Castillo gains, everyone loses

Monday, June 5, 2006 | 7:20 a.m.

The shame of it was, none of this had to happen.

Saturday night's scheduled third fight between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo could have been saved, and it would have been a routine procedure.

The promoters could have made their money, the fighters could have earned their purses. More significantly, boxing fans could have been treated to a final match in a series that was destined to become one of the sport's most storied rivalries.

All Castillo had to do was pick up the phone.

"This whole card could have been saved," Corrales said Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center, which was at least 80 percent empty instead of nearly filled with fight fans. "If someone from his camp had called me two weeks ago, or even one week ago, and let me know he was going to have trouble making weight, we could have worked something out.

"Just let me know. Work with me. We could have made it happen."

Instead, the WBC lightweight championship bout was canceled Friday after Castillo weighed in at 139 1/2 pounds, 4 1/2 pounds over the division's limit. Corrales weighed in at 135.

The undercard bouts went on as scheduled, though fans were offered the option of full refunds for unused tickets. Unbeaten flyweight Vic Darchinyan made the most of an upgrade to main event status, scoring an eighth-round technical knockout against Luis Maldonado to retain his IBF belt at 112 pounds in a fight televised by Showtime.

Corrales watched with what he described as a wide range of emotions, though mostly bitter disappointment. "It bugs me, a lot," he said.

If only Castillo had contacted him, Corrales would have agreed to fight at a "catch weight" - maybe 136 or 138 pounds with no title at stake - to save the show. He would have even considered fighting at 140, the junior welterweight limit, Corrales said.

If only Castillo had kept him in the loop, rather than showing up at Caesars Palace on Friday without a prayer of making weight. If only.

"I'm telling you, this fight would have happened," Corrales said. "The promoters have a job to do, but we as fighters have an obligation to make things work. (Castillo) did not live up to his end. I mean, show me some common courtesy."

Gary Shaw, Corrales' promoter, said he did not have a detailed discussion with his fighter about compromising on the weight limit, but that it was certainly a "distinct" possibility.

"We could have informed the (WBC) and taken it from there," Shaw said. "I think most people wanted to see this fight not because of the (title) belt, but because it was going to be the last fight in a great trilogy."

Shaw said he was baffled as to why Castillo's team failed to reach out to him or Corrales.

"I wish I knew," Shaw said. "(Castillo is) a professional athlete, he's been in this sport a long time, he's a former world champion. They had to know he wasn't making weight. When you're in training, the scale is like your girlfriend."

Castillo was incommunicado over the weekend, reportedly having hightailed it back to his hometown in Mexico - and likely nursing a severe case of the Mexicali blues. Shaw was preparing a lawsuit regarding the botched promotion, and Castillo will have to answer to the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his actions.

Besides any penalties levied by the commission, Castillo also faces the tough possibility that officials with TV networks will now be skittish about working with him.

After losing to Corrales in a consensus fight of the year in May 2005, Castillo failed to make weight for the rematch last October, coming in 3 1/2 pounds over the lightweight limit. Corrales agreed to fight with no title at stake, and Castillo won by fourth-round knockout.

"In my mind this was deliberate," Shaw said. "(Castillo) thought he could just pay another fine and that he'd get to fight again anyway. Well, I wasn't going to let that happen.

"This cost me a lot of money, but I had to take a stance for the betterment of boxing. I had to consider my fighter's safety. Money cannot be your ruler, and I think Gary Shaw showed that he is not ruled by money."

By neglecting to make that simple phone call, Corrales said, Castillo blew it.

"Our fans deserved to see another great fight," Corrales said. "I put forth nothing but the best effort, and I didn't get it from him in return. I don't know why."