fights. The man who beat him, Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Mayweather beat Corrales for every second of every round, until Corrales' corner threw in the towel following his fifth knockdown. To his credit, Corrales fought bravely, and never gave up, but was far, far out of his league.

In most respects, Corrales is a bruiser. He is a tall, lanky, fighter with exceptional power. As is usually the case with such fighters, he can be befuddled with the proper use of speed and movement, as proven by Mayweather. Many have speculated that Corrales would do better at higher weights because of his tall frame and hardship making 130 pounds. Lole believes that if Corrales moved to 140 pounds, he would be able to beat everyone there, and easily beat Kostya Tszyu; a pretty outlandish claim for a fighter that has never even proven himself at 135 pound, much less 140.

I, too, believe that Corrales would fare better at 135 and 140 than at 130 pounds, as far as his own ability is concerned. However, his biggest advantage, size, would diminish with each increase in weight. He would no longer be able to overpower opponents at 140, like he did at 130. Thus, he would be better at 140, but relative to the his opponents, he would be as dominating. I can see Corrales as a top 5 or 10 guy at 140, but I see him having much more trouble at 140 than Lole would like us to believe.

Lets start with the obvious comparison: Corrales and Tszyu. Lole believe that Corrales would be able to defeat Tszyu be throwing his long jab and combinations. However, in recent fights you can count the number of Corrales' jabs on one hand. He has been pawing with the jab not throwing it with conviction, and he has been fighting in a search and destroy mode, rather than throwing combinations as well. Kostya Tszyu, the true top 140 pound fighter, would school Corrales. Corrales has problems dealing with Floyd's power, I find it hard to believe that he would take Tszyu punches any better. Tszyu is also the far more skilled and experienced fighter, with a more varied assortment of punches. There are a few other fighters that would give Diego trouble at 140 as well. Sharmba Mitchell, for one, would dance circles around Corrales, and probably outclass him too.

As for Corrales getting a rematch with Floyd, he has not done anything even close to significant since that loss, and does not deserve a rematch. Either way, I don't see that fight being much different than the first. Mayweather was better the first time, and has gained more experience since than. Corrales' style requires him to be bigger and stronger than his opponents, which is not something he can do at 140 pounds, and there is no certainty than he can do it at 135 either.

Corrales is a good fighter, he would be successful at 135 and 140 as, and would undoubtedly add excitement to those divisions, but the best 140 pounder in the world; I think not. Id like to see him take on a A-level, or even B-level fighter at 130 or 135 before I made claims about his greatness. Greatness is in accomplishments, not in possibilities and speculations.

Any questions or comments. Email me at Beowolf88@aol.com

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