02.06.06 – By Goran Dragosavac: For me, Diego Corrales is an exciting boxer who always gives it all, which is why boxing fans love him. However, Diego Corrales is not an elite boxer, and that is part of his appeal. The thing of it is, with “Chico” Corrales, he brings drama to the sport and you never know when he is going to send his opponent on the floor, or be floored himself. Without a doubt, his biggest boxing asset is his two-fisted power, delivered with surprisingly short punches. However, his biggest weakness is his lack of mobility.
He mostly moves in straight line going forward, and his lack of lateral movements make his attacking options limited and somewhat predictable. And that is, in my opinion, the main reason why he will always have problems against sharp-shooting and lateral-moving boxers, who can step aside and dodge his attacks, while returning fire and making him look bad.
Another major weakness is tendency to engage in sometimes unnecessary wars, that could be avoided if he were to use his height and reach advantage, a valuable asset for him that often goes ignored. So, if he is to have any serious chance of winning against Castillo, apart from a miracle punch, he has to drastically improve his mobility and has to learn to pivot and move sideways, leaving only his shadow for Castillo’s likely relentless onslaught, and then attempting to counter him with thundering shots while moving into new position.
Well, strangely enough, that is exactly type of adjustment that Castillo made in his second fight with Corrales, which resulted in one of the most beautiful attack moves that I have ever seen in a ring, when Corrales feinted a punch in the 4th round, stepped back, as if on defense, then moved sideways to create an attack angle, and then threw a sledgehammer left hand that exploded off the chin of Corrales and stopped him for the knockout win, all within a blink of an eye.
Well, for this type of boxing style, one needs quickness and mobility. Slow movers, like Corrales, will have to rely on the blood and guts route, grinding his way forward and hoping for some opening in Castillo’s solid defense.
I see this match definitely going Castillo’s way, but if Corrales does win, it will be the biggest win in his career and by beating boxing odds yet again, his boxing legacy will be assured.