07.03.04 – By Frank Gonzalez Jr.: The thing about the sweet science of boxing is, well, the science of it. Sure I love watching Ricardo Mayorga rush his opponent with nothing but power shots and no respect for his opponent’s power. But all that testosterone can be defeated with solid boxing skills. The simplest thing like the jab can be the best asset a fighter has. If Yoda (from Star Wars) were a boxing coach, I could just see him advising his charges, “Everything flows from the jab.”
Though the very talented Vernon Forrest didn’t do it, the smooth boxer that is Corey Spinks–got the job done against the brawling, undisciplined Mayorga. To witness that process captures the wonder of this great sport. As a regular person who enjoys the sport, you might wonder, “what if there were no referees, how would these boxers fare against the brawlers?” It’s a great question.
Every now and then, a marriage takes place between two styles in one fighter. A slugger becomes a boxer. Sprinkle in some killer instinct–and it’s a most dangerous combination.
Joel Casamayor is a very skillful boxer; he has solid overall ability. Diego Corrales has been criticized for having a porous defense but his asset is definite power in either hand. His height, (at a shade below 5’11”) can present serious problems for the average Jr. Lightweight/Super feather (130-pounds). Casamayor is not your average 130-pounder.
They fought a hell of a battle in their first fight just five months earlier, where both fighters were floored a few times. A Casamayor punch in the sixth round caused Corrales’ large mouthpiece to pierce through his skin causing blood to flow into his mouth. At the start of the seventh round, Dr. Margaret Goodman called a halt to the bout due to Corrales bloodied mouth. The stoppage was understandable in spite of Diego’s protestations. But swallowing blood is not something ringside doctors ought take lightly. Corrales pleaded to give him one more round.
Saturday night at Foxwoods, he got a full compliment of 12 rounds to redeem himself.
J.C. is a slick southpaw with surprising power. His first loss (to Acelino Freitas) back in 2002 was a close fight, with many thinking Casamayor won. I thought Freitas pulled that one out by one round. But Freitas has avoided any rematch to abolish the lingering questions. I don’t know who scores points for that? Freitas went on to fight a lower profile fighters while Casamayor kept moving forward–taking out Juan Arias (W-TKO 8), Yoni Vargas (W-TKO 5) and then a UD win over unbeaten Nate Campbell. Then came Diego Corrales, possibly the most dangerous 130-pounder he’s fought yet.
After getting a technical win over Corrales by TKO, Joel wasn’t quite interested in a rematch with Diego but considering the quality of their first fight, the demand for a rematch had to be lucrative enough for Joel to agree. After all, there are other titles Casamayor could have chased instead. I’m glad he choose the course of the Warrior and not just the businessman.
Five months later, things have changed. Casamayor has parted company with his trainer of four years, Joe Goossen, who ends up training Diego Corrales for the rematch. The drama. A lot of fans argue that the right trainer makes a huge difference. I think Goossen proved this to be true Saturday night as he helped prepare Corrales to give a stunning performance that included surprisingly good defense and some nice counter punching with the right hand to deal with Casamayor, the slick southpaw. Joel employed the services of rising star trainer, Buddy McGirt.
The Fight
Round One
Joel Casamayor scores first and shows lots of movement. Diego Corrales was the aggressor and stalked him with a look of a man dedicated to winning but Casamayor scored better in the first.
10-9 JC
Round Two
It’s was a boxing match, with both sizing each other up and moving cautiously. Referee Steve Smoger warned DC for an elbow and a moment later warned JC for holding behind the head. DC kept popping his jab and caught JC with some good shots and shook him up a little bit.
10-9 DC
Round Three
DC pressed the action with his jab and scored here and there. JC was playing defense most of the round. DC scored better and more often.
10-9 DC
Round Four
More of the same, DC pressing, cutting off the ring and scoring better than JC. The story so far was Corrales jab, which effectively limited JC‘s offense.
10-9 DC
Round Five
More of DC dictating the tempo and working his jab. JC landed a big shot midway through the round but DC kept the pressure on. JC looked to be using much more energy by moving around so much. This was a close round and I thought DC did just a bit more.
10-9 DC
Round Six
DC was all about ‘boxing’ and used his refined skills to control the action, score and defend well enough. Though DC was the aggressor, he was mostly looking to counter JC’s lefts with his right. It worked well. JC starts to wiggle his shoulders in showboat fashion as the round closed. I was wondering why?
10-9 DC
Round Seven
DC was in charge, popping the jab, cutting off the ring and scoring. JC scored a few decent shots but never sustained enough offense to win the round.
10-9 DC
McGirt’s instructions to Casamayor were filtered through a Spanish speaking corner man. Whatever he was telling him wasn’t helping him win rounds. There was a lot of stress in that corner as opposed to Corrales’ corner with Goossen, that seemed calm and relaxed.
Round Eight
DC’s jab is the story of this fight so far. JC stepped up his offense a bit but was still not effective enough to win the round. It was getting desperate for JC, who was losing almost every round. There were a couple of head butts in this round but no blood.
10-9 DC
Though JC was starting to come on in the eighth, Goossen instructed DC well during the break. He kept his man calm and never let his focus waver.
Round Nine
The tide turned as JC meets DC at center ring and changes roles with DC to start the ninth. He backed DC up and scored at will all round. DC’s looked weakened in the ninth and looked like he got rocked for three minutes.
10-9 JC
Round Ten
JC scored a big left cross as the fighters met at center ring. JC was smelling blood and turned up the aggression. After some exchanges in the center ring, Casamayor caught JC with a well timed left that put Corrales on his seat. JC got up and did well to survive the onslaught. His defensive improvements really paid off at the end of the tenth.
10-8 JC
Round Eleven
DC rocked JC who got careless looking for the KO. I thought JC was going to go down but he showed a hell of a chin and put together some good offense of his own. There was a vicious head butt that opened a cut on the forehead of DC. I didn’t think it was intentional, though JC subtly employs some questionable tactics at times. JC charged DC while he was wincing in pain from the butt but DC ducked two times and avoided a couple of possible haymakers from Casamayor. Very hard round to score with both scoring well in turns.
10-10 Even
Round Twelve
Neither seemed too desperate to win the last round. Maybe both thought they were up on the scorecards? Casamayor pressed the action, scored some decent shots in the process.
Corrales did a very smart thing; he just boxed from a distance and though he didn’t score much, he didn’t allow himself to get close enough to risk a late Casamayor rally. Strategically brilliant. This was the smartest performance I’ve seen from Diego Corrales.
Casa did more offensively and won the last round.
10-9 Casamayor
The way I saw it, Casamayor won the first round, Corrales won all the rounds between the 2nd and 8th. Then Casamayor won three of the last four, with one round even. I scored it 115-113 for Corrales.
The official Judge’s scored it:
Julie Lederman …. 115-112 for Corrales
Donald O’Neil ….. 115-112 for Corrales
Steve Weisfeld ….. 114-113 for Casamayor
Fortunately, the winner won this fight. At least according to my senses. Corrales looked more beat up but strategically, he was superior in the rematch, where he found his redemption, a great rival and hopefully a trilogy in the making. Rivalries bring out the best in fighters. I hope Rivalries make a comeback in Boxing. Not the Ruiz vs. Holyfield types, but the Gatti vs. Ward types. The Corrales vs. Casamayor types.
Both seemed interested in a third fight (during the post fight interview conducted by Jim Grey) though Corrales was quick to point out that Casamayor didn’t want to give him a rematch after the first fight. Then Corrales babbled some fighter-speak about how ‘its up to his manager,’ etc. But we all know, this third fight has to happen. Both guys have to look at a third fight as a great opportunity to make a ton of money, satisfy the fans and join the ranks of the more exciting side of boxing history…The Rivalries.
Agree or disagree? Send comments to dshark87@hotmail.com
photo (c) Tom Casino/Showtime