What's Eaten in Vegas , Stays in Castillo
 By Gabriel Montoya, (June 9, 2006)
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Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME
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“The only thing better than going to a big fight is going to a big fight in Vegas. Flying high over the snow capped mountains, I can’t help but wonder what will greet me when I land. This being the first major fight I have covered live, my expectations are understandably high. Castillo/Corrales III: The War to Settle the Score. Good trilogies are rare these days. Even rarer are three fights in rapid succession.” This is where I had to turn off my laptop and land in Vegas. I stepped off the plane at 1:15pm and from that moment on, the pace of my life would increase until it returned to the near standstill of quiet, Sacramento life some five days later. Unbeknownst to me, at 1:22pm on June 1st, 2006, Jose Luis Castillo was just 26 hours from making great trilogies rarer still.
At around 1:00pm on Friday, just two hours before he would step onto the scale and blow his financial future for at least the rest of the year, Fatstillo and Team Fatstillo (calling them handlers would imply they had a handle on the situation) gingerly walked across the casino floor. Jose waved weakly and barely acknowledged both myself and my associate as his entourage made their way towards the elevators and back upstairs. The rest is history that has been discussed ad nauseum (as well it should be). Fatstillo, who can expect to face the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s wrath as well as lawsuits from Corrales’ promoter Gary Shaw, Corrales himself, and others sometime within the month, said “I am more afraid of the scales than of Corrales“ before the fight. Perhaps he should have been more afraid of NOT GETTING PAID. Hey, maybe now that he is being fined, suspended or both, he can endorse Chipotle burritos. I can see it now… “My name is Jose Luis Fatstillo and I would give up $900,000 for a burrito.”
According to various reports, Castillo would step off of his plane weighing anywhere from 142 to 148lbs. the week of the fight. Unfortunately, some of those reports came from the WBC who were SUPPOSED to be monitoring Fatstillo’s weight throughout his training camp. Aren’t periodic weigh-ins designed so that come the day of the weigh in, Fatstillo would actually make weight? Or are they merely designed to look like someone is doing their job? More than one source, none of whom wanted to go on record, said that the WBC essentially weighed Fatstillo via phone calls. This is the same sanctioning body who now claims they told everyone (Bob Arum, Gary Shaw, members of Corrales’ team) that three weeks before the final weigh in, Fatstillo was 20% over the allowed weight at that time frame. NOW THEY TELL THE MEDIA? Last time I checked, WBC President for Life, Jose Sulaiman, has the power to do what he wants with bouts his organization sanctions. He can pick officials, referees and even decide who gets a title shot. Why was Fatstillo, who had not made the contracted weight in his last two fights, allowed to fight for the LIGHTWEIGHT title yet again? Especially considering the fact he had not been a lightweight for two fights straight going back to the rematch with Corrales. Why was the fight not called off or at least salvaged when it became clear he would not make weight? I suppose that answer lies somewhere near the answer to why Oscar De la Hoya was allowed to fight for the WBC junior middleweight title when he hadn’t been a junior middleweight since he LOST to Shane Mosley back in ‘03 in his last 154-pound bout. To quote Floyd Mayweather Jr. “If it makes dollars, it makes sense.” Only in boxing would any of this make sense. Apparently, the WBC, IBF, WBO, WBA and all other letter combinations have never met a sanctioning fee they didn’t like.
New Executive Director of NSAC Keith Kizer has stated that he has not heard from the WBC concerning Fatstillo’s weight since May 23rd. Who do you believe? A guy who has yet to lie to us in Kizer and who, by all reports and observations, seems a great choice to succeed former Executive Director Mark Ratner. Bob Arum concurred with Mr. Kizer and added that the W(e) B(e) C(overing our asses) gave only positive reports from 10 days out of the weigh in. The report the night before the weigh in was that Fatstillo weighed 137 lbs before he went to sleep. Some one is lying and I don’t believe it is Arum nor NSAC. Perhaps the WBC should rename themselves the CYA commission.
Another question in a long list: Why wasn’t a contingency fighter brought in or at least considered? I understand Chico Corrales would rather be prepared for his opponent but my guess is he would have had at least 1.2 million reasons to not care about lack of preparedness. Watching the baffled promoters, managers, and hangers on, one thing was clear: only two guys did their job on Friday June 2nd. Those two men were Joe Goossen and Diego Corrales.
I spoke with Joe Goossen following the final press conference for The War to Settle the Score. For those of you who don’t know him, Joe is not only one of the classiest guys in the sport, he is one of its best interviews. He made no bones about the fact that he did not feel the rematch should have happened as soon as it did for the health of both fighters. He described his relationship with Diego as “like a brotherly thing. His wife and kids come over to our house for dinner a couple nights week for training until of course we start losing weight. We are constantly in contact. We don’t just go to the gym and never see each other again. Diego is really a gregarious person as am I, and that is kind of why we don’t have too hard of a time.”
The day of the weight debacle, Joe stated that he was 100% against Corrales going through with fight but that it was not really his decision at all. It was very clear that money meant nothing to him at all in this situation. All he cared about was the man he referred to as a brother. It was refreshing to see and rare as well.
For Corrales, the decision was not an easy one. Initially when he spoke to the media after a 20 minute or so huddle featuring members of both camps and Showtime, Corrales made it seem as if the decision had not been made. Moments after he stepped away to a back room, Gary Shaw and Bob Arum, both obviously upset, ascended the stage at the Augustus Ballroom and made the announcement to the crowd of media and a hundred or so hardcore fans who screamed “Give me my money back.” They were all assured a refund should they wished which was surprising. For once, boxing and its promoters weren’t all about the money.
Following the weigh in mess, I attended the Top Rank media dinner on Friday evening for Hasim Rahman versus Oleg Maskaev II. Essentially a media dinner is a chance for members of the media to listen to the fighters’ respective managers make their case. For a brief moment, I thought ‘The Rock’ looked impressive, seemingly in better shape than he has been in years. Then I realized it was his brother making his introduction. Rahman himself looked very much out of shape (I thought oversized shirts were supposed to HIDE your size), trying to convince us that he would finally be focused for this fight. Maskaev looked in very good condition and didn't have to convince anyone he was serious. Judging by his shuffling feet, Chuck Barris hand gestures and lack of anything new (although his “You’re fooling yourself” speech to Maskaev was priceless stuff), I have to think Maskeav just may have the penthouse suite in Rahman’s dome. Yes, Maskaev is older and slower. But he was slower the first time around and Rahman was in shape and he still got KO’d. Though Rahman claimed he trained down to the level of his opposition (Maskaev was the third in a series of replacement opponents leading into the first bout) his current state does not reflect a newfound focus on a man who derailed his career so early on. It is a matter of who gets to who first, in my opinion, and a recently consistent guy in Maskaev who is on the same kind of winning streak that Rahman enjoyed coming into his destruction of Kali Meehan, may be the man to watch here.
All in all, the week I spent in Vegas was an eventful one. While I did not get to see and cover my first Superfight, I did get my first Super Story. For a first time field reporter, getting to see the old hands tackle a breaking news story was an education you can’t buy. Ultimately, the fights I did attend were very worthwhile. James Kirkland out of Austin, Texas was impressive. Scoring two knockdowns in the first en route to a stoppage win, this southpaw junior middleweight is one to watch. So impressive that he was added to the non-televised portion of the Jermaine Taylor versus Winky Wright card in Memphis, Tennessee on the June 17th. Look for my interview with Mr. Kirkland within the next week or so. The Vic Darchinyan fight was entertaining as well. It was a very efficient, coldly professional performance from the man I believe will give Jorge Arce the kind of fight we were expecting to see from Corrales/Castillo III.
Flying back into Sacramento on Monday morning, I felt as if I was waking from a very crazy, yet very pleasant dream. Stepping into Gate 11 and looking into the distance, I couldn’t help but feel I was leaving a world so very far away. A world I will forever be a part of.
Quick Combos: Highlights from a great week in Vegas
Chico’s pre-flight prediction: “A stone cold shutout. From 1 to 12. When you see it, you’re going to say ‘Damn. DAAAAMNNNNN.’ Like that (laughs).”
James Toney, in a huge hat stopping by our table at Caesar’s: I honestly only understood the words “Klitschko”, “left hook”, “November” and “maybe”. Nice guy. Great to his fans.
Winky Wright’s prediction for his upcoming bout with Middleweight Champion Jermaine Taylor: “I see Winky Wright …all night.”
Hangin’ out with Michael Swann, Doug “cool as hell” Fischer and Steve “Why you dissin’ on Nas?” Kim and the rest of the Knights of the Lounge Table. An education in boxing at all levels, hip-hop, white heavies, and how to conduct myself in this thing we call the boxing media. Thanks a million, guys. I owe you all at least a round.
Speaking with Ricky Hatton, he revealed that after the whole merry go round of opponents, most of whom were junior welters, he only had 6 weeks to make the transition to welterweight for his showdown with Luis Collazo. “140 is much more comfortable for me. I will be going back down. Hopefully against the winner of Castillo/Corrales or maybe even Cotto. That would be a helluva fight.”
Special Thanks goes out to my associate, Realtorchill, my editor Anthony Cocks, and my friend Coyote Duran. Mr. Chill and Anthony made this trip very much possible and all have encouraged me to be a writer from the word go. I don’t have the words, my brothers. The most special thanks goes to my fiancée, who trusted this once confirmed bachelor in that most sinful of cities. Without you nothing is possible.
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