BoxingCorrales dies after high-speed crash
'He fought recklessly and he lived recklessly. That was his style'Former two-weight world champion Diego 'Chico' Corrales has died overnight after a high-speed motorcycle accident in Las Vegas. The 29-year-old, who held world titles at super-featherweight and lightweight, will be remembered for his epic win against Jose Luis Castillo in 2005, when he dragged himself off the canvas to force a thrilling stoppage 10th-round victory. The fight was named by the Boxing Writers Association of America and numerous boxing publications as the fight of the year.
Corrales's promoter, Gary Shaw, explained that his fighter was driving his motorcycle at a high speed when he ran into the back of a car about 10 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip. "He's laying there as we speak with a helmet on his head under a sheet," Shaw said. "It appears he was thrown a great distance."
Shaw said Corrales, whose career had faltered in recent fights, had recently bought a racing motorcycle, which he was apparently riding at the time he was killed. "He fought recklessly and he lived recklessly," he said. "That was his style."
Las Vegas police spokesman Jose Montoya said the victim in the accident was wearing a helmet, and it was not known if drugs or alcohol was involved. "No tests have been done. We're still investigating," Montoya said.
Corrales, who stood 5ft 10in but fought most of his career at just 9st 4lb, won his first 33 fights and held a piece of the super-featherweight title before he was stopped by Floyd Mayweather Jr in a unification fight in January 2001. Corrales was sent to jail on a domestic abuse charge after that fight, and didn't box again for two years. He came back to fight a trilogy against Joel Casamayor, losing two of the three fights, and split a pair of fights with Castillo.
He had lost his last three fights, including his last fight on April 7 against Joshua Clottey, and was certainly on the slide. However, his record was 40 wins (33 KOs) and five defeats. "He always cared about the fans and gave them their money's worth," added Shaw. "He was a true warrior. He was what boxing stood for, and what boxing is all about. My heart goes out to his wife and kids."
World light-welterweight champion Ricky Hatton said he was "shellshocked" at the news and said his fight against Castillo next month should be dedicated to one of the "bravest fighters ever". "The best we can do is put on a barnstorming display in his his memory," said Hatton. "He used to bang his chest and look at the crowd and snarl, he was a fighter's fighter. He was strange for a tall fighter because he just used to steam forward. He was very passionate and I would love to have fought him, it would have been exceptional."
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