07.03.04 – Diego Corrales turned the tables on Joel Casamayor, winning a 12-round split decision and the vacant WBO 130-pound title Saturday on SHOWTIME. The fight between the former world champions was a rematch of a bout Casamayor won by a disputed sixth-round TKO on Oct. 4, 2003.
In the co-feature from Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson (photo: Tom Casino/Showtime) retained his WBO junior bantamweight championship with a fourth-round knockout over previously undefeated WBO No. 1 contender Luis Bolano. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader aired at 9 p.m. ET/PT and was promoted by Cedric Kushner Promotions, LTD, in association with Team Freedom and Gary Shaw Productions, LLC.
The world title fights marked the conclusion of a successful first-quarter year of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING in which the network unveiled its new, fan-friendly scheduling strategy of providing viewers and boxing fans with the best possible event on the first Saturday of every month. The next SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING fight card is April 3.
Corrales (38-2, 31 KOs), of Sacramento, Calif., won a good action fight by the scores of 115-112 twice and 113-114. The aggressor throughout, he did not register a knockdown, but boxed well from the outside and performed with poise and patience. Until the disputed loss to Casamayor, Corrales had won four consecutive fights since returning to the ring after being inactive for two years. After capturing the IBF belt with a seventh-round TKO over Robert Garcia on Oct. 23, 1999, on SHOWTIME and successfully defending it three times, Corrales lost a battle of unbeatens when World Boxing Council (WBC) titleholder Floyd Mayweather defeated him on Jan. 20, 2001.
Casamayor (30-2, 19 KOs), of Guantanamo, Cuba, registered the bout’s lone knockdown when he floored Corrales with a straight left hand in the 10th round. Casamayor lost four of the initial five rounds on two of the scorecards and the first five on the other before coming on strongly in the bout’s second half. One of the most prolific amateur boxers in history, Casamayor captured the WBA interim 130-pound title with a 12-round decision over Antonio Hernandez on June 19, 1999. The 1992 Olympic gold medalist captured the WBA world title with a fifth-round TKO over Jongkwon Baek on May 21, 2000. Casamayor made four successful defenses before suffering his only defeat on a close 12-round decision to undefeated, then-WBO 130-pound boss Freitas on SHOWTIME Jan. 12, 2002.
Johnson (43-3, 28 KOs), of Washington, D.C., was making the first defense of the 115-pound title he won when he impressively earned a lopsided 12-round decision over defending titlist Fernando Montiel on Aug. 16, 2003. A former two-time IBF champion, Johnson won every round before dropping Bolano twice in the fourth round. The first knockdown came from a left-hand followed by a right hand. A Johnson right hand to the body finished the Colombian at 2:40 of the round. The quick, talented southpaw captured the IBF flyweight title with a first-round knockout over Francisco Teeter on March 4, 1996. After seven successful defenses, Johnson moved up a notch in weight and won the IBF 115-pound crown with a 12-round decision over Ratanchai Vorapin on April 24, 1999.
Bolano (38-1, 28 KOs), of Cordoba, Colombia, gave his best but could not match Johnson’s speed and quickness in the battle of southpaw boxers.
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING’s Steve Albert and Al Bernstein called the action from ringside with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter. The executive producer of the SHOWTIME telecast was Jay Larkin, with David Dinkins producing and Bob Dunphy directing.
For information on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and “ShoBox: The New Generation” telecasts, including complete fighter bios and records, related stories and more, please go the SHOWTIME website at http:www.sho.com/boxing.