Castillo and Lacy
Champions On Different Roads!
By: Will The Thrill Trillo
Photos by Bret "The Threat" Newton


All the reports from this weekend are in and it is clear that Showtime put on a heck of an entertaining broadcast this past Saturday night. Both televised fights were entertaining and anyone who missed them should try to catch the rebroadcasts this week.

What sticks out most in my mind as I reflect back, is how different both Champions looked in victory, and how each ones chosen path appears to be headed down two completely separate roads.

Jose Luis Castillo TKO 10 Julio Diaz

For Castillo, what I saw was a truly outstanding and dominating performance. His technical skills and pugilistic talents were without flaw. Sure, he got hit some, he even gave away the first round in my opinion. But he was just watching what Diaz was going to do in the beginning and in the 3 minutes it took for him to get a bead on his foe he came to the conclusion that Diaz did not have the power or skill to hurt him in any way.

From that point on Castillo just moved in, blocking and parrying punches, seemingly at will, while he countered with sweet punches that left Diaz a mess by the end of the brutal attack.  Diaz thought he would change things up a bit as he switched back and forth from orthodox to southpaw stances, but every time he went lefty, Castillo found a home for vicious straight right hands, and before The Kid could blink, he found himself to be a one eyed fighter.

If there wasn't already a Julio Chavez Jr., I would say that Castillo looked like Julio Chavez Jr. himself, this was a classic exhibition of boxing, much like we used to see in the days of his fellow Mexican predecessor, J.C. Chavez Sr.

Looking ahead to his fight with Corrales, one now has to assume that Castillo is going to be a difficult task for Chico, much more difficult than he might have expected, it looks to me as if Castillo has used these last 2 fights to hone his skills and now he is as sharp as he has ever been, maybe Corrales in now regretting not fighting him last year when he was supposed to, time will tell!

Jeff Lacy TKO 7 Rubin Williams

On the other side of the coin we have Jeff Lacy. Is he dominant? Yes! Can he hit like a ton of bricks? Of course! Does he get hit too much? Definitely! Will that concrete jaw ever be truly put to the test? We shall soon find out!

To me, Lacy is about as imposing looking fighter that we have seen in the ring in a very long time, his chiseled body spells doom for whoever is standing in front of him. Heck, one fighter quit at the weigh-in when Jeff took off his shirt, and I don't blame him! Dude is cut! I can't deny that he was landing some serious leather on Rubin Williams this weekend.

I also can tell you that Williams was landing some hard shots of his own, and often. Lacy and his whole team are putting a lot of stock in Jeff's whiskers and I think that is a dangerous investment to rely on. This is the Super Middleweight division and there are a few guys, who given the right opening, can put an end to anyone's night with one punch.

No doubt Lacy will always be in some great and entertaining wars, but after this fight, and the one we saw a few months ago with Omar Sheika, I think it is clear that Jeff is willing to trade blows with anyone and somewhere down the line I think this is going to put him in a place he never expected to be, on the canvas with the referee counting to 10 right above him! I think Jeff is a great fighter, I wish him no ill will, but I can't help but think that sooner, rather than later, he is going to regret his lack of defensive skills.

On a side note, the talk amongst ringside reporters is that Steve Luevano needs to step up the competition, at 27-0 it's time for his people to cut the cord and let this kid show us what he has got, his spoon fed line of stiffs needs to come to an end and Steve needs to get in there with some real competition!
 

Questions or Comments? Please Contact Will "The Thrill" Trillo
For Photos Please Contact Bret "The Threat" Newton