Diego Corrales
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| Diego Corrales | |
 |
|
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Diego Corrales |
| Nickname | Chico |
| Weight | Lightweight |
| Nationality |  American |
| Birth date | August 25, 1977 |
| Birth place | Columbia, SC, USA |
| Style | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 44 |
| Wins | 40 |
| Wins by KO | 33 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Diego Corrales (born August 25, 1977, Columbia, South Carolina, USA) is a former super featherweight and lightweight world boxing champion. "Chico" has a professional record of 40-4-0, with 33 wins coming by way of knockout.
Corrales was born to a Colombian father and a Mexican mother.[citation needed] Corrales' early life was filled with violence. He was raised in Sacramento, CA, where he was involved with street gangs. At age 13, he witnessed his best friend's death via drive-by shooting.[1]
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[edit] Amateur career
Corrales compiled an amateur boxing record of 105-12.[2] In 1994, he took second place at the United States Amateur Championships—losing to Frankie Carmona on points in the featherweight final. He was a bronze medalist at featherweight in the 1995 Pan American Games. At lightweight, he lost in the 1995 World Championships in Berlin, Germany to Marco Rudolph.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Early success
Corrales was victorious in his pro boxing debut on March 19, 1996. On October 23, 1999, Corrales won the IBF super featherweight title by defeating the previously unbeaten Roberto Garcia via TKO in the seventh round. After defeating Angel Manfredy on September 2, 2000, Corrales' managers vacated his title. Corrales had a record of 33-0 at this point.
[edit] Corrales vs. Mayweather
On January 20, 2001, Corrales challenged Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the WBC super featherweight title. In the bout, Mayweather knocked down Corrales five times (three times in the seventh round and twice in the tenth round). After the fifth knockdown, Corrales' corner stopped the fight, despite Corrales' protests. This fight was the first one in which Corrales was knocked down and was his first loss.
After the Mayweather Jr. bout, Corrales had to deal with personal issues. When he was accused of violence against his pregnant ex-wife, Corrales accepted a plea bargain. He spent 14 months in prison.
[edit] Return to boxing
In 2003, Corrales returned to the ring. After easily winning four fights, Corrales fought against Joel Casamayor. After the sixth round, the fight was stopped because of a deep cut inside of Corrales' mouth. On March 6, 2004, there was a rematch for the vacant WBO super featherweight title that Corrales won by close split decision.
On August 7, 2004, Corrales won the WBO lightweight title from Acelino Freitas via TKO in the tenth round. Freitas was a celebrated fighter and a national hero in Brazil. Freitas won the early rounds of the fight by hitting and running. But he expended too much energy and was battered by the power punching of Corrales. After being knocked down three times, Freitas quit.
[edit] Corrales vs. Castillo I, II, & III
On May 7, 2005, Corrales defeated José Luis Castillo for the WBC lightweight title, also via TKO in the tenth round. The fight is almost universally regarded as the best fight of 2005.[3][4][5] Both men stood in front of each other, battering each other with hard combinations and power punches throughout the entire fight. Finally, in the tenth round, Castillo knocked Corrales down, causing Corrales to spit out his mouthpiece. This allowed him some extra recovery time while getting another one put in. Seconds later, Castillo knocked Corrales down again. Once on the ground, Corrales took his mouthpiece out, allowing him more recovery time. This caused the referee to deduct one point from Corrales. After the point was taken away, Corrales connected with a punch that Castillo later called "a perfect right hand."[6] Corrales then trapped Castillo against the ropes and landed numerous punches, causing the referee, Tony Weeks, to stop the fight. Whether the stoppage was premature has been debated by boxing fans and analysts. On one hand, Castillo was not given the same chance to recover that Corrales had had. (The rules did not include a standing 8 count.) On the other hand, Castillo was trapped against the ropes with his hands at his sides, apparently knocked out on his feet—a potentially life-threatening position. However, the larger controversy in the fight was the fact that Diego Corrales had both spit and taken out his mouthpiece in the final around, causing boxing fans to wonder if Castillo would have won had Corrales not had the extra time to recover.
A rematch between Corrales and Castillo occurred on October 8, 2005. On the day before the fight, Castillo weighed-in 3½ lb over the 135 lb lightweight limit. Since Castillo did not make the weight, the fight became a non-title bout. The two fighters continued with the same fighting style that they had used in the first fight, trading inside punches throughout the first three rounds. Early in the fourth round, Castillo knocked down Corrales with a left hook to his chin. Corrales wobbled to his feet at the referee's count of ten, causing the fight to end.
Corrales vs. Castillo III, dubbed "The War to Settle the Score," had been scheduled for February 4, 2006, but it was postponed because of a rib injury that Corrales suffered while training. The fight was rescheduled for June 3, 2006. At the weigh-in, however, Corrales weighed the 135 lb lightweight limit whereas Castillo weighed 139½ lb—causing the fight to be cancelled. Corrales recently sued Castillo for punitive damages.
[edit] Staying at lightweight
Corrales was scheduled to defend his lightweight title in a third bout against Joel Casamayor on October 7, 2006. However, in an extremely ironic case, Corrales weighed in 5 pounds over the lightweight limit of 135 pounds for the Casamayor fight. He was given two hours to shed five pounds, but came back at 139 pounds, still four pounds over the limit. Corrales would have been stripped of the title if he had won the bout, but Casamayor defeated him by split decision for the WBC and The Ring lightweight titles.
[edit] See also
- List of current world boxing champions
- List of male boxers
- List of notable boxing rivalries
- List of The Ring world champions
- List of WBC world champions
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Press release. "Showtime Championship Boxing to feature WBO lightweight championship." 2 June 2004. Showtime. URL accessed 28 August 2006.
- ^ Boxing-Records editors. Boxing-Records: Diego Corrales 1 March 2006. GFAX. URL accessed 28 August 2006.
- ^ Eisele, Andrew. "Ring Magazine Fight of the Year." About.com URL accessed 23 July 2006.
- ^ Gregg, John. "2005 Boxing Year in Review." 3 January 2006. The Boxing Times. URL accessed 23 July 2006.
- ^ "Corrales vs. Castillo I- Fight of the Year 2005." 5 January 2006. TigerBoxing.com. URL accessed 23 July 2006.
- ^ Castillo, José Luis. "Showtime Conference Call Quotes: Corrales, Castillo & Their Teams." 5 December 2005. East Side Boxing. URL accessed 23 July 2006.
[edit] External links
- Diego Corrales' career boxing record by Boxrec.com
- The rises and falls of Diego Corrales by Jason Probst, 17 April 2003, Sacramento News and Review.
- Diego Corrales BoxRec wiki bio
| Preceded by: Roberto Garcia |
Super featherweight boxing champion (IBF) 1999–2000 |
Vacant Title next held by Steve Forbes |
| Vacant Title last held by Acelino Freitas |
Super featherweight boxing champion (WBO) 2004 |
Vacant Title next held by Mike Anchondo |
| Preceded by: Acelino Freitas |
Lightweight boxing champion (WBO) 2004-2006 |
Vacant Title next held by Acelino Freitas |
| Preceded by: José Luis Castillo |
Lightweight boxing champion (The Ring) 2005–2006 |
Succeeded by: Joel Casamayor |
| Preceded by: José Luis Castillo |
Lightweight boxing champion (WBC) 2005–2006 |
Succeeded by: Joel Casamayor |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Corrales, Diego |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Chico |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American professional boxer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 25, 1977 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Columbia, South Carolina, USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
