Jose
Luis Castillo
Castillo vs. Corrales II
A rematch between Corrales and
Castillo occured on October 8, 2005. On the day before the fight,
Castillo weighed in 3.5 lb over the 135 lb lightweight limit. Since
Castillo did not make the weight, the fight became a non-title bout.
The two fighters continued with the same fighting style that they
had used in the first fight, trading inside punches throughout the
first three rounds. Early in the fourth round, Castillo knocked down
Corrales with a left hook to his chin. Corrales wobbled to his feet
at the referee's count of ten, causing the fight to end.
Corrales
vs Castillo III, dubbed "The war to settle the Score," had been rescheduled
for February 4, 2006, but it was postponed because of a rib injury
that Corrales suffered while training. The fight was rescheduled for
June 3, 2006. At the weigh-in, however, Corrales weighed the 135 lightweight
limit whereas Castillo weighed 139.5 lb causing the fight to be cancelled.
Corrales later sued Castillo for punitive damages.
Light welterweight
On
January 20, 2007, Castillo won a narrow split decision over Herman
Ngoudjo. On June 23, he fought Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas. Castillo
was KO'd 2 minutes and 16 seconds into the fourth round by a crunching
left hook to the ribs, one of the few times a top ranked boxer of
Castillo's caliber has been KO'ed by a bodyshot and reminiscent of
the bout between Roy Jones Jr. and Virgil Hill. Prior to the knockout
Castillo had been deducted a point for low blows to his opponent.
Castillo was rescheduled to fight Timothy Bradley in 2008 for
the right to be number 1 contender to the WBC Super lightweight title,
but during the weigh-in on March 8, 2008, Castillo weighed 147.5 pounds
(7 pounds over the super-lightweight limit). Bradley instead faced
and defeated Junior Witter for the title.
Welterweight
On the
Pacquiao vs Clottey undercard on March 14, 2010, Alfonso Gomez and
Castillo clashed for Gomez' WBC Continental Americas welterweight
title. Rinside reporters have said that the fight was to see if Castillo
had it anymore, and for this type of fight such a minor title is nearly
an insult. Castillo lost in round 5 by TKO (not answering to the bell).
After the bout Castillo announed his retirement, stating, "I just
found out tonight I don't have it anymore, I want to apologize to
the public and I am definitely announcing my retirement."
After
announcing his retirement in March 2010, Castillo returned to action
in a fight against Roberto Valenzuela on June 18, 2010 and won the
bout by unanimous decision. The match was held at the Auditorio Municipal
in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.
