Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Columnist Dean Juipe: Bad blood — revisited

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.

Jose Luis Castillo was smiling as he heard the question being translated into Spanish for him.

Asked for his reaction to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s claim that he injured his right shoulder prior to their April 20 fight at the MGM and that the ailment worsened in the third round, Castillo didn't mince words.

"Mayweather always has an excuse," he said, a full grin overtaking his face. "Anytime he's in a tough fight it's because he hurt his hand, his finger, his elbow.

"It's the same thing all the time."

Mayweather still managed a decision over Castillo that night and claimed the World Boxing Council lightweight championship. The judges had him up by 5, 4 and 4 points, although many ringside observers saw it otherwise.

Including Castillo.

"That's in the past now," he said of the loss and its ramifications. "I won that first fight and I'll beat him again."

Mayweather and Castillo will settle their differences with a second fight, scheduled Oct. 5 at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Both fighters and their handlers attended a Wednesday press conference to promote a fight that was initially targeted for Los Angeles (and an Aug. 10 date).

"I wish the fight had been in Los Angeles," promoter Bob Arum said. "I think it would have had a much bigger impact there. But I can also see Floyd saying the audience there would be completely for Castillo, although I really don't think it would have been."

Mayweather balked at fighting Castillo in L.A. but is happy to face him again in Las Vegas.

"I prefer fighting here," he said.

No betting line has been posted yet at Mandalay Bay, but Mayweather is apt to be at least a 3-1 favorite. He's 28-0 with 20 knockouts, while Castillo is 46-5-1 with 42 KOs.

"I'm not saying he's not a good fighter, but go back and look at our first fight," Mayweather said. "Other than hurting my shoulder, I came out of it with no bruises, no marks on my face, nothing.

"It wasn't a tough fight for me at all. It was easy. The trouble was that I was focused on just getting through the fight and getting home to get some aspirin and some ice on my shoulder."

His trainer and uncle, Roger Mayweather, knew his man was hurt even before the fight got under way.

"He told me he hurt his arm a couple of days before the fight, but it was too late to pull out," Roger Mayweather said. "After the third round, he came back and said he'd hurt it again."

That Floyd won in spite of the injury is encouraging to his corner.

"If Castillo couldn't beat Floyd when he was hurt, how will he do any better this next time?" Roger Mayweather said. "Maybe their last fight wasn't an exciting performance by Floyd's standards, but this fight will be much easier just because he won't be hurt."

Floyd Mayweather disputes that contention, however slightly.

"I always come in at something less than 100 percent," he said. "That's how boxing is. But I'm also a true champion who doesn't take any abuse and knows this is a business."

He said he wasn't bothered by Castillo having come into the ring the night of their first fight weighing a sturdy 142 pounds.

"He's a good guy, but he's easy to hit," Mayweather said. "I'll stay focused and not slug, and I'll win. He's not in my caliber."

Amazingly, or perhaps to get back in the swing of things, Castillo took a fight on relatively short notice last Saturday in Hermosillo, Mexico, defeating journeyman Verdell Smith by third-round TKO.

"I needed a fight I could win and to get my confidence back," Castillo admitted.

The fight at 126 pounds will be the first at that weight for Ayala, who is 34-1 and has a pair of victories over both Johnny Tapia and Bones Adams.

Morales, 41-1, is a former WBC champion coming off a close decision loss in June to nemesis Marco Antonio Barrera at the MGM.

Initially Arum wanted to match the winner of the Morales vs. Barrera fight with Ayala, but shifted gears after disputing the judges' decision in the June fight. Not coincidentally, he also promotes both Morales and Ayala.

Leyva, 21-0-1, was forced into the rematch by order of the IBF.

Barrera, 18-0-2, knocked Leyva down and was hurting him to the head when their Sept. 29, 2001, fight in Ensenada, Mexico, was stopped in the third round and declared a technical draw. A clash of heads contributed to the stoppage.

Leyva gained the IBF belt with a decision over Daniel Reyes in Queens, N.Y., April 29, 2001. The title had been vacant going into that bout.

Also on the Orleans card: Jesse Reid, Jr., 11-0, vs. Robert Green, 2-2-2, six rounds, cruiserweights; Eddie Salas, 6-0, vs. Jeff Carpenter, 6-8, four rounds, junior middleweights; Eddie Robles vs. Jesse Williams, each in his pro debut, four rounds, welterweights; Steve Lueveno, 12-0, vs. an opponent to be determined, six rounds, junior lightweights; and Armando Cordova, 17-7-1, vs. an opponent yet to be determined, eight rounds, featherweights.

Former U.S. Olympic heavyweight Michael Bennett may have seen his pro career crash and burn last Friday in Ledyard, Conn., when he was violently knocked out by Rich LaMontagne in the 11th round of a nationally televised fight. Bennett, fighting as a cruiserweight, drops to 9-3 and may have a difficult time obtaining a license in many states, given the severity of this most recent KO. He was the world amateur champion in 1999. ... The undercard for the Sept. 14 Oscar De La Hoya vs. Fernando Vargas fight at Mandalay Bay is falling into place and includes: Daniel Alicea, 27-4-2, vs. Nate Campbell, 21-0, 12 rounds for Alicea's NABF junior lightweight title; plus 11-0 junior welterweight Miguel Cotto, 15-0 super bantamweight Jose Aguiniga, 42-9 junior middleweight Shibata Flores, 14-0 middleweight Kelly Pavlik and 6-0 junior middleweight Guillermo Saputo, each vs. opponents to be determined.

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