José Luis Castillo
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| José Luis Castillo | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Jose Luis Castillo |
| Nickname | El Temible |
| Weight | Lightweight |
| Nationality |  Mexican |
| Birth date | December 14, 1973 |
| Birth place | Empalme, Sonora, Mexico |
| Style | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 63 |
| Wins | 55 |
| Wins by KO | 47 |
| Losses | 7 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
José Luis Castillo (born December 14, 1973, Empalme, Sonora) is a Mexican boxer. Nicknamed El Temible, Castillo has a current record of 54-7-1 with 47 knockouts.
Castillo has had a solid professional career, defeating the likes of Stevie Johnston, Joel Casamayor, Juan Lazcano, Julio Diaz, and losing two very close decisions (the first being very controversial) with current pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.. Castillo early in his career sparred with Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez.
Castillo is best known for his grueling fight against Diego Corrales for the WBC-WBO lightweight title unification, on May 7, 2005. Both fighters were exchanging a brutal amount of punishment, until Castillo finally knocked down Corrales twice in the tenth round. Corrales was deducted a point from referee Tony Weeks for spitting out his mouthpiece while getting up from the second knockdown, and then surprisingly roared back, pinning Castillo against the ropes landing devastating punches, scoring a win by TKO. Castillo, as well as some boxing experts and fans, later debated that Corrales was given too much time to recover during the point deduction. More controversy surrounded the fight, in which some say that Weeks did not give a fair chance for Castillo to recover, although Castillo showed no animosity toward the stoppage, saying "he was in bad shape" after the barrage. Many regard this fight as one of the best of all-time, and it won Ring Magazine fight of the year for 2005.
The Castillo and Corrales rematch occurred on October 8, 2005. Castillo surprised many by weighing in 3 1/2 pounds over the 135 lightweight limit, making the fight a non-title bout. The fight continued the same pace as the first one, until Castillo landed a left hook on the chin early in the fourth round, flooring Corrales, and scoring a win. Castillo was later accused of purposely not making weight, giving him an extra advantage to knockout Corrales, despite apologizing to fans after the weigh-in. Moreover, Castillo's doctor was caught with his foot under the scale in an attempt to make his official weight less than his real weight, which was over the limit.
Castillo fought Rolando Reyes on February 4, 2006, in El Paso, Texas, in which Castillo won by unanimous decision. The fight replaced the highly anticipated Corrales-Castillo III, which was postponed due to a Corrales rib injury, and was rescheduled for June 3, 2006 in Las Vegas. On June 2, 2006, Castillo once again went over the 135 pounds lightweight limit at 139 1/2 pounds, in violation of his contract, causing the fight to become a non-title match, which as to Corrales' request, the match has been canceled. As punishment the Nevada State Athletic Commission levied the maximum fine of $250,000, suspended Castillo for the remainder of 2006 as well as disallowed him to be licensed for any fight below 140 pounds.
On January 20, 2007 Jose won a narrow decision over Herman Ngoudjo. He won a split decision, although he was an 8 to 1 favorite.
[edit] Ricky Hatton
It is rumored that Bob Arum has been talking with Ricky Hatton's promoter Dennis Hobson about setting up a superfight between the two fighters. Hatton has stated in various interviews that he considers Castillo as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world, and wants to fight him sometime in 2007. As a result of Castillo's current suspension, his team has stated that they will first have Castillo take a tune-up fight, then begin negotiations for a fight with Hatton.
Said Hobson, "We're after Ricky's old title. But the defining fight we want is the one against Castillo. We have already opened talks with Castillo's promoter Bob Arum and we are confident we can make that fight for around April time."
Since Castillo recently won his fight against Herman Ngoudjo and Hatton won his fight against Juan Urango, it is very likely that the superfight between the two will happen. Bob Arum stated in the post conference of Hatton-Urango that a deal has been made and Castillo and Hatton will fight on June 23rd in Las Vegas.
[edit] See also
- List of lightweight boxing champions
- List of male boxers
- List of notable boxing rivalries
- List of WBC world champions
- Ring Magazine pound for pound (#7)
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Stevie Johnston |
WBC Lightweight boxing champion 2000–2002 |
Succeeded by Floyd Mayweather Jr. |
| Preceded by Vacated by Floyd Mayweather Jr. |
WBC Lightweight boxing champion 2004–2005 |
Succeeded by Diego Corrales |
