07.06.06 – By Dan Horgan: When Jose Luis Castillo failed to make the 135 pound lightweight limit last Friday, this year’s award to boxing’s biggest disgrace was given out. Here Castillo was, set to fight his arch rival in a main-event that was receiving national coverage (it was even Sports Illustrated’s “pick of the week” in the “What to Watch” section), and he doesn’t even have the decency to let the world know that he’s not going to make weight! What was he thinking? Did he really expect the fight to go on when he weighed in four and half pounds over the limit? Did he really think that Diego Corrales would bail him out again and let the fight go on?
How selfish can one man be! By being overweight, Castillo let down Corrales himself (he had to sacrifice 1.2 million dollars by not taking the fight), fans all across the world, and most tragically, the world of boxing. Casual fans who had heard of the first two epics bouts were lining up to see the third, and when they were let down, boxing took a huge blow. It is these casual fans that boxing needs in order to become popular again. “Sportscenter” and “Sports Illustrated” are not going to give coverage to a sport that only has hard-core fans. It’s that simple.
So how can a man that has given a blow so big to a sport so fragile possibly redeem himself? It’s easy, fight another man that has given a low blow to boxing (literally) in Zab Judah.
Now I’m not saying that Judah’s low blow to Floyd Mayweather in their April bout is anywhere near as bad as Castillo’s not making weight. However, that fight, like last Saturday’s, was receiving national coverage, and Judah’s childish antics certainly did not help boxing’s already tarnished image.
So, I ask, why don’t Jose Luis Castillo and Zab Judah fight each other and give the boxing a world a make up present? It would make perfect sense. Both men are in dire need of a big win (Castillo moving up in weight, and Judah coming off two losses), both men still have huge fan bases creating a great Mexican vs. American match up, and Castillo’s straight ahead style against Judah’s slick ability would make for a fantastic boxer vs. puncher fight.
Although this is a brilliant match up that fans would certainly want to see, there is a downside: Both Castillo and Judah would end up receiving fat checks from HBO or Showtime which clearly would not be in order after the way they’ve disgraced the sport. So in addition to taking the risk of fighting each other, the two should take lower paydays and fight on a network that doesn’t require an expensive cable bill to watch. “Friday Night Fights” or “The Best Damn Sports Show Period” would both be happy to host the bout, and this way, more people could see it. As unrealistic as the idea may be, how Castillo and Judah hurt boxing was also unrealistic, and in order to restore their names and maybe even the sport, a fight like this would be necessary.
NOTES
-THIS HAS YET TO BE REPORTED BY ANYONE: Newly crowned IBF super featherweight champ, Cassius Baloyi, will likely defend his title on July 29 against fellow countryman Mzonke Fana. Fana is best known for being knocked out in two rounds against Marco Antonio Barrera in April, 2005. Both the IBF and IBO will sanction the bout (Fana is ranked 11th by the IBF and 25th by the IBO, meeting the criteria for both organizations’ title). South Africa is known for matching it’s top fighters against each other.
-If you haven’t been on Youtube.com yet, then you should definitely check it out. Clips, interviews, and full fights can be seen on the sight for no charge at all. Some of the best fights that can be seen include Floyd Mayweather vs. Sharmba Mitchell, Antonio Margarito vs. Manuel Gomez, Somsak Sithchatawal vs. Mahyar Monshipour, and many others.
-For those of you who still haven’t seen Nikolay Valuev fight, go to the video section of this site and go to “Saunerland event” clips. Highlights from some of Valuev’s more recent bouts can be seen at no charge.
-Still trying to decide on which card to order this Saturday? Go with Cotto-Malignaggi. Although the main event isn’t as strong as Tarver-Hopkins, the undercard is stacked. Prospects Julio Caesar Chavez Jr., Juan Manuel Lopez, and John Duddy will all face tough tests, and an intriguing super-featherweight bout in Kevin Kelly vs. Bobby Pacquio is also on the card. Plus, it costs ten dollars less.
This author can be contacted at danhorgan2@verizon.net – Please feel free to write to me. I love talking about boxing.