"There will not be a fight if Castillo doesn’t make lightweight, and they better have somebody on standby to take his place."

BoxingTalk:  What’s up Diego, how is your rib healing up?

Diego Corrales:  I’m doing good Darren.  I’m doing great.  I’ve been doing a little bike riding around here, so I’m feeling pretty good.

BoxingTalk: Any pain as you go about your daily activities.

Diego Corrales:  No, not really.

BoxingTalk: When do you start training for your 3rd fight with Castillo?

Diego Corrales:  I start training next month in Los Angeles.

BoxingTalk: Do you think this extra time off due to your injury has actually been a blessing in disguise, allowing you to heal up completely from your two fights with Castillo?

Diego Corrales:  Oh yeah, I do.  It has been a much needed break of about 8 months now.

BoxingTalk:  You know, there are some people who think that both you and Castillo should take even more time off before fighting each other again.

Diego Corrales:  It is what it is.  The fight is done and ready to happen, so we’ll just go from there.

BoxingTalk: It is no secret that you have been down on the canvas each time you have fought Castillo.  How you do you prevent that from happening a third time?

Diego Corrales:  Honestly, we don’t know.  Fighters find themselves on the canvas sometimes, and it’s a matter of what you do when you get up.

BoxingTalk:  And you get up every single time too.

Diego Corrales:  Oh yeah, I never stay down.

BoxingTalk:  Will there be anything different about this training camp then in your previous camps for Castillo?

Diego Corrales:  It’s the same formula, what’s the point.  It worked the first time, the second time it was a good shot, I don’t think there is anything wrong with the formula, I feel I just got caught with a good shot.  I use a lot of the same tactics.  Pounding to the body will be very important.

BoxingTalk:  Are you expecting anything different from Castillo?

Diego Corrales:  No, he’ll make sure to use his jab, throw two or three shots, and then slide right back out.  I think he’ll do the same thing again.

BoxingTalk:  There was some question in your last two fights with Castillo about you fighting on the inside, and not using your long range power to your advantage.  Will you use that reach advantage this time around?

Diego Corrales:  I think my power is good in both ranges, and I think I need to use a mixture of things that I won’t go into depth right now, but there are a mixture of things that need to be done for the third fight.

BoxingTalk:  Since Castillo knocked you out last time, will you only be satisfied if you knock him out again?

Diego Corrales:  I knocked him out the first time.  He evened it up, but I’m always content with the win no matter how it comes.  I’m looking for the “W” and I really don’t care how I do it.

BoxingTalk:  After this fight, are you looking to get back in the ring a couple more times before 2006 is up, and is there someone on your radar that you want to fight before the year is over?

Diego Corrales:  I think the things that Acelino Freitas did, how he cried to the WBO.  All he had to do is wait his turn, and I would have gladly given him a shot.  I think that the whole mess that went on with my belts, he’s a big target on my list just on principle for what he did.  He will have to contend with me.  Even if he doesn’t beat Zahir Raheem, he has to contend with me.  I didn’t like his method.  I feel it was very underhanded, I think it was not fair to the people who are fighting for the chance to fight me for the title.  He should have waited his turn, but he didn’t do that.  I don’t care if Freitas wins the belt or not, I want to annihilate him for what he did.

BoxingTalk:  If Zahir does beat Freitas, would take him on?

Diego Corrales:  I don’t have a problem with that.  The job never changes, no matter who is in front of me.  I’m going to keep going for it.

BoxingTalk:  How much longer do you see yourself in the fight game?

Diego Corrales:  I like to fight at the top level, and it will last as long as it’s going to last.  The minute I feel I’m losing a step or two, I’m gone.  However long my body says I can do it.

BoxingTalk:  Do you look at this fight with Castillo as just a continuation from your previous two fights with him?  Is this round 15 here?

Diego Corrales:  Pretty much.  We just keep on rolling.  No matter what happens, because of what me and Castillo do all the time people are going to want to see us do it again.  They really like it when we get together because sparks fly every time.

BoxingTalk:  Who is your pick for Mayweather and Judah?

Diego Corrales:  I think Zab, with his punching ability and his speed may be able to beat Floyd, but I don’t know what Zab is going to show up.

BoxingTalk:  Is a rematch with Mayweather on your list of things to do before you hand them up?

Diego Corrales:  The way he keeps moving up in weight, I’m losing a little bit of hope.  I try and take a division and control it before I move up.  Right now I’m a lightweight trying to serve myself as the #1 guy who owns the division.  From there I move to 140 and move from there to try and control that division.  So right now, it’s hard to say if a rematch with Floyd is possible.

BoxingTalk:  Is the 3rd fight with Castillo contracted for 135?

Diego Corrales:  It is.

BoxingTalk:  Is there any clause in the contract about what happens if Castillo doesn’t make the weight?

Diego Corrales:  Yeah, there some things in the contract.  He’s going to make lightweight or there won’t be a fight.

BoxingTalk:  Really!?!

Diego Corrales:  There will not be a fight if Castillo doesn’t make lightweight, and they better have somebody on standby to take his place.  He has to make it or he won’t fight, and all that does is do terrible things for him and his career.

BoxingTalk:  Will there be any monetary compensation for you if Castillo doesn’t make the weight?

Diego Corrales:  I’m sure there is.

BoxingTalk:  Do you believe that he’ll make weight this time?

Diego Corrales:  He’ll do it, he’ll do it.  I feel last time he just wanted to get even no matter how he did it.

 

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