Eternal glory and a tragic farewell came on the same crucial date for the indomitable American fighter Diego Corrales: May 7. Twenty years ago, he fought his unforgettable victorious war with José Luis Castillo for the lightweight world title unification; two years later, he lost his life in a motorcycle crash, in that same Las Vegas where he had once achieved the impossible at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. There could be no better day to revisit that epic duel—its images, no matter how many times one has seen them, still send chills down the spine of even the most hardened man.
Through hell and back: Corrales’ prophecy
“Chico” Corrales said it in the pre-fight press conference: “To beat Castillo, I’ll have to go through hell.” It sounded like the usual pre-fight talk—and maybe even the WBO champion himself didn’t realize just how prophetic those words would prove to be. But what Corrales did know for sure was that if he wanted to add the WBC belt of the Mexican warrior to his own, playing it safe wasn’t the way to go. Castillo was a master of cutting the distance, and even a genius like Floyd Mayweather Jr. hadn’t been able to shake him off along the ropes. Joe Goossen, Corrales’ coach—known for his flashy shirts but also for his brilliance in the corner—came up with a seemingly suicidal plan: try to beat the Mexican at his own game, toe-to-toe. Looking back at what happened in the ring, one can only smile at the “keys to victory” that Showtime flashed on the screen as Chico made his way to the ring: “Use the jab, counterpunch, and stay out of the trenches.” That’s like telling a fish to stay out of the water!
Julio Cesar Chavez’s protégé fighting in front of his mentor
For years, “El Temible” Castillo remained in the shadows. To most boxing reporters, he was simply “Chavez’s sparring partner”—and indeed, the two had shared countless rounds together in training. It was a grueling experience for the young José Luis, who came out of it tough as stone and brave as a lion. It took him no less than ten years to step out from behind the shadow of his legendary friend and carve out a legacy of his own—a full decade of battles in forgotten Mexican rings before finally reaching the grand stage. But once he got there, Castillo never let go. By the time he arrived in Las Vegas to unify the world titles against Corrales, his name was red-hot on the international scene. Cheering him on from ringside was his idol, mentor, and friend: Julio Cesar Chavez, sitting next to his 19-year-old son, gave him a thumbs up the moment he stepped into the ring. What better encouragement for a performance for the ages?
No rest, no relief: the fight of the century!
Try this experiment: start the video of the fight at a random point and watch what happens. No more than ten seconds will go by before one of the two fighters lands a punch worth remembering. Round after round, the two fearless warriors met at center ring, chest to chest, unloading their entire offensive arsenals on each other. With his shorter arms, Castillo made masterful use of uppercuts, while Corrales relied on fast hands to deliver sudden, punishing flurries. Every round hung in the balance until the final seconds, with a last-minute burst often tipping it in favor of one man or the other—sending the crowd to its feet. Referee Tony Weeks had little to do other than let them fight, as the fighters’ faces slowly accumulated the damage of a brutal war. The phrase “fight of the century” has often been overused in boxing history—but if anyone wants to deny that title to Castillo vs Corrales, they’ll have to wait at least another 80 years, because nothing in the last 20 has come close to this kind of intensity.
A round to pass on to future generations
Heading into round ten, the fight was dead even. Then came the turning point—seemingly decisive—delivered by Castillo: a beautiful lead left hook landed square on Corrales’ jaw, knocking him down and dislodging his mouthpiece. He beat the count, but Castillo stayed on him, landing the same punch three more times—the same venomous left hook that had dropped him the first time. After the second knockdown, Corrales spit out his mouthpiece again—this time deliberately. It was a clever move that cost him a point but bought him a few extra precious seconds to recover. At that moment, everyone could see it coming: Castillo would land another left hook and bring the thrilling battle to a close. Everyone knew it—including Corrales himself. But “Chico” dodged the fatal blow by a hair and came back swinging!
What happened next still seems hard to believe. First stunned by a straight right, then rocked by a left hook, Castillo suddenly found himself trapped against the ropes—turned from executioner to victim in the blink of an eye. Two more punches made his arms drop, and Tony Weeks had no choice but to leap between the fighters and stop the bout: Corrales had won!
Chico’s raw authenticity came through during the post-fight interview, after a long and well-earned celebration. When asked, “How would you describe this fight?” he simply answered, “An honor.” Despite his swollen face, the exhaustion, and the punishment he had absorbed, he still found the clarity to urge fans at the microphone to donate to cancer research. Corrales was instinctive, reckless, and daring. “He fought recklessly, and he lived recklessly. That was his style,” said his promoter Gary Shaw after that cursed night when Chico pushed his two-wheeled machine past the point of no return. That indomitable warrior is no longer with us, but if resurrection from death does not belong to this world, his resurrection in the ring—twenty years ago—will live on in our memory forever.