I heard some complaints about last week’s Showtime fight between Jose Luis Castillo vs. Rolando Reyes. I disagree in that that show was certainly worthy of a television date. Watching Castillo is always a pleasure since he is truly one of the best boxers in the world today. The subtle head and arm movements, the way he flawlessly cuts off the ring, his monster hooks to the body, his frighteningly accurate power shots; I could go on about the brilliance of Jose Luis Castillo. Few can break down an opponent better than the slugger from Mexicali. The early rounds of his match against Reyes were vintage Castillo. He came forward and imposed his strength advantage with intelligent power shots. Castillo is more than just a typical come-forward Mexican slugger, he is a skilled technician.
Unfortunately, for the fans tuning in, Reyes did not come to fight. The boring conclusion, with Castillo winning an uneventful unanimous decision, had little to do with Jose Luis, who is always willing to stand and trade. Rolando Reyes must have felt those killer double hooks to the body because he ducked in his shell and ran towards the victory line. That would have been fine if Reyes was a no talent bum who just wanted a pay check. That was not the case. The kid has talent and showed that talent in flashes early. Rolando could counter well with his fast hands. He simply did not throw enough punches, nor did he fight a smart fight. Even down on points late, Reyes did not have any sense of urgency at all. This was a wasted opportunity for him and he may not get another shot.
The booing by the fans was understandable because of the lack of action, but I do not blame Castillo. With the big money third fight against Diego Corrales already signed sealed and deliver, he should have not been taking any unnecessary risks. Like Roy Jones, JR. did so many times in his career, Castillo did just what he had to do to win. Fans do not like smart and cautious, but it gets the job done. He was clearly winning most of the rounds with his power and ring generalship. Castillo hardly had to throw any punches because Reyes was in survival mode. He only opened up just enough to win each round. If Castillo had done what the fans wanted him to do, he would have leaped in and ate clean shots to the chin in his attempts to knock out the defense minded Reyes. One lucky punch is all it would have taken to be out of a hefty payday. I would have done the same thing.
Now we wait for June 3rd to come. Corrales vs. Castillo III looks like it is going to be every bit as scintillating as the first two encounters. You better believe that someone is going to get knocked out. Castillo’s punches are so hard and accurate that it is certain that he will land at least a couple of clean bombs on Corrales’ chin throughout the course of the contest. Yet, Rolando Reyes was able to tag Castillo with a few clean counter punches, showing that Castillo still has some defensive deficiencies that Corrales could take advantage of. And as we saw in their first classic war, a flush punch landed by Diego Corrales will turn anybodies legs to jelly, even the iron jawed Jose Luis Castillo. This is one of the great boxing rivalries of this generation so I am eager with anticipation for the conclusion. The legacy of both great fighters will be at stake.
Recently Signed Fights
The true Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor deserves major props for agreeing to take on his most worthy adversary, Winky Wright. He is fighting Wright immediately after two tough scraps with Bernard Hopkins to complete a three fight stretch that is one of the toughest in recent memory. Taylor is fearlessly aiming for greatness early in his career. At the time Taylor first fought Hopkins, Bernard was the consensus #1 pound for pound boxer in the world. Now he is going after the consensus #2 in Wright. More importantly, Taylor and Wright are clearly the two best middleweights in the world and to have them fight is all that a boxing fan could possibly ask for. Needless to say, these kinds of matches are the reason that I became a boxing fan. After going twelve rounds with Hopkins, Taylor must be glad that he is fighting someone other than the wily old man that proved to be so difficult to hit. Unfortunately for Jermain, Winky might be the only guy on the planet that is harder to hit than Hopkins. Look for this one on June 17th.
Erik Morales has reneged on his claim that he wanted to take a long vacation from boxing before deciding if he wanted to return. He lost by 10th round knockout to Manny Pacquiao last month in a fight where he looked shopworn. All of the tough rounds that Morales had endured in his long career took a toll on the stability of his legs; just as so many had been predicting over the last couple of years. His declaration that he needed to take a break seemed like an honest and wise decision for the Mexican legend. The one trait that has made him so great is the trait that is refusing to let Pacquiao win. Pride. Morales’ ego has caused him to exercise the rematch clause, a choice that could prove to be ill fated if Morales is as over the hill as we expect. I am not exceedingly gung ho about this one since Erik has lost three of his last four and will only delay a Pacquiao vs. Barrera rematch. I will still be watching however. Whenever two hall of fame caliber pugs get together I will tune in. The completion of the trilogy between Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales will happen on September 16th, so there is still a ways to go.
In yet another boneheaded move by the sanctioning bodies, the WBO stripped their Lightweight Champion Diego Corrales for fighting a rematch with Jose Luis Castillo. That is a meaningless belt and the only reason that I mention the useless organization is that it has paved the way for a pretty decent scrap. Acelino Frietas and Zahir Raheem will fight for that vacant trinket on April 29th. This is not a championship fight. Take it for what it is worth, a good bout between two top lightweight contenders. Zahir Raheem is an excellent boxer who embarrassed Erik Morales in his last fight. He is one of those guys that is too talented for his own good. Nobody wants to fight Raheem because he will give anyone a tough fight, but is less marketable than his prowess in the ring. His opponent, Acelino Frietas is an exciting power puncher who is as different to Raheem as humanly possible. Frietas, a former unified 130 pound champion, is trying to get his career back on track after losing to Diego Corrales in 2004. The winner would be in a great position to get a crack at the winner of the April 3rd rematch between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo.
The current heavyweight division is a mediocre group as far as talent goes. What makes this era of heavyweights dreadful is that the top fighters are not fighting each other. Dating back to May of 2004, a period of about 21 months, the most significant heavyweight fight was either Hasim Rahman vs. Monte Barrett or Lamon Brewster vs. Andrew Golota. That is absolutely horrid. Over an almost two year span, those two fights were the best that the division had to offer. As you can see, the top fighters did not fight each other during that stretch so the division grinded to a halt. I was beginning to think that we would never again have a true Heavyweight Champion. Fortunately there is a step in the right direction since Chris Byrd has agreed to take on Wladimir Klitschko on April 22nd. At last a historically significant match up between two boxers ranked in the top 5 has been bestowed upon us. This is an excellent opportunity for both Byrd and Klitschko to answer their deafeningly loud critics. May the best man win.
