FIGHT REVIEW Jose Luis Castillo - Diego Corrales IBF Lightweight Championship May 7, 2005       Wow.       That was my reaction at the conclusion of the Diego Corrales – Jose Luis Castillo Lightweight Title fight televised on Showtime this past Saturday night. Don't look for the play by play, round by round routine here. You won't get it. I'm not sure I could adequately put it into words anyway. Better you jump on your Showtime On Demand (if you have it on your cable package .. and if you don't .. get it!) and call it up yourself. All I can say is that it made me proud to be a boxing fan. If ever a bout exemplified what this sport is all about, this one is one they can hold up as proof. Two class acts, two true gentlemen outside the ring, two true warriors in it, and two men who gave it everything they had. And them some. But don’t take my word for it. ESPN thought so much of it that they had Bert Sugar on to ask him his reaction to the bout. Bert put it as number 8 on his all time top ten bouts, and rightly so. It was a fight for the ages, and I can’t tell you how happy I am that chose to stay home and tape it (yes, I have it on tape, live and in color as it happened!) instead of going out and carousing with fellow ne’er do wells. Besides, I had beer at home.       Much has been said about the bout in the media and on the boxing web sites I visit regularly (maxboxing.com is my favorite) the past two days. Personally, I feel referee Tony Weeks did an excellent job, and joins Jay Nady as one of my favorite refs. And like so many fans out there, I too got a chill up my spine when I saw Castillo, moments before the stoppage, looking for all the world like Benny “Kid” Paret against the ropes in his bout with Emile Griffith. I don’t think I need to remind you how that turned out. Castillo is a warrior (he’s Mexican, and I can’t think of any Mexican fighter who isn’t), and of course he felt he could have continued. But that’s his heart and pride talking, and God bless him for it. But my feeling is that once he saw the ending, he knows Tony Weeks did the right thing. And in my mind, he didn’t lose. There wasn’t a loser in this classic. And the real winners? Anyone who had a chance to see it. Diego Corrales said it was an honor to be in the ring with such a great fighter. It was an honor for me to have watched it.

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