Good Lord

I've been thinking about starting up a boxing blog for a while. I've just watched one of the best fights I've ever seen, and I thought this would be a good time to start blogging.

Diego Corrales just knocked out Jose Luis Castillo in one of the most amazing comebacks I've ever seen. Down twice and hurt, Corrales stormed back and had Castillo out on his feet against the ropes. Some might fault referee Tony Weeks for stopping the fight two quickly, but in my opinion, Corrales was just one punch away from hurting Castillo pretty badly. I don't yell out loud much when I'm watching boxing, but this one had me yelling and screaming.

I met Diego Corrales in Las Vegas a couple of years ago, and he is one of the nicest folks you'll ever meet. Still, as much as I like him, I thought Castillo would come on late for a stoppage. The fact that Diego went down against Casamayor and Mayweather so many times had me questioning his chin a bit. To his credit, he got up from all those knockdowns and didn't look badly hurt. Tonight he was hurt. These weren't the same knockdowns that he popped back up from against Casamayor. Both time he went down tonight, Diego fell as if his brain lost its connection to the rest of his body. Somehow, he found the wherewithal to punch back with the accuracy and power he needed to turn things around.

I'm 5' 9". Corrales is about my height but weighs forty pounds less than I do. He's skinny, almost scrawny-looking. But Good Lord, that man is able to harness incredible punching power. He showed not only power and skill tonight, but also a heart as big as any I've ever seen in the sport.

Nicely done, Chico.

This is what makes boxing such a riveting sport to watch. Lots of sports have high drama, especially in close, back and forth contests. Boxing, however, it the one sport where a single event can change everything in an instant. Baseball doesn't have a five-run homer. Basketball doesn't have a four point shot. Only boxing provides this kind of drama.

Well, I doubt anyone is reading this, but I'll stop anyway. Am going to be in Vegas next week for Trinidad-Wright.