TAKE FIVE: Corrales vs. Casamayor

Friday, Oct. 6, 2006 | 7:44 a.m.

The principals

Diego Corrales (40-3, 33 KOs) vs. Joel Casamayor (33-3-1, 21 KOs)

At stake

Corrales' WBC lightweight title

Betting line

Corrales, minus-190

Time/site

Saturday at Mandalay Bay Events Center, doors open 3:30 p.m.

Undercard

Vic Darchinyan (26-0, 21 KOs) vs. Glenn Donaire (16-2-1, 9 KOs), 12 rounds, IBF flyweight championship

Showtime (Cox cable channel 240, free preview weekend), 9 p.m., tape-delayed in the West, high definition and standard definition; Steve Albert, Al Bernstein and Jim Gray announcing

Tickets

$25 to $300, Mandalay Bay or ticketmaster.com

Rubber match

After fighting twice at 130 pounds, Corrales and Casamayor meet for the third time to decide the world championship at 135 pounds. Casamayor won a sixth-round technical knockout in their first encounter in October 2003 at Mandalay Bay, on a card featuring a James Toney-Evander Holyfield heavyweight bout. Corrales said he's certain he would have won if he hadn't been hampered by a cut caused by his mouthpiece, which he characterized as a "hole through my lip." In the rematch five months later, Corrales won an exciting split decision at the Foxwoods resort in Mashantucket, Conn.

Mouthing off

A former junior lightweight world champ with a tricky southpaw stance and a defense-oriented game plan, Casamayor nonetheless promised to deliver a knockout Saturday, while making no secret of his personal animosity toward Corrales. "Saturday night, I'm going to put him in his grave," Casamayor, a 1992 Olympic gold medal winner for Cuba, said. "It is time to end him." Corrales said he plans to finish off Casamayor without sustaining any cuts - a tough task, given Corrales' aggressive style and willingness to slug it out.

Great expectations

Corrales, of Las Vegas by way of Sacramento, has since taken his game to an elite level and left Casamayor behind, if the results of a prefight survey of the boxing media is an indication. Of the 66 poll participants, 58 predicted a victory for Corrales, six chose Casamayor and two opted for a draw. "Just look at the type of opponents I've fought," said Corrales, coming off two grueling clashes with Jose Luis Castillo. "I've fought nothing but the best for the last three (to) four years."

Moving up?

Though he said he'll leave the final decision to promoter Gary Shaw, it's likely this fight marks the end of Corrales' memorable run in the lightweight division. As making the 135-pound weight limit becomes increasingly difficult for him, it makes sense for Corrales to step up and call out big-name opponents such as Floyd Mayweather Jr., who stopped Corrales in 2001. "Of course I want to fight Mayweather," Corrales said. "It is definitely a possibility down the road." Just don't expect Corrales to take any "tuneup" matches. "I am not going to take an easy fight until I retire," he said. "Then, I will fight an easy chair."

Battle-tested

Corrales, 29, hasn't fought in a year since mixing it up with Castillo twice in five months in 2005 in back-to-back slugfests that undoubtedly left both men drained. A scheduled third match was canceled when Castillo failed to make weight. "The layoff has been awesome," Corrales said. "It was a needed break. I had camps in between to stay sharp. I am happy, my body feels good." Casamayor, 35, said he took something away from the Corrales-Castillo series. "I learned that (Corrales) comes one direction - forward," Casamayor said. "He is a one-dimensional fighter. I can beat him anyway."