06.10.06 – When the 20th anniversary celebration of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING continues on Oct. 7 at 9 p.m., ET/PT (delayed on the west coast), Diego “Chico” Corrales will face arch nemesis and former 130-pound world champion, southpaw Joel “El Cepillo” Casamayor.
The fight was thought to be in jeopardy when Corrales initially weighed in at 139.5 pounds, over the 135-pound limit. Corrales returned to the scales to weigh in nearly two hours later and tipped the scales at 139 pounds. Casamayor weighed 135, the lightweight limit, on his initial try.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission fined Corrales $240,000, $120,000 of which goes to Casamayor. The Corrales and Casamayor camps also agreed on a settlement that included an undisclosed monetary payment from Corrales to Casamayor. Further, Corrales lost his World Boxing Council title on the scale. If Casamayor wins, he is the new WBC 135-pound world champion. If the fight is a draw or Casamayor loses, he will have the opportunity to fight David Diaz, the current WBC lightweight interim champion, for the title. Both fighters have agreed to a noon weigh-in tomorrow where neither fighter may exceed 147 pounds.
The rubber match of an outstanding, hard-fought series will be promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, and take place at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Corrales (40-3, 33 KOs), of Las Vegas, by way of Sacramento, was the WBC lightweight champion before being stripped. Casamayor (33-3-1, 21 KOs), of Miramar, Fla., by way of Guantanamo, Cuba, is 7-3 in world title fights. In the co-feature, Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan (26-0, 21 KOs) will risk his International Boxing Federation/International Boxing Organization (IBF/IBO) flyweight crowns against world-ranked Glenn “The Filipino Bomber” Donaire (16-2-1, nine KO’s)
DIEGO CORRALES:
“I grabbed Casamayor’s hand after the weigh-in and apologized. It’s not something I tried to do.”
“I’ve been trying so hard to drop the weight, I was almost at the point of passing out this morning.”
“Honestly, I’m responsible for my actions. I believe if you make a mistake, you should be punished. I made a mistake and should be punished.”
“When I was at the 147 area a few weeks ago, I knew it might be tough to get down. I got down a bit and thought I might get there, but I just couldn’t crack 142 pounds. Every day, I trained, ate salad and still weighed 142 pounds. I was actually afraid I was going to pass out today – I worked out three times with no food or water.”
“I just got done working out for two hours and only lost half a pound. That pretty much sums it up. I pretty much killed myself to be here at this fight.
JOE GOOSSEN (Corrales Trainer)
“Monday was his last meal and it was a little bit of tuna and small salad. He’s been sucking on ice chips since.”