Ring magazine remember the “greatest comeback in boxing history” 21 years later.
In any sport, there are questions that have been asked from the very beginning and will continue to be asked until the very end. Most commonly, this will be, “Who was the best to ever do it?”
In boxing, there is no real answer to this question. You may define greatness as sustained dominance in a single division or a strong presence in several divisions.
Quite simply, there are too many boxers who achieved too many things to have a clear candidate.
And so, we ask other questions to keep us entertained. We might ask what the greatest knockout ever is or what fighter possessed the best single attribute of anyone else.
Sometimes, we ask who would win in a mythical matchup.
It’s all in good fun and has no true meaning behind it, yet they’re still things we like to discuss.
Maybe the most entertaining one is, “What was the greatest boxing match of all time?”
Again, there is no actual conclusion to be reached, objectively speaking. It heavily depends on what you like.
But there are fights that often get brought up when that particular question is asked, and whether they’re the best or not, what’s plain to see is that they are very, very special.
21 years ago today, one such fight took place.
Diego ‘Chico’ Corrales was a lanky lightweight who stood 5’10½” and had anvils in his fists. Considered one of the hardest pound-for-pound punchers in the world, he owned a record of 39-2 with 32 KOs.
But Corrales’s heart was his biggest asset. In his first professional defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr. (‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd, not ‘Money’ Mayweather), Corrales was dropped five times, yet when his corner threw in the towel in the 10th round, he strongly protested the stoppage.
Jose Luis ‘El Temible’ Castillo possessed one of the best chins in all of boxing. Owning a record of 52-6-1 with 46 KOs, he had not been knocked down a single time.
Castillo himself had encountered Mayweather in the ring. Twice, in fact. On the first occasion, Castillo put forward a performance that many still believe should have resulted in his hand being raised on the night. The rematch was a more convincing win for Mayweather.
Corrales had been a two-time super-featherweight champion, but had moved up to lightweight to take on unbeaten WBO titlist Acelino Freitas. And in a fight he had been losing on the cards, Corrales pulled off a 10th-round TKO to become a two-division beltholder.
Castillo was a two-time lightweight champion who had kicked off his second reign by winning the WBC title against Juan Lazcano. He made two successful defences, and then he went for unification against Corrales.
Nobody at the Mandalay Bay could have possibly known what they were going to witness that night. Many might have thought they did, but nobody truly knew.
When the first bell sounded, Corrales and Castillo instantly went at each other. And all at once, the majority of spectators worried for Corrales.
It was thought beforehand that “Chico” should avoid exchanging with the Mexican, for Castillo was a banger himself and possessed a titanium chin. And while Corrales was an established puncher, his whiskers had been called into question.
But to the surprise of many, not only did Corrales hold his own against Castillo, but he actually gave better than he got on a lot of occasions.
And so, the two fought.
What followed was a violent, gruelling affair that saw both men hurt, rocked, and caught with huge shots. And despite this, neither would give any sort of ground; to them, a single backwards step was surrender.
And as pulsatingly entertaining as the bout was, it was the 10th round that raised it from merely a great fight to potentially the greatest of all time.
When the frame started, both men came out with swollen eyes, Corrales even more so. They walked forward, touched gloves, and went to action.
Then suddenly, Castillo landed a left hook, and Corrales was down on the canvas.
In such a close fight, a knockdown is massive, and Corrales was hurt. With his mouthpiece having come out, he was given extra time to recover, as referee Tony Weeks took him to his corner for Joe Goossen (Corrales’s trainer) to replace it.
The fight continued, but shortly after, a right-left combination put Corrales down for a second time. And having removed his mouthpiece while on the canvas, Weeks deducted a point from the American.
Being walked back to his corner, Goossen replaced Corrales’s mouthpiece once again. As he did so, he would utter a line that would become almost as iconic as the fight itself: “You gotta f**in’ get inside on him now.”
The message was clear, and Corrales walked right back over to his foe. After being backed up into the ropes, the two exchanged, and then Corrales landed a massive right hand that caused Castillo to retreat backwards.
Shortly thereafter, Corrales landed a left hook that visibly hurt his opponent, and the two would swing at each other until Corrales connected with a multi-punch combination.
All at once, Corrales thunked a left hook off of Castillo’s head, and the Mexican was out on his feet. Corrales followed up with a flurry, and Castillo sagged against the ropes. Then Tony Weeks jumped in, giving Corrales the TKO victory.
Whichever broadcast you watch of the fight, there is a commentator who uses the same word following the stoppage: “Unbelievable”.
It was, and it was so much more.
Corrales and Castillo would rematch, but it did not live up to their first encounter. No fight could have, not even one fought by the same two combatants.
Neither were the same again. Castillo would never win another title, while Corrales would never win another fight.
And then, two years to the very day after their epic throwdown, Corrales would unfortunately lose his life in a motorcycle accident.
When boxing lost Diego Corrales, it lost one of the greatest warriors to ever step into the ring. It lost the type of fighter that you really don’t see very often.
He was a gladiator. He was wonderful.
Adam Smith, commentating for Sky Sports Boxing on that very special night, stated, “He’s made of metal, Diego Corrales.” He was, and that metal has yet to corrode.
And so, on the anniversary of Corrales’s passing and his greatest triumph, we pay tribute to him here.
Thank you, Chico. We were so lucky to have you.
Greatest comeback in boxing history? 🍿
🗓️ On this day in 2005, Diego Corrales climbed off the canvas twice to stop Jose Luis Castillo in The Ring’s ‘Fight of the Year’ 😱
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