Read about the fight here

In their first meeting, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas on May 7, 2005, Diego ‘Chico’ Corrales made the first defence of his WBO lightweight title against Jose Luis ‘El Temible’ Castillo, who was, in turn, making the third defence of his WBC lightweight title. Fought on the inside, right from the start, the fight was a brutal encounter, which left both combatants battered and bruised and was later named ‘Fight of the Year’ by ‘The Ring’ magazine.

Despite the punishment metered out, both men kept their feet for the first nine rounds of back-and-forth action but, early in round ten, Castillo landed a flush left hook, which knocked Corrales to the canvas. Corrales spat out his gum shield, earning himself an extra few seconds while it was rinsed and replaced by his corner man. He did so once more when knocked down, again, a few seconds later and incurred the wrath of referee Tony Weeks, who penalised him a point for the repeated infraction.

Nevertheless, in an extraordinary turnaround, Corrales landed a thunderous left hook of his own and followed up with a flurry of powerful shots that left Castillo sagging, defenceless, against the ropes. Weeks quickly stepped in to stop the contest, Corrales winning by technical knockout after 2:06 of round ten.

Read about the fight here

Read about the fight here