After a scandalous decision loss to Jose Luis Castillo, scandalous due to the margin of victory for Castillo on one judge's scorecard, Joel Casamayor was able to keep a smile on his face and positive attitude following the fight. The Cuban boxer said, "I thought I won the fight, my head is not down."
Must be easy to keep a positive perspective on a negative occurance when one can contrast the situation to living in Fidel Castro's Cuba. My bet would be that Casamayor would take a dozen poor decisions and the paychecks that go with them after living in Socialist hell.
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Proposed Loser Leaves Town Match: Erik Morales verses Joel Casamayor
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The Olympic Class of 2000 was well represented this past weekend with Jeff Lacy, Jermain Taylor, and Rocky Juarez all appearing on separate cards. Juarez knocked out the usually tough Guty Espadas in the second assault, Taylor took a decisive victory over veteran William Joppy, and Lacy won a tough fight with Omar Sheika.
In terms of pure entertainment, Lacy is the fighter to watch. His management and promotional team make interesting and challenging bouts for the Jeff. Sheika might have seen his better days past, but he still proved a game opponent for Lacy's entertaining seek and destroy style.
"Bad Intentions" Taylor might be the most skilled of the trio, but has been feed a regular diet of tired old champions and fighters coming up in weight. Time has come for Lou DiBella, Taylor's promoter, to pit the young lion against formidable prey. Not necessarily, Hopkins or Trinidad, but Felix Sturm or Howard Eastman would do the trick.
What of Juarez? An exciting action fighter, but I don't see him challenging the big boys of the division. Pacquiao, Barrera, and Marquez would prove to be too much for Rocky. Better for him to lay low and wait for those guys to beat themselves up for a year or two. A fight with Scott Harrison or Injin Chi in 2005 would winnable, entertaining, and give Juarez the championship he sorely wants.
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Martin "El Gallito" Castillo showed the world, or at least the Solo Boxeo viewer ship, his incredible skill level clearly winning the WBA Super Flyweight Championship from Alexander Munoz. A lethal combination of speed, movement, and power brought Castillo his first world championship. If you were to ask me, Castillo is nearing a crack into the top ten pound for pound ratings.
Munoz validated the skepticism cast by the boxing world on champions with excellent records built outside of the United States. While coming in with a perfect record of 25-0 with 24 knockouts, Munoz left it all in the ring, but did not show world class talent.
Martin's victory could lead to an intriguing match-up with Jose Navarro. Both men are former Olympians, Castillo for Mexico in 1996 and Navarro for the United States in 2000. Castillo and Navarro also call Los Angeles their stomping grounds, adding some extra heat to a top-notch bout.
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