Saturday, October 05, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Rematch between
Mayweather Jr.,
Castillo set Dec. 7
April lightweight bout ended in controversy
By KEVIN IOLE
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Floyd Mayweather Jr. will get his chance to prove that his first victory over Jose Luis Castillo was no fluke when he defends his World Boxing Council lightweight belt for the first time Dec. 7 at Mandalay Bay.
The bout was originally scheduled for tonight, but was rescheduled when Castillo missed more than a week of training last month with acute tendinitis in his left foot.
Mayweather won the WBC title from Castillo on April 20 in a highly controversial decision. Though the judges were unanimous and most ringside media felt Mayweather had won, the HBO announcers and the TV audience believed Castillo had won.
That prompted Mayweather to offer Castillo the immediate rematch.
Top Rank president Bob Arum said Castillo will resume training next week.
"(His foot) is fine, absolutely," Arum said. "We'll send him to (Dr. Tony Daly, a leading orthopedic surgeon in Los Angeles) to have him checked out on Monday and then he'll get back into training. He'll be ready for Dec. 7 with no problems."
HBO had hoped to televise a heavyweight title fight on that date and got its wish -- sort of. The network had been negotiating with undisputed light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. about moving up to fight World Boxing Association heavyweight champion John Ruiz.
Jones spokesman Greg Fritz said Jones really wants the fight and said the Ruiz camp was doing everything it could to satisfy Jones' demands. But if the fight occurs, it won't be until January at the earliest, Fritz said.
As a result, HBO is putting rising star Wladimir Klitschko on the undercard of Mayweather-Castillo. Klitschko holds the World Boxing Organization heavyweight title and will defend it against Jameel McCline.
Though that fight had been considered as a standalone main event Nov. 30, its addition to Mayweather-Castillo will not increase ticket prices, Arum said. The Mandalay Bay configuration will be the same as it would've been tonight, and tickets purchased for tonight will be honored Dec. 7.
Arum said tickets will begin at $50 and top out at $300.
