28.09.06 – Two boxers with a genuine disdain for each other will duke it out with bad intentions for a third time when Corrales defends his World Boxing Council (WBC) and RING lightweight titles against former world champion and longtime adversary, southpaw Joel “El Cepillo” Casamayor, on Saturday, Oct. 7, during a Free Preview Weekend on SHOWTIME.
In the co-feature bout of a world championship doubleheader that begins at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast), rising superstar Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan (26-0, 21 KOs) will risk his International Boxing Federation/International Boxing Organization (IBF/IBO) flyweight crowns and his undefeated record against world-ranked Glenn “The Filipino Bomber” Donaire (16-2-1, nine KOs).
Saturday’s SHOWTIME BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP telecast is the second night of fight cards airing on the network during the Free Preview Weekend that runs Friday, Oct. 6 through Monday, Oct. 9. On Oct. 6, “ShoBox: The New Generation” will air two semi-final bouts as the super middleweight tournament continues live at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME (delayed on the west coast)..
DIEGO CORRALES (40-3, 33 KOs)
“I am not going to take an easy fight until I retire. Then, I will fight an easy chair.”
“Once I finish Casamayor, I will have done my job. There will be no one left in the lightweight division to fight. I pretty much got rid of all of them – Acelino Freitas, Jose Luis Castillo and Casamayor.”
“Of course I want to fight (Floyd) Mayweather Jr. It is definitely a possibility down the road.”
“Casamayor is a good boxer. He has three punches – left hand, right hand and his forehead.”
“It (third fight against Casamayor) is going to be a hard-fought fight. I expect the best Casamayor to show up. He is going to box well.’
“If Casamayor does what he says and fight me, he might as well go in with his shoes untied because he is going out of the ring on his back.”
“Casamayor is not going to fight me nose to nose. He knows he can’t beat me that way. Find someone who believes that.”
“Casamayor holds nothing back and says everything he wants about me. Am I going to invite him over for tea after this? No. I don’t care for his company. I don’t have to care for his company to do my job. I am going to do my job, punch the clock, punch his lights out and go home. Am I going to send him a birthday card? No. He is off of my Christmas list.”
“Casamayor is letting his mouth write a check that his body can’t cash. I am going to cash it.”
“Castillo and I have a great relationship. We fought like we hated each other, but we enjoyed each other’s company.”
“At this point, what happened with Castillo is water under the bridge. If you hold bad feelings toward someone, it eats you up inside. I don’t want to be a bitter person. I have moved on and look at the better things. I got to spend more time with my baby and my family after the last Castillo fight got cancelled.”
“I am nothing more than an attack dog. You point the way and I attack. I do my job and am always professional. I am disciplined. I always make weight.”
“I love this sport. I went to the gym for the first time when I was three years old and fell in love with boxing.”
“You will never see me disgrace my sport. You won’t see me grabbing a referee by the neck or throwing chairs in the ring. I want boxing to be as big as baseball and basketball.”
“Boxing needs people with personality and the will to fight to bring the sport back to network TV. I grew up watching boxing all week long. From a boxer’s point of view, we have to be better to our fans and everyone. We have to conduct ourselves better in and out of the ring.”
VIC DARCHINYAN (26-0, 21 KOs) VS. GLENN DONAIRE (16-2-1, NINE KOs)
Darchinyan: “You (Donaire) are going to have to change your name from ‘Bomber.’ “
Donaire: “I will change it to ‘Matador.’ “
Donaire: “I go inside the ring and do my business.”
Darchinyan: “It’s not business, it’s war.”
Darchinyan: (To Donaire): “Don’t be upset with me. Out of the ring, you are my friend. In the ring, you are my enemy.”
Corrales: “Darchinyan does everything a ‘Raging Bull’ should. With every shot, there is power. Donaire is a good, quick puncher. This fight has the potential to overshadow my show. I will watch the entire fight in my dressing room.”
Darchinyan: “Corrales will not have to wait long.”