LAS VEGAS, Nevada —Bobby Pacquiao scored the biggest victory of his career yet over former International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Carlos “El Famoso” Hernandez in a 10-round split decision that was shocking for some and controversial for others who couldn’t believe the illustrious Filipino’s brother is also on the rise.
With brother Manny rooting for him, Bobby had
a knockdown in the second round, won the fifth and rallied in the last three to get the nod of judges Duane Ford (95-93) and Chuck Giampa (95-94) while Robert Hoyle had a different opinion when he gave Pacquiao the first and second round and awarded the rest to Hernandez, 97-92.
Pacquiao improved to 26-11-3 (11 KOs) and won $90,000.
The predominantly Latino crowd at the Thomas and Mack Arena believed that Hernandez won the bout when he scored in the last 30 seconds of each rounds to pile up points enough to get the nod of the others judges.
Jose Luis Castillo knocked out World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization champ Diego Corrales in a non-title lightweight fight here on Saturday.
A strong and clean left hook by Castillo (53-7-1, 47 KOs) floored Corrales 47 seconds into the fourth.
Corrales rose at the end of referee Joe Cortez’s 10-count but fell into the ropes as his corner grabbed him.
Corrales, who suffered a cut over the right eye in the second round, saw his record drop to 40-3, 33 KOs.
Corrales keeps his titles because Castillo had weight problems at the official weigh-in on Friday.
Castillo blamed the weight fiasco on a rib injury suffered in training.
The quick win served as a measure of revenge for Castillo’s shocking loss to Corrales (40-3) in May.
Castillo lost his belt in that fight after knocking down Corrales twice in the 10th but getting TKO’d moments later in a stunning reversal.
Saturday’s result was a thunderous end to a wild weekend that saw Castillo miss the target weight of 135 pounds on three occasions Friday and included a suspension for Castillo’s doctor for tampering with the scale.
The challenger from Mexico showed no ill effects and controlled Corrales early.
Castillo consistently landed left hooks in the first round and forced some swelling around Corrales’ eyes by the second. The 31-year-old Castillo combined a left hook and a straight right during the third that staggered the champion and wasted little time in the fourth.
The decisive blow came in an instant as the two combatants leaned on each other in the middle of the ring.
After a brief exchange, Corrales dropped his right arm, opening the door for Castillo’s hook and an abrupt end.
A third meeting between the two is almost certain.
On the undercard, Jorge Arce retained his World Boxing Council interim flyweight title with a technical knockout of Australia’s Hussein Hussein in the second round on Saturday.
Arce, who boosted his record to 41-3-1 with 31 KOs, knocked Hussein down twice before Hussein’s corner threw in the towel and the fight was stopped at 2:50 of the second.
This was a rematch of their March battle which was also won by Arce.
With a report from AFP
