Contrary to rumors, the WBC and WBO have no intension of stripping Diego Corrales of his 135-pound titles and would welcome a third fight between he and Jose Luis Castillo.
Both titles were supposed to be a stake last Saturday when Corrales and Castillo met at the Thomas and Mack Center for the rematch of their dramatic battle in May. Corrales made the 135-pound weight limit a day before the fight, but Castillo came in 3 ½ pounds over weight. The bout proceeded as a non-title fight with Castillo scoring a fourth-round knockout. A replay of the fight will be shown tomorrow at 9 p.m. on Showtime.
Corrales promoter Gary Shaw said on Wednesday he heard rumors the WBC and WBO were considering declaring the titles vacant as a result of Corrales’ defeat.
“There’s no way we would consider stripping him because he made the weight,” WBO president Francisco Valcarcel told the Post yesterday from Orlando.
Because it wasn’t a title fight, the WBO didn’t receive sanctioning fees, which would have come in handy with its annual convention set for next week in Las Vegas.
“We’ll talk more about Corrales-Castillo then,” Valcarcel said. “But no way we’d strip his title.”
The WBC concurred, issuing a statement yesterday citing Rule WC-13b, which states, “a champion wins by default and retains his title when the challenger does not make the statutory weight of the division during the official weigh-in or within a two-hour period thereafter.”
WBC President Jose Sulaiman, who orders rematches like everyone else orders breakfast, called for a third fight.
“Due to the circumstances of the victory by Jose Luis Castillo in the ring, I am taking a vote with the Board of Governors of the institution to order a rematch with no intervening defenses, with the following conditions,” he said.
Those conditions include the usual pre-fight medical tests and additional mandatory weigh-ins to be held 30 and seven days prior to the official weigh-in, which would be 24 to 30 hours before the bout.
Corrales won the first fight last May when he earned a TKO in the 10th round after being dropped twice in the same round. He didn’t get up from a hard left hook to the chin in the fourth round of the rematch.