Martín Castillo

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José Martín Castillo (born January 13, 1977 in Mexico City) is a boxer from Mexico, who is more commonly known as Martín Castillo. He represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is a former World Boxing Association (WBA) Superflyweight (115 lbs) champion. His current record is 30 wins, 2 loss, with 16 knock-outs.

Castillo, nicknamed "Gallito" (Little Rooster), first fought for a world title on March 30, 2002, against Felix Machado. Castillo suffered a cut due to a headbutt, and the fight was stopped in the 6th round. By rule when a headbutt is ruled to be unintentional, the fight went to the scorecards. All three judges ruled against Castillo, although many thought he was winning the fight.

After winning the WBA interim title, Castillo fought the full WBA champion, Alexander Muñoz, on December 3, 2004 in Laredo, Texas. At the time, Muñoz was a widely respected and feared power puncher, with an undefeated record in 25 fights, with 24 wins by way of knock-out. Castillo frustrated Muñoz with slick boxing skills and expert use of angles. Castillo dropped Muñoz twice on the way to a fairly easy unanimous decision victory.

Castillo defended his title in an unanimous decision victory over former WBA flyweight champion Eric Morel on March 19, 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Castillo received some exposure in this fight, as it was the first televised bout on the Pay-Per-View fight card featuring the first match between boxing superstars Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao. However, Castillo's victory was a workman-like effort, largely because Morel employed a very defensive style. Castillo followed this victory with another unanimous decision defense of his belt over Hideyasu Ishihara on June 26, 2005 in a fight held in Nagoya, Japan.

The rematch between Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao on January 21, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada provided another opportunity to feature Castillo on the undercard, this time as the chief supporting bout to the main event. Castillo was rematched with Muñoz, who had won three fights since losing his belt. This time Muñoz came much better prepared, applying pressure from the opening bell and dropping Castillo in the first round. Castillo also suffered bad cuts over both eyes as the fight progressed. The aggressiveness of Muñoz and his heavy punches won him the early rounds. However, Castillo rallied in the later rounds, using better technique and counter-punches, but also exhibiting aggressiveness. The last three rounds featured furious exchanges between the fighters, with Muñoz growing increasingly tired, but still launching dangerous power punches.

Castillo won a split decision victory, but perhaps more importantly, he demonstrated a crowd-pleasing style to a wide audience. Although hard-core boxing fans appreciate his use of boxing skills, "blood and guts" battles lead to larger purses.

Castillo is trained by Manuel Robles, managed by Frank Espinoza, and promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank. Although Castillo is widely considered the best supeflyweight boxer in the world, he is not yet regarded among the top ten pound for pound fighters in boxing. Potential matchups that could propel him there include fellow superflyweight champion Fernando Montiel, flyweight interim titlist Jorge Arce, or bantamweight champion Rafael Márquez.