www.InsideBoxing.com

Corrales-Casamayor
By Tom Donelson

September 25, 2006 - The upcoming Diego Corrales-Joel Casamayor battle pits two fighters with conflicting styles and genuine dislike for each other. Casamayor is the boxer, slippery and elusive but has enough power to give Corrales trouble. Corrales is a power puncher with a vulnerable chin but excellent boxing skills. And to add to the drama, both fighters may be on the downside of their careers.

Corrales last five fights came against Casamayor, Arcelino Freitas and Jose Luis Castillo. The two bouts with Castillo and Casamayor as well as the bout with Freitas were tough bouts that could've taken something out of Corrales. The question is what Corrales has left after going through just a battering.

As for Casamayor, the Cuban hand and foots speed is not what it used to be. And like Corrales, Casamayor has had his share of boxing wars including bouts with Castillo and Corrales. When Casamayor fought Kid Diamond a year ago, he was lucky to come out with a draw. What Casamayor has left is a punch that can hurt Corrales.

In their two previous bouts, it was the boxer, Casamayor who showed the bigger punch as he knocked Corrales down three times. (Corrales managed to knock Casamayor down once.) That is what makes this fight intriguing for both fighters are more vulnerable than in their past contests and both men chins will be tested.

Casamayor advantages is his boxing skills and in the past, his hand speed. The hand speed is not what it used to be but Casamayor has become more of a puncher later in his career than he was early in his career. Early in his career, he depended upon speed and elusiveness. Later in his career, the Cuban has been force to add power to his repertoire for Casamayor gets hit with punches that he avoided early in his career.

Corrales has always been a good boxer but he just love to fight and punch. When he fought Castillo, he chose to fight the Mexican fight and went toe-to-toe. He managed to split two fights with Castillo but these bouts were rugged affairs that appeared to take more out of Corrales than Castillo.

In his second bout with the Cuban, Corrales used his left jab effectively to confuse Casamayor and often out boxed the boxer. On the other hand, Casamayor nearly ended the fight with a knockdown in the tenth but it was Corrales jab that proved decisive.

So what will happen in the rematch? Good question for this fight is bout between two warriors who don't mind mixing it up with each other. Casamayor will try to box as he did early in both bouts but somewhere in the fight, Casamayor will have to move inside. This only makes him more vulnerable to Corrales power. The good news is that Casamayor has shown that he can take Corrales best shots better than Corrales can take Casamayor.

For Corrales to win, he must repeat what he did in their second bout. His jab kept Casamayor off balance and he cut off the ring effectively. He pursued Casamayor effectively and when needed, he boxed his way out of trouble. He showed the ability to go from Plan A to Plan B. In their first fight, Corrales went toe-to-toe and failed to use his jab. That fight ended in defeat.

The key to this fight is whether Corrales uses his jab effectively. If he does, then Casamayor will have trouble winning. It is that simple. The problem is that Corrales just loves to fight and brawl. This will only give Casamayor opportunities to nail Corrales with straight lefts from his southpaw stance. On many occasion, Corrales have made many of his fight more difficult because of his brawling instinct. He is a big puncher but also has the more vulnerable chin. I like Corrales to win but it depends on which Corrales shows up. The Corrales of the first Casamayor fight will produce a more exciting fight and a Casamayor victory. If Corrales repeats his performance of his second fight with Casamayor, then Corrales win.