May 7, 2005 - In an early candidate for fight of the year, WBO Lightweight Champion Diego Corrales scored a technical kayo over two time champion Jose Luis Castillo in the 10th round seizing his WBC Lightweight belt to become the unified Champion of the Lightweight Division.

In front of a packed arena at the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas, both guys went to action immediately, each refusing to back down as the tested their wills and skills escalating the fight into a slugfest of monumental proportions. What made the fight exciting was that both champions got stronger as the rounds ticked by even after absorbing tremendous punishment. The forced you to give up trying to score each round, and compelled you, to instead, focus on enjoying their spectacular display of Boxing skills.

Referee Tony Weeks, allowed the action to go on uninterrupted, as both fighters exchanged devastating left hooks, uppercuts, and body shots aiming to wear down his opponent. By the end of the sixth round Corrales left eye was almost swollen shut from the barrage of head shots, but he fought on  courageously. Corrales tried to take advantage of his his one eyed opponent and walked  into a flurry of shots that wobbled him at the end of the seventh round.

A mouth piece was sent flying from Corrales mouth in the eight round as the ding dong battle continued unabated. The fight got unbelievably intense as both fighters became extremely heavy handed digging into each other in a war of attrition that accelerated to flurries near the end of each round.

All of a sudden the slugfest came to a head in the tenth round as Castillo,  exploded with a left hook that landed right on the kisser, sending both Corrales and his mouth piece landing to the canvas. Corrales beat the count but walked into a flurry of punches that put him on the seat of his pants once again along with his mouth piece. Tony Weeks immediatly called a time out and deducted a point from Castillo for not keeping in his mouthpiece, and you could hear Corrales trainer Goosen tell him he now needed a knockout as he replaced the mouthpiece.

The knockdowns and point deduction must have impressed on Corrales the possibility that he could lose the fight, and he resorted to desperate measures. He unleashed a flurry of punches that suddenly had Castillo dazed, out on his feet and in a world of hurt unable to collect his scattered wits as Corrales positioned him against the ropes to begin the final flurry that would finish him off. By this time Tony Weeks; a veteran of several championship fights had seen enough and stopped the fight in the 2.06 minute of the tenth round.

There will always be some controversy about the stoppage which may have been premature,  although after examining the tape you may agree with Weeks judgement call. However, it is now a mute point as both guys will have the chance to correct first impressions because the world of boxing has already starting beating the drums for Corrales Castillo II.

Long Live the Lightweights