Reflections on Casamayor/Corrales
By "Irish" Bobby Cassidy October 9th, 2006The weight debate and what it means to be a southpaw
I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. Joel Casamayor came away with a split decision against Diego Corrales at Mandalay Bay on Saturday night just as we suggested on TSS.
Here’s the logic behind my pick. As a fellow southpaw, I am very, very familiar with split decisions (damn those Miami judges and Luis Rodriguez’s incredible recuperative powers). I have endured my share of split decisions and a big reason why is because I was a southpaw. Part of the problem is that orthodox fighters are uncomfortable facing lefties and thus the rhythm and flow of a fight can become choppy. This also impacts the way a judge scores the fight. This usually gets blamed on the lefthander, but hey, it takes two to tango.
At times – but not every time – a lefty-righty encounter winds up with a lot of clinching and awkward moments. It’s up to both men to fight out of those situations. A good southpaw, like Casamayor, knows how to use those awkward situations to his advantage. A good judge recognizes that. Too often, that goes unrecognized.
In the case of Casamayor – who lost splits to Corrales, Castillo and a disputed unanimous to Acelino Freitas – his stance was only part of the reason. The other part was that he would fade down the stretch. Not so this time around. Casamayor boxed steady and countered effectively while Corrales pursued but didn’t punch.
As for the weigh-in, I’m thinking that Corrales figured it worked for Castillo, so why not for him. That logic backfired, wound up costing Diego money, his title and perhaps his career.
October 9th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
As for the weigh-in, I’m thinking that Corrales figured it worked for Castillo, so why not for him. That logic backfired, wound up costing Diego money, his title and perhaps his career.
wait, so u think corrales did the weight thing intentionally?
i wouldnt think so
October 9th, 2006 at 8:21 pm
My experience has been that when you are that much over, you’ve known about it. This was no surprise to Corrales or the camp.
October 10th, 2006 at 4:46 am
He was three pounds over the intended mark (139) a week before the fight, but still could not shed more than 2.5 in the following 6 days. The same thing happened to Castillo, i.e. his body couldn’t take it. What should he have done? Told Casamayor’s camp a week in advance, and not even try to make weight?
I don’t believe Corrales intentionally came in overweight, and I don’t believe Castillo did either.
October 10th, 2006 at 5:16 am
Suddenly, Corrales v Castillo III is back in the works at 140, you would assume so anyway.
Hatton could get left in the cold once again.
October 10th, 2006 at 6:18 am
he’s done
October 10th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
Corrales started believing the fight. His power is what got him over to me ever since Mayweather whooped that booty his lack of boxing skill was revealed. He was afraid to go up in weight until it was safe like now. however Castillo is there possibly Cotto Hatton and others. He should make what he can off a Castillo match and quit. If not he is going to get dusted real fast….
October 10th, 2006 at 10:49 pm
“he’s done”
I agree.
October 11th, 2006 at 12:42 am
I was entertaining friends at the Mirage in Las Vegas. Stopped by the sportsbook to get the result of this bout. Saw the big arrow pointing to the winner by split decision on their electronic board. First thing that went through my mind was “Irish” Bobby Cassidy nailed it.
October 11th, 2006 at 1:13 pm
Everyone on here is talking about Chico. Hey guys, he lost again. That is is the second loss within a year. He did not get beaten down again like usual, but he did lose almost every round because he sucks against skilled boxers, weight or no weight.
Casamayor won. Even though he is 35, he has never, ever taken any kind of beating. Not against Chico, Freitas, or Castillo. All of those guys won controversial, close decisions over Casamayor. None of them were decisive. Anyway, he deserves alot of credit as being one of the slickest and skilled boxers in this 130-135 range. I would like to see him beat Barrera, Morales, and even Diaz or Raheem. He needs to continue beating top level guys in this area to secure the kind of legacy that he is more then capable of achieving. Go Joel.