Castillo flattens Corrales

LAS VEGAS – Overweight or not, Jose Luis Castillo was still dangerous. With one vicious left hook, he stopped Diego Corrales in the fourth round Saturday night to win the rematch of a fight for the ages.

The second fight didn’t last as long, but it was nearly as entertaining as Castillo wobbled Corrales in the third round with a right hand and put him to the canvas in the fourth round with a punch that ended the fight.

Castillo landed the left hook flush on the side of Corrales’ face and immediately raised his hands in victory as Corrales went to the canvas. Corrales tried to get up and finally did at the count of nine but was wobbly, and referee Joe Cortez waved the fight to a close at 47 seconds of the fourth round.

“I knew he wasn’t getting up,” Castillo said. “I told everyone I would knock him out before the seventh.”

The fight was a rematch of one of the most thrilling fights in years, a bruising battle that ended only after Corrales came off the canvas twice in the dramatic 10th round May 8 to stop Castillo with a flurry of punches along the ropes.

Both fighters vowed the second fight would be even better, and they went after each other from the opening bell like five months had never elapsed from the first fight.

Castillo nearly missed his chance for revenge the day before by weighing in at 138 1/2 pounds, well over the lightweight limit of 135 pounds. But the fight went on anyway, title or not, and some 15,000 fans came to cheer their favorite on.

Castillo was forced to come and weigh-in one more time Saturday afternoon and got into an argument with Corrales’ promoter, Gary Shaw, and bet him $100,000 he would knock out his fighter.

“I want my money from Gary Shaw,” Castillo said.