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Life and career of Diego “Chico” Corrales – 45 Fights 40 Wins 5 defeats (33 KO’s)
Date of Birth – 25th August 1977
Date of Death – 7th May 2007
Diego Corrales tragically lost his life in an accident at the tender age of 29 he was involved in a three-vehicle accident near his Las Vegas home. Corrales was driving a 2007 Suzuki GSXR 1000 motorcycle, travelling northbound on Fort Apache Road in the southwest part of the city, when he attempted to pass at a high speed. Corrales struck the back of a 1997 Honda Accord, Las Vegas police spokesman Sgt. Tracy McDonald said. “The accident occurred at approximately 7:30 p.m. PDT on the 6th May 2007. McDonald said there was no outward evidence of drugs or alcohol involved. He could not say how fast the motorcycle was travelling”. But apparently he was thrown a great distance and died instantly.
Corrales was involved in violence from a young age, he was raised in Sacramento, California born to a Colombian father and Mexican mother, he was involved in street gangs from the age of 13. His best friend was shot and killed during a drive by shooting which was witnessed by Corrales and had some lead into him changing his life and putting on the gloves.
He was a busy amateur having 117 bouts, winning 105 of them, he was runner up in the US Amateur Championships losing on points in an action packed final against Frankie Carmona in the Featherweight Division and Bronze Medallist also at Featherweight in the 1995 Pan American Games, he moved up in weight to lightweight for the 1995 World Championships in Berlin 1995, but lost to Marco Rudolph who eventually finished with the Bronze Medal.
On the 19th March 1996 Corrales made his professional debut against Everett Berry and started off with a good win by TKO in the 3rd of 4 rounds. He went on learning his trade winning 13 fights straight before taking his first real challenge in the form of Steve Quinonez who at the time held a record of 15-1-1, Corrales came through the challenge with flying colours winning by TKO in the 4th Round announcing himself to the world at Super Featherweight.
He was tall for the weight but also carried great power with both hands and proved a real handful. He won the IBA Continental Super Featherweight Title, he briefly fought at Lightweight winning the IBA Continental Lightweight Title, before dropping back to Super Featherweight to take on unbeaten Super Featherweight Gairy St Clair in an IBF Super Featherweight Title Eliminator, after completing 12 rounds for the first time he came out with the victory with a great points win.
Nearly a year and 3 victories later he finally got his chance at the title. His record at the time was a superb 28-0, he took on more experienced and also unbeaten champion American Roberto Garcia who was 32-0. With 60 victories and 0 losses between the two the stage was set for a classic encounter. Neither men disappointed, the scorecards were almost level until the 7th Round when Corrales after a blistering attack of heavy punches stopped the champion for the first time in his career in the 7th Round.
Corrales made on defence of the title before challenging Derrick Gainer for his IBA Belt, after winning this one as well by 3rd Round stoppage Corrales seemed unbeatable, at 5’10” he towered over most Super Featherweights and was able to use his range to good effect but if need be he was also happy to engage in combat. Corrales won a further two fights defending his titles successfully against Justin Juuko and Angel Manfredy.
Corrales was dominating the division and had an incredible record of 33-0 with 27 by way of Knockout.
On the 20th January 2001 Corrales took on rising Star Floyd Mayweather Jr who was racing through the division and had clocked up 24 straight victories and was the WBC Champion. During the bout Corrales was knocked down 5 times (3 times in the 7th and twice in the 10th) and despite Corrales protesting to his corner he was retired after the second knockdown in the 10th round and the fight was stopped, these first times he had ever been knocked down, but he showed the heart of a champion even in defeat.
After the bout Corrales had some personal issues and he was accused of violence against his pregnant ex-wife, he accepted a plea bargain and this saw him spend 14 months behind bars.
Corrales returned to the ring in 2003 and after 4 relatively easy victories he took on Joel Casamayor for his old IBA belt back. After a torrid 6 rounds in which Corrales was down twice and Casamayor down once the fight was stopped due to a horrendous mouth injury Corrales suffered. Even then Corrales wanted more but the doctor advised otherwise as he could see the teeth of Corrales through a gaping hole below his lower lip he was in no fit condition to carry on.
The re-match was arranged and this time it was for the vacant WBO Super Featherweight Title, it was another close fight Corrales was down in the 10th Round but rose to claim a close split decision victory and was crowned the Champion once again.
Corrales decided to step up to Lightweight and took on undefeated and highly rated big punching Brazilian hero Acelino Freitas, who came into the fight as a big favourite. Freitas started well and looked to have the fight won when Corrales stormed back knocking Freitas down three times to claim one of the best victories in his career in the 10th Round.
Then came what is regarded as one of the best fights in recent times, Corrales again the underdog took on Jose Luis Castillo a man who had taken Floyd Mayweather Jr the distance twice losing close points decisions and also held a win over Joel Casamayor.
The two warriors stood toe to toe battering each other with hard combinations and big power punches throughout the entire fight. Finally in the tenth round Corrales was the first to give and was floored, Corrales looked out spitting out his gum shield onto the canvas before clawing himself to his feet. The time taken to replace the gum shield just allowed Corrales to recover enough to continue. Corrales was knocked down again seconds later after the restart again removing his gum shield and discarded it onto the canvas. This time referee deducted a point for this but it gave Corrales the recovery time he needed.
Castillo rushed in to finish the fight but was caught with a perfect right hand, Corrales spurred on by his success trapped Castillo on the ropes and battered him until his hands dropped and only the ropes were holding him up causing referee Tony Weeks to dive in and rescue Castillo who was stopped for the first time in his career, handing Corrales a fantastic victory from the brink of defeat.
A rematch between Corrales and Castillo occurred on the 8th October 2005. On the day before the fight, Castillo weighed-in 3½ lbs over the 135 lb lightweight limit. Since Castillo did not make the weight, the fight became a non-title bout. The two fighters continued with the same fighting style that they had used in the first fight, trading inside punches throughout the first three rounds. Early in the fourth round, Castillo knocked down Corrales with a left hook to his chin. Corrales wobbled to his feet at the referee’s count of ten, causing the fight to end. Although due to the weight issues before hand it was argued that Castillo held an unfair advantage.
Corrales vs. Castillo III, dubbed “The War to Settle the Score,” had been scheduled for the 4th February 2006, but it was postponed because of a rib injury that Corrales suffered while training. The fight was rescheduled for the 3rd June 2006. At the weigh-in, however, Corrales weighed the 135 lb lightweight limit whereas Castillo weighed 139½ lb—causing the fight to be cancelled. Corrales recently sued Castillo for punitive damages.
In October 2006 Corrales was scheduled to defend his lightweight title in a third bout against Joel Casamayor on. However, in an extremely ironic case, Corrales weighed in 5 pounds over the lightweight limit of 135 pounds for the fight. He was given two hours to shed five pounds, but came back at 139 pounds, still four pounds over the limit. Corrales would have been stripped of the title if he had won the bout, but Casamayor defeated him by Split decision for the WBC and The Ring Lightweight titles.
In his final fight Corrales moved up two weight divisions to Welterweight to take on tough Joshua Clottey. The step up proved two much after a reasonably close fight Clottey’s natural weight and power became too much for Corrales who was knocked down in the 9th and 10th Rounds narrowly surviving the 10th round to lose on an unanimous points decision. Corrales again proved his huge heart battling on when defeat was imminent.
Diego Corrales will be remembered for being a true warrior and a man that no matter how badly he was losing or how hard he was being hit he would still wear his heart on his sleeve and battle back for more. He was a true fighters fighter and will always be remembered for all the great performances he gave win or lose.
