Diego “Chico” Corrales
FROM THE “RING TALK” ARCHIVES”
San Francisco, CA– I always have a tough time associating the word anniversary with the loss of life, but it’s been eight years since an inebriated Diego Corrales was killed driving his motorcycle in Las Vegas in May 2007. Although he had a great mother, Olga who was always there when he would let her be, “Chico” as he was known to friends like a lot of people had great pluses and destructive minuses. When it came to boxing, a career that started outside of California, even though his family was then living in Sacramento, CA, Corrales was at one point #1 at 130 lbs. and was even in the top ten “pound for pound” lists of some pundits.
HAD HIGH IQ THAT FEW PUGILISTS POSSESS
Although alcohol precipitated his death, Diego was a complex guy who while realizing his boxing career was over, and that he had little money left to live on was very depressed on this day according to promoter Gary Shaw, which is eight turns of the Roman calendar ago, May 7, 2007. Involved in another marriage that was according to Shaw was failing, again his boxing days were over, even though he was only three months or so shy of his 30th birthday. Said to be a “mean drunk” when he got boozed up, there were Felony Domestic Violence charges that landed him a stint in a California Prison Work Farm in 2001.
FLOYD FIGHT WAS TO PAY OFF EX-WIFE & BILLS!
With jail just a few weeks away, an ill prepared and weight starved Corrales took a fight for “the money” with Floyd Mayweather and was stopped in ten frames. Upon his release from jail, although we were estranged after being friends for a few years because of the attack on the ex-wife, we patched things up at the Bernard Hopkins-Antwun Echols fight in Las Vegas. In a conciliatory tone, Corrales admitted his wrongdoings and said that he couldn’t blame me for writing the truth, but still it was painful.
DIEGO CORRALES HAD HIGH-HIGHS & LOW-LOWS!
He said something to the effect, “It’s enough to know you screwed up, but to read one of your friends writing about it in the paper, it just made me hurt more and I was angry with you.” During one of his lows, one of Corrales’ title belts had won ended up on EBay when a Las Vegas pawnbroker who had loaned Corrales less than $500 for the belt as collateral, put it up for sale after Chico never came back to reclaim it. When reading things like this, and knowing Las Vegas like I do, meaning that if you didn’t have your head on straight, it was a place where bad things had a propensity to happen.
FIRST THE HIGHS OF BOXING
The title win over IBF champ Robert Garcia was expected, at least from this perch as Diego had the height, reach and power edge over the now highly acclaimed trainer from Oxnard, CA. He tore through Justin Juuko, Derick Gainer, this before being surprisingly extended the full 12 rounds by John Brown. A TKO 3 over Angel Manfredy, who had beaten Arturo “Thunder” Gatti via stoppage, this was Chico’s high point in first tier of professional boxing.
ALONG CAME KID NAMED FLOYD!
Even though he had won the championship at 130 lbs, and looking like a skinny version of Superman with gloves on, the elongated Corrales would suffer a humiliating defeat against Floyd Mayweather in January 2001. The humiliation wasn’t that he lost, for Chico once told me many years before that the reality of boxing was that while he was riding an undefeated wave, that one day, whether it was because he got old, or met someone better than he, that losing a fight was part of the reality that is professional boxing.
CHICO’S MIND WAS NOT ON BOXING
The pending prison stint turned Corrales into an emotional mess as he went through the motions preparing for Floyd Mayweather. Starving to make the weight, I remember seeing him eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the dressing room just prior to entering the ring to fight Floyd. Less than ten rounds in, Diego’s corner stopped the fight after he had visited the canvas for the fifth time. Although he offered no excuses later, it was evident that Corrales was neither physically nor mentally prepared to fight anyone of Floyd’s caliber.
COMEBACK & THE SECOND TIER FOR DIEGO
Two years and five days later, Corrales, having served his jail time was back in an Atlantic City ring vs. journeyman Michael Davis. After stopping Davis and two reasonable facsimiles, Chico would face the formidable Damien Fuller, whom he stopped in three rounds. Although the icing wasn’t yet on the cake, it appeared that a rejuvenated Diego Corrales, now fighting at 135 lbs., was ready for real competition. But he would lose his next fight against Joel Casamayor when he suffered cuts “in” his mouth due to a mouthpiece that didn’t fit. With blood gushing and running down his throat, ringside Dr. Margaret Goodman, a good Dr. and an even better human being, had no choice but to stop the fight. Five months later in March 2004, Corrales rematched Casamayor and garnered a split decision win in 12 frames.
LIKE SAND IN THE HOURGLASS
Little did any of us realize at the time, but the sand in the hourglass of Corrales’ boxing career occupied more of the lower end of the spectrum than anybody thought. His best win ever was an emotional ordeal for Corrales obviously as he stopped the unbeaten Acelino Freitas, but it was also an exceptional moment for both myself and good friend Favio Flores, as we had made the trek from California to Connecticut to see the fight. A close fight on the cards, that was until Diego sealed the deal in round ten.
POST FIGHT PARTY ONE I’LL NEVER FORGET!
Celebrating afterwards with steaks, drinks and an air of positively in the room, Diego Corrales had crawled and scratched his way back to the top rung of the professional boxing ladder, something we were all quite proud of. With a new woman by his side, Corrales seemed emotionally intact at the post fight gala. On this same day as today, May 7, but in 2005, Diego faced Jose Luis Castillo in one of the most exciting and damaging fights in the history of the game. After being down, Corrales got up and stopped Castillo when the Mexican was ran out of fight.
FIGHT TOOK MORE FROM WINNER THAN THE LOSER
Corralles Stopping Castillo
While it would be considered his greatest win, the toll it took on Corrales boxing life was immeasurable. Diego never quite sounded the same, acted a bit different, for the fight had left its mark on him both physically and neurologically. They would rematch just five months later, which in my mind, was an indictment illustrating the greed and lack of compassion by his promoter Gary Shaw, for it appeared he didn’t give a **** about Corrales health by even suggesting the fight. After the first encounter, even though Castillo had lost, the fight extracted far more out of Corrales.
SAND ALL BUT RAN OUT OF DIEGO’S HOURGLASS
The rematch was shady as Castillo didn’t make weight, to which promoter Gary Shaw, being the kind soul that he isn’t by scheduling Corrales to fight this monster five months after the their first war, when in reality if he had the right people looking out for him, Diego should have taken the rest of the year off, that’s how horrendous a beating he had taken from Castillo. Knocked out inside of four rounds, Diego, and it was painful for me to watch, was done as a professional fighter. The result might have been the same had Corrales taken the suggested year off, but to put him back into training 90 or so days after the first Castillo fight, well, it is something I will never forgive Gary Shaw for allowing to occur.
WATCHING THE REMATCH WAS SICKENING!
That hourglass that I mentioned earlier had nothing left in it after Diego was beaten down by the overweight Castillo, who in my opinion, never intended to make the weight and it was all about having an advantage over Diego. After a one-year hiatus from boxing, Corrales came back, a mere shadow of his once formidable self and lost a rubber match with Joel Casamayor by split decision. Six months later and 12 lbs. heavier, Diego fought made his last stand, losing on points after getting dropped twice by Joshua Clottey in April 2007. Corrales’ final record stood at 40-5, 33 KOs.
Diego’s Motorcycle Being Towed Away
DIEGO’S LAST DAY OF LIFE!
The day of May 7, 2007, was the last time Diego Corrales would wake up. Depressed over the fact his boxing career was history, not happy with his current domestic situation, Corrales went out and got drunk, something you can do in Las Vegas for free if you have a roll of nickels. With a Blood Alcohol Level far higher than the legal limit, Corrales got on his motorcycle and while driving in Las Vegas, tried to make a pass at an intersection. The collision, while it didn’t kill Corrales on impact, it may as well for he died a short time later.
Diego “Chico” Corrales
COULD ALMOST HEAR FAVIO CRYING
I remember Favio Flores, who had known Chico from Sacramento, calling me and telling me on the phone that Diego was dead. Whether he was holding back tears or not, I couldn’t tell, but an emotional Flores terminated the phone call at his earliest opportunity. With the both of us having been with Corrales during the lows and his high, the beating of unbeaten Acelino Freitas, neither of us slept well eight years ago tonight.
Pedro Fernandez
DIEGO CORRALES DEATH 8 YEARS LATER