Diego Corrales; A weight division too many and a fight too far
By Julian Kasdin (April 11, 2007) Doghouse Boxing (Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME)
Last Saturday Diego ‘Chico’ Corrales, 40-5 (33), stepped into the ring against Joshua ‘The Hitter’ Clottey, 31-2 (19), for what will hopefully be the last time. Why should it be the last time? Well some might see the loss against Clottey as Diego simply biting off more then he could chew, however I firmly believe the writing is on the wall, Diego is done.

I do not want to get down on Diego especially at what has to be the lowest point in his career, but with three straight losses questions need to be asked about his ability to continue. Diego has had his ups and downs. Losses to Clottey,
Casamayor, Castillo and Mayweather must also be weighed against wins over Freitas, Casamayor and his spectacular tenth round KO of Castillo. One must take into account that in several of his wins and many of his losses Corrales has subjected himself to an incredible amount of punishment.

Mayweather completely demolished Chico, and one must remember that at 130 Floyd could truly crack which was part of the reason he scored seven knockdowns before that fight was stopped. In both fights with Castillo Corrales took a tremendous amount of punishment, clearly having taken more of it the first time and taking all of it the second time these two warriors fought.

Finally we have the Clottey fight, which was a weight division too high and a fight too far. Joshua was, for the most part, unfazed by Diego’s power while being able to hurt Diego with surprising regularity. Every shot seemed to land with authority as Joshua would live up to his name and pummel Corrales into a bloody and broken fighter. If not for Diego’s will he would have never made it to the final bell. When all was said and done Diego Corrales had been in another brutal fight and walked away with not only a loss but what seemed to be a broken jaw as well as a battered body.

Where can Diego go from here? He had enough trouble getting down to 147, in fact he didn’t even get down to 147. So it is quite possible that he cannot make 140, and even if he can the prospect of fighting Jose Luis Castillo again or Ricky Hatton would only mean that Chico would walk through hell again. It is time that Diego and those around him realize that maybe he should hang them up. It is no longer a question of can he win again – sure he can win against lesser opposition – it is a question of how much more punishment must he take? Diego may only be 29 but when he turns 30 he will be closer to 40 as he has endured more then can be asked of any man in any sport. Thanks for the memories Diego but I hope that the next time we see you at a fight it is as a spectator.


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Julian at: Alcaldemb@aol.com
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