Overweight Corrales stripped of title before Casamayor bout
October 7, 2006
LAS VEGAS (Ticker) - After weighing in too heavy, Diego Corrales is lighter in his pocket and prestige.
Corrales failed to make the 135-pound weight for his title fight with Joel Casamayor, costing him $240,000 and his WBC lightweight belt.
At Friday's weigh-in for the third bout between the rivals, Casamayor tipped the scale at 135 pounds. However, Corrales registered 139 1/2 pounds.
"Monday was his last meal and it was a little bit of tuna and small salad," said Joe Goossen, Corrales' trainer. "He's been sucking on ice chips since."
Corrales was given two hours to lose the weight but when he returned he had dropped just a half pound, muddling the lightweight title picture and filling the coffers of Casamayor and the Nevada Athletic Commission.
"I've been trying so hard to drop the weight, I was almost at the point of passing out this morning," Corrales said. "Honestly, I'm responsible for my actions. I believe if you make a mistake, you should be punished. I made a mistake and should be punished."
Stripped of his title, Corrales was fined $240,000 by the commission, $120,000 of which went to Casamayor. The camps of the fighters also agreed on an undisclosed sum to be paid to Casamayor by Corrales.
"I grabbed Casamayor's hand after the weigh-in and apologized," Corrales said. "It's not something I tried to do."
If Casamayor wins Saturday night's bout, he is the champion. If he draws or loses, he still has the option to fight current WBC lightweight interim champion David Diaz for the belt.
The fiasco takes some luster off the bout at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where both fighters are looking to settle an ugly score.
Approaching nearly a year of inactivity, Corrales (40-3, 33 KOs) will try to gain the upper hand in his bitter rivalry with Casamayor (33-3-1, 21 KOs).
"Saturday night, I'm going to put him (Corrales) in his grave," Casamayor said leading up to the fight. "It is time to end him."
The first two bouts were at the 130-pound junior lightweight level. Casamayor, 35, won the first in October 2003 with a sixth-round technical knockout, twice sending Corrales to the canvas before the fight was stopped due to severe bleeding from cuts in Corrales' mouth.
In March 2004, the rematch went the distance as Corrales avenged his loss with a split decision.
Since then, the 29-year-old Corrales defeated Acelino Freitas before splitting two memorable bouts with Jose Luis Castillo. Corrales was knocked out in the fourth round in the final meeting last October but retained the title due to Castillo's inability to make weight.
Meanwhile, Casamayor has won consecutive bouts, the latest a ninth-round TKO of Lamont Pearson in July.
On the undercard, Vic Darchinyan (26-0, 21 KOs) places his IBF flyweight title on the line against Glenn Donaire (16-2-1, 9 KOs).
http://www.mmanews.com/boxing/Overweight-Corrales-Stripped-Of-Title-Before-Casamayor-Bout.html
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