Castillejo aiming to garner some respect

Dean Juipe

Friday, June 22, 2001 | 10:24 a.m.

In many respects, he's as unknown as the bulk of the names that dot his ring resume.

Javier Castillejo is the World Boxing Council champion at 154 pounds, but how many casual fans can distinguish him from the likes of Mohamed Boualleg, Juan Rondon and Javier Martinez -- each of whom fought and lost to Castillejo within the last 15 months?

Yet obscurity is not a deterrent once the bell rings, and, lightly regarded or not, Castillejo has a Saturday fight with Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand Garden that could instantly turn him into a celebrity.

If he beats the Golden Boy and sends him into retirement, Castillejo's place in history will be secure.

But if he loses -- as bettors are certain will happen -- he will be recalled as nothing more than a steppingstone in De La Hoya's spectacular career.

"I'm from Europe and we have that kind of opposition in Europe," Castillejo said of handling guys like the forementioned Boualleg, Rondon and Martinez, to say nothing of 1999 fights with Humberto Aranda, Pauolo Roberto and Mikael Rask. "It's not like Oscar's situation in the United States."

No, it's not.

To De La Hoya's credit he has routinely taken on the best fighters in the world in his weight classes. It could even be argued that he has faced at least 15 opponents who are better than the best man Castillejo has defeated, which would seem to have been Keith Mullings.

"He's proven his merits," WBC president Jose Sulaiman said on Castillejo's behalf, trying to diffuse the issue of the Spaniard's worthiness as a champion.

Yet bettors are skeptical of Sulaiman's praise, and Castillejo, after opening at a plus 600, is now a plus 850 underdog in the MGM sports book. De La Hoya has been bet to a minus 1250 favorite.

He and Castillejo are scheduled for 12 rounds in a pay-per-view bout that will be worth $800,000 to the current champion and $5 million to his better-known challenger.

"He can talk all he wants about how he will spend the money, but he has to go through me first," Castillejo said through an interpreter. "It does not bother me that Oscar is the favorite. The media knows him better and I am a foreigner. Oscar is more popular and that's why he's the favorite."

Castillejo, 33, is 51-4 with 34 knockouts and has been the WBC champion since taking a majority decision over Mullings in January of '99.

De La Hoya, 28, is 33-2 with 27 KOs and will be looking to add a fourth championship to his record after holding legitimate titles at 135, 140 and 147 pounds. This will be his first fight as a junior middleweight.

'Oscar was wrong in picking me and thinking I was going to be an easy fight," Castillejo said. "It's going to backfire.

"I came from Spain to fight and I'm focused on what I came to do. I didn't come here to sightsee."

Castillejo has spent the past two months living near Las Vegas at the Prince Ranch in the foothills of Mount Charleston. He said he has used the time to train rigorously and study his opponent.

"I have seen tapes of his last four fights," Castillejo said of De La Hoya. "Even though he has a new trainer (in Floyd Mayweather Sr.), I don't see much difference in his style. He moves a bit different with his shoulders to protect himself, but that's about it."

He has repeatedly stated that he has not been impressed with De La Hoya, and that the public will be surprised in his ability as the fight plays itself out.

"I'm a very disciplined athlete and I plan to give an excellent fight," he said. "I have improved in all aspects and am a totally different fighter than I was five years ago.

"I have more experience and tranquility."

Tranquility may be nothing more than a marginal factor for a fighter, and, as documented, Castillejo's experience remains open to debate. Whether all those fights with forgettable opposition such as Stefan Driscu and Fernando Reira prepared Castillejo for what he'll see from De La Hoya is a question that can't be answered until Saturday.