Diego Corrales - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Diego "Chico" Corrales was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

boxer.

He was the WBC

World Boxing Council

The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

, WBO, & The Ring

The Ring (magazine)

The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...

lightweight

Lightweight

Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....

champion, and the WBO & IBF

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

super featherweight

Super Featherweight

Super featherweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 130 pounds or 59 kilograms....

champion.

In 2005, Corrales received the prestigious The Ring

The Ring (magazine)

& Boxing Writers Association of America

Boxing Writers Association of America

The Boxing Writers Association of America was originally formed in 1926 as the Boxing Writers Association of Greater New York. The association's purpose is to promote better working conditions for boxing writers, as well as hold its writers to the highest professional and ethical standards...

's Fight of the Year awards for his acclaimed lightweight

Lightweight

bout with José Luis Castillo

José Luis Castillo

José Luis Castillo is a Mexican boxer. Nicknamed El Temible, Castillo is considered one the best lightweights of his era. He is the former The Ring and two-time WBC Lightweight champion....

Early life

Corrales was born in Columbia, South Carolina to a Colombian

Colombian people

Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...

father and a Mexican

Mexican people

Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....

mother. Corrales' early life was filled with violence; he was raised in the Oak Park section of Sacramento

Sacramento

Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...

, was involved with street gangs at age 13, and witnessed his best friend's death via drive-by shooting

Drive-by shooting

A drive-by shooting is a form of hit-and-run tactic, a personal attack carried out by an individual or individuals from a moving or momentarily stopped vehicle without use of headlights to avoid being noticed. It often results in bystanders being shot instead of, or as well as, the intended target...

. Corrales had a degree in culinary arts. He trained at "Sac Pal" (Sacramento Police Athletic League) Boxing Gym with Manny Fernandez

Amateur career

Corrales compiled an amateur boxing record of 105-12. In 1994, he took second place at the United States Amateur Championships, losing to Frankie Carmona on points in the featherweight

Featherweight

Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...

final.
He was a bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

ist at featherweight in the 1995 Pan American Games

1995 Pan American Games

The 12th Pan American Games were held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, from March 12 to March 26, 1995. After 44 years, this was the Pan American Games first return to the country that hosted the first Games, in 1951.-Overview:...

. At lightweight, he lost in the 1995 World Championships in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

to Marco Rudolph

Marco Rudolph

Marco Rudolph was a German boxer, who won the Lightweight Silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.- Professional career :...

Professional career

Corrales was victorious in his pro boxing debut on March 19, 1996. On October 23, 1999, Corrales won the IBF

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

super featherweight title by defeating the previously unbeaten Roberto Garcia

Roberto Garcia Cortez

Roberto García Cortez, , is a retired Mexican-American professional boxer in the Lightweight division and is currently considered one of the best trainers in boxing. He is also the former IBF Super Featherweight Champion and was trained by his father Eduardo Garcia at the popular La Colonia Youth...

via TKO

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

in the seventh round. After defeating Angel Manfredy

Angel Manfredy

Angel Manfredy is a Puerto Rican-American former boxer who has fought in the Junior Welterweight, Lightweight and Junior Lightweight divisions...

on September 2, 2000, Corrales' managers vacated his title. Corrales had a record of 33-0 at this point.

On January 20, 2001, Corrales challenged Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr. is an American professional boxer. He is a five-division world champion, where he has won seven world titles, as well as the lineal championship in three different weight classes...

for the WBC super featherweight title and recorded his first knockdown and first loss. In the bout, Mayweather knocked down Corrales five times (three times in the seventh round and twice in the tenth). After the fifth knockdown, Corrales' corner

Cornerman

A cornerman, or simply corner, is a combat sports term for a coach or team mate assisting a fighter during the length of a bout. The cornerman remains outside the combat area during the fight, but in proximity, and can assist the fighter through instruction...

stopped the fight, despite Corrales' protests.

Shortly after the Mayweather fight, Corrales served 14 months in prison after opting for a plea bargain on charges he faced for abusing his pregnant wife, Maria.

In 2003, Corrales returned to the ring. After easily winning four fights, Corrales fought against Joel Casamayor

Joel Casamayor

Joel "El Cepillo" Casamayor Johnson is a Cuban boxer, who turned pro after defecting to the United States on the eve of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The nickname "El Cepillo", literally translated to "the brush", comes from his uppercut, which rakes his opponents across the face...

. After the sixth round, the fight was stopped because of a deep cut inside of Corrales' mouth. On March 6, 2004, there was a rematch for the vacant WBO

World Boxing Organization

The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...

super featherweight title. Corrales won by close split decision.

On August 7, 2004, Corrales won the WBO lightweight title from Acelino Freitas

Acelino Freitas

Acelino "Popó" Freitas is a Brazilian boxer and a former world junior lightweight and lightweight champion. Freitas is also a state legislator for the state of Bahia . His style of fighting in the ring has garnered him a reputation for being more of a brawler than a boxer. His nickname, Popó, was...

via TKO in the tenth round. Freitas won the early rounds, but by the later rounds he was visibly tired and began to be caught by Corrales. After rising from his third knockdown, Freitas walked away from the referee and quit.

Corrales vs. Castillo I, II, and III

On May 7, 2005, Corrales defeated José Luis Castillo

José Luis Castillo

José Luis Castillo is a Mexican boxer. Nicknamed El Temible, Castillo is considered one the best lightweights of his era. He is the former The Ring and two-time WBC Lightweight champion....

for the WBC

World Boxing Council

lightweight title via TKO in the tenth round. The fight is almost universally regarded as the best fight of 2005. Both men stood in front of each other, battering each other with hard combinations and power punches throughout the entire fight. Finally, in the tenth round, Castillo knocked Corrales down. Seconds later, Castillo knocked Corrales down again. Once on the ground, Corrales managed to beat the count, and, after a point was taken away for excessive spitting out of the mouthpiece, Corrales connected with a punch that Castillo later called "a perfect right hand." Corrales then trapped Castillo against the ropes and landed numerous punches, causing the referee

Referee (boxing)

The referee in the boxing is the individual charged with enforcing the rules of that sport during a match.-The role of the referee:Referees have the following roles:*Gives instructions to both boxers before the fight...

, Tony Weeks, to stop the fight. After the fight Corrales stated that he dedicated the fight to a late friend killed just 3 months earlier in Iraq, United States Marine LCpl Richard Perez Jr. whom Corrales had done some radio with his father Rich Perez in Las Vegas at the time. Corrales said "There was no way I was going to lose this fight, they would have had to drag me out of this one." As Corrales looked at the elder Perez and said "That was for your boy."

A rematch between Corrales and Castillo occurred on October 8, 2005. On the day before the fight, Castillo weighed-in 3½ lb

Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...

over the 135 lb (61.2 kg) 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.

Corrales vs. Castillo III, dubbed "The War to Settle the Score," had been scheduled for February 4, 2006, but it was postponed because of a rib injury that Corrales suffered while training. The fight was rescheduled for June 3, 2006. At the weigh-in, however, Corrales weighed the 135 lb (61.2 kg) lightweight limit whereas Castillo weighed 139½ lb—causing the fight to be cancelled. Corrales later sued Castillo for punitive damages.

After Castillo

Corrales was scheduled to defend his lightweight title in a third bout against Joel Casamayor on October 7, 2006. However, Corrales weighed in 5 pounds over the limit. He was given two hours to shed five pounds, but came back at 139 pounds. Corrales would have been stripped of the title if he had won the bout, but Casamayor defeated him by split decision

Split decision

A split decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which two of the three judges score for the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other...

for the WBC and The Ring
The Ring (magazine)
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...

lightweight titles.

On April 7, 2007, fighting in the welterweight division, Corrales lost a unanimous decision to Joshua Clottey

Joshua Clottey

Joshua Clottey is a Ghanaian professional boxer. Born in Accra, Ghana, Clottey now lives in the Bronx, New York. He is the former IBF welterweight champion. He's also the brother of veteran boxers Judas Clottey and Emmanuel Clottey....

. Corrales was dropped in rounds 9 and 10 and lost by the scores of 97-90, 98-89
and 100-87.

Death

On May 7, 2007, exactly two years to the day after his first fight with Castillo, Corrales was killed in a three-vehicle accident near his Las Vegas home. Corrales was riding a 2007 Suzuki GSXR 1000 motorcycle, traveling northbound on Fort Apache Road in the southwest part of the Las Vegas Valley, Corrales attempted to pass another vehicle at high speed, but Corrales struck the back of the car and was immediately knocked off his bike and hit the ground. An ambulance was called by the witnesses at the scene, Corrales was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. Las Vegas police spokesman Sgt. Tracy McDonald said: "The accident occurred at approximately 7:30 p.m. PDT." McDonald said there was no outward evidence of drugs or alcohol involved. He could not say how fast the motorcycle was traveling. Corrales blood alcohol content

Blood alcohol content

Blood alcohol content , also called blood alcohol concentration, blood ethanol concentration, or blood alcohol level is most commonly used as a metric of alcohol intoxication for legal or medical purposes....

was 0.25 at the time of the crash, approximately 3 times the legal limit for Nevada. The Funeral in Las Vegas was ushered by Referee Richard Steele with three main speakers, promoter Gary Shaw, Sportscaster Rich Perez and a representative from the Corrales family.

Professional boxing record

|align="center" colspan=8|40 Wins (33 knockouts, 7 decisions), 5 Losses (3 by knockout, 2 by decision), 0 Draws
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| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
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