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03/07/2004 Archived Entry: "Corrales tops Casamayor, issues left to be decided"
Corrales tops Casamayor, issues left to be decided
By Tom Donelson
Okay, I got it wrong. I picked Casamayor and instead, Corrales won their rematch last night at Foxwoods Casino Resort. Corrales learned from his mistakes and fought a smarter fight, where he used his jab and kept the pressure on Casamayor. Casamayor snapped a few sharp punches in the first seven rounds but not enough to take any of the early rounds. Casamayor’s punches were few and far between whereas Corrales threw a variety of punches in Casamayor’s direction. By the time the eighth round came around, Casamayor was far behind as Corrales commanded the ring. It was Corrales' fight to lose and it almost happened.
In the eighth round, Casamayor went after Corrales in an effort to change the momentum. He started to snap punches more frequently, attacking Corrales’ face and now he moved forward with the idea of going for the KO. No more boxing and avoiding punches- it was time to rumble.
The ninth round was Casamayor's best at this point of the fight as he started to connect with straight lefts. Corrales became ineffective with the jabs and counter rights he had been using with better effect early on. This became desperation time as Buddy McGirt, Casamayor's new trainer, was reminding his his charge that he needed to take charge. In the ninth round, Casamayor did but throughout the round, Corrales took Casamayor's best shots and stood straight up. Corrales’ shaky chin made it through the ninth.
In the tenth, the action heated up as Casamayor scored with a perfect straight left from his southpaw stance. Corrales went down. This was simply a case of Casamayor beating Corrales to the punch as he had in their first tilt. As Corrales began to throw his right, a left hand from Casamayor hit him squarely in the face. Casamayor’s hand speed was finally making a difference. It was a crucial moment in the fight as Casamayor went for the kill.
In every fighter's career, there are those moments in which a fighter must step forward and decide if the victory is worth the price. Corrales went into the eleventh, having been dominated the previous two rounds with more zest. His trainer, Joe Gossen, advised Corrales, “Tighten your defense! Casamayor will come after you with everything.” In Corrales' previous two big fights, he lost and now he was in danger of losing yet another one. Lose and his career is effectively over as a major player in the jr. lightweight division. He had to blunt the Casamayor counter attack.
In the eleventh, he did exactly that. He clinched his victory as he nailed Casamayor with a sharp right early in the round and managed to gain control back of the fight. Corrales suffered a cut from a accidental head butt as the round ended and had three minutes left to cement the biggest fight of his life. As for the twelfth, Casamayor won the round but it was too little, too late.
Two of the official judges had Corrales by a score of 115-112, while the other saw it 114-113 for Casamayor and his late round rally.
This fight was won in the early rounds as Corrales dictated the pace and did enough to keep Casamayor off balance. When Casamayor came back, Corrales had a big enough lead that only a knock out would secure a victory for the Cuban fighter. Under the guidance of Joe Gossen, Corrales fought a smarter fight. On the reverse side, Casamayor may have missed his former trainer more than what he would be willing to admit.
Which brings us to the future. These two fighters are two of the best 130 pounders in the world and it is only fitting that there be a third fight between the two. While Erick Morales is the big money fight for both fighters, there is still unfinished business. One more fight to see who is truly is the of 130 pound division.
Network - Showtime
Replies: 1 Comment made on this article
I am agree on your comment,now they are even, we the fan need a third fight to see who is the real champion at 130 Lb.
Posted by abiliomira@yahoo.com">Abi @ 03/10/2004 05:22 PM EST
