Reply #5: In their first fight

[H2O Man]

Corrales knocked Castillo out in one of the best fights in the past decade. Both had made the weight limit, and it was a fair match-up.

In the second fight, Castillo came in overweight. Keep in mind the weigh-in is the day before the fight, so if a guy is supposed to be at 135 lbs, but can't get below 140, by the time he gets in the ring the next night, he is going to have gained significant weight. The advantage isn't going to be in the 4 to 5 pound range.

Castillo was more interested in knocking out Corrales in fight #2 than in winning the version of the title Corrales had. It's in part because he has no plan to continue at that lower weight. The paying of a fraction of his pay check to Corrales is nothing compared to the benefits of winning the next two matches over Corrales.

If Castillo made weight, he would be far less likely to have the strength to catch up to Diego, who is in my opinion somewhat underrated as a boxer, because of his hard-punching style. His chin has not held up well, though, as he gets decked about as often as Floyd Patterson used to. If he had boxed Castillo, he would likely win a relatively unexciting match.

Castillo was counting on Corrales giving in again, and fighting a guy who by Saturday would have been at least two full weight classes higher. The extra $125,000 or so isn't worth it. 5 pounds makes a huge difference over 6 rounds, much more over the full 12. From everything I've read, I think that Castillo had no plan to make the weight. There is a significant increased risk for injuries in fighting bigger men -- hence weight classes. As Teddy Atlas so often says, the sport needs to apply the rules. Castillo was disrespectful of the sport, once again.

I think things were much better when fighters weighed in the morning of a fight. With heavyweights, it obviously isn't as important.