Mayweather mauls Corrales
Sunday, January 21, 2001
By David Mayo
The Grand Rapids Press
LAS VEGAS -- If this was a fight between two of boxing's top 10 pound-for-pound combatants, as widely advertised, then superstars like Shane Mosley, Felix Trinidad and Roy Jones Jr. have newly confirmed company at the top.
Grand Rapids' Floyd Mayweather, at his slick boxing-punching best, reduced Diego Corrales to a punching bag with arms Saturday night. He scored a whopping five knockdowns, the last of which brought Corrales' trainer to the ring apron, waving a towel in surrender, at MGM Grand.
Referee Richard Steele halted the onslaught at 2:19 of the 10th round, of a scheduled 12.
"This was one of the greatest days of my life tonight," Mayweather said. "I proved so many people wrong. I had so many critics. I didn't just win, I put on a show for the people."
Mayweather and his previously estranged father, Floyd Sr., embraced long and tight afterwards, in the euphoria of Mayweather's sixth successful defense of the World Boxing Council super featherweight title.
The elder Mayweather accompanied his son on the walk to the ring, and was near his corner, sometimes on his feet shouting instructions, throughout the fight. He also joined his son on the dais at the postfight press conference.
"I used my defense just the way my dad wanted me to," the champion said. "When he called me today, I cried."
"My son fought exactly the fight I said he should fight," said the father.
Mayweather and Corrales -- who had engaged in a nasty war of words before the bout, much of it about Mayweather's declaration that he would beat Corrales, "on behalf of battered women every see FIGHT, D9
where" -- also embraced after the fight.
"I respect you as a fighter," Mayweather whispered to Corrales. "What I said was only hype to sell some tickets."
Corrales said nothing in return.
"Most opponents I fight, I beat them mentally before they even get in the ring," Mayweather said. "Then I just have to do the physical part in the ring."
Mayweather put on a devastating performance in his first megafight. HBO senior vice president of programming Kery Davis, whose network now activates a six-fight, $15.75 million contract with Mayweather, likened it to "Secretariat at the Belmont, Tiger Woods at The Masters. It was that kind of night -- a virtuoso performance."
Mayweather broke down Corrales methodically and surely, rarely accepting fire in return, as he slipped and dipped around and under virtually every shot Corrales threw.
When he wasn't employing the kind of defense that would make the Baltimore Ravens envious, Mayweather was potshotting Corrales with anything he wanted.
Early in the bout, Mayweather principally employed one punch at a time, then bolted away.
But by midfight, Corrales' efforts to corner Mayweather and instigate a brawl slowed, as the cumulative effect of Mayweather's speed and accuracy took their toll, and the champion started firing more combinations.
Mayweather (25-0, 19 KOs) bolted from his corner to begin the seventh round, immediately whistled a left hook to Corrales' jaw, and dropped the challenger for the first knockdown.
A near identical replay two minutes later produced the second knockdown. Before the end of the round, a Mayweather flurry sent Corrales sprawling again. Mayweather landed a punch to the back of Corrales' head while the challenger was down, but was not warned.
By then, Corrales no longer was pressing the attack like he had tried previously, and the futility of his efforts showed in the final punch statistics.
Corrales (33-1) landed single-digit punch totals in all 10 rounds. In the history of Compubox Inc., the most rounds any fighter had fought without landing double-digit punches was seven, by Reggie Johnson, in a 12-rounder against Roy Jones Jr.
"Corrales was a lost man out there," said James Smith, Mayweather's manager.
In all, Mayweather landed 220 of 414 punches (53 percent), to Corrales' 60 of 205 (29 percent). Mayweather, four inches shorter than the challenge, landed 91 jabs to Corrales' seven.
Early in the 10th round, Mayweather shoved Corrales, who was so tired he collapsed. Midway through that round, Mayweather again ripped a left hook to Corrales' chin, and the challenger went down for the fourth time, and the third time after a single left hook.
"I knew all along the left hook would be the damaging punch," said Roger Mayweather, working his first title fight as his nephew's trainer.
Two snapping rights in succession produced the final knockdown, and with it, the end of the fight.
"A fighter likes to go out on his back," Corrales said. "I was coherent after each knockdown.
"Mayweather fought a smart fight. He did what he was supposed to do. But a champion should finish a fight as long as he keeps getting up. I kept getting up. My head was clear. There were only two more rounds. I wish (Steele) would've let me finish the fight."
Through nine rounds, Mayweather swept every round on two of the three scorecards, and lost only one round on the other. Mayweather had leads of 90-79, 90-78 and 89-79 through nine rounds. The Press had Mayweather ahead 90-78 through nine. |
