PR Newswire, CA
June 3 2006
SHOWTIME Will Televise Darchinyan-Maldonado IBF Flyweight Title Fight
After Castillo Fails to Make Weight and Corrales Bout is Cancelled
LAS VEGAS, June 2 /PRNewswire/ — Saturday’s fight between Diego
Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo has been cancelled after Castillo
failed to make the weight.
Castillo weighed in four-and-one half pounds over the 135-pound
limit on his first attempt. In his next try on the scales, at a little
before 5 p.m. PT, Castillo also weighed 139 1/2 pounds.
The SHOWTIME telecast will now consist of one fight, an IBF
flyweight world title bout between defending champion Vic Darchinyan
and Luis Maldonado. The battle of undefeated 112-pounders will start
at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
Darchinyan (25-0, 20 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, by way of
Vanadvor, Armenia, is coming off of a sensational eighth-round TKO
over Diosdado Gabi March 3, 2006, on the SHOWTIME boxing series,
“ShoBox: The New Generation.” A pint-sized powerhouse armed with
bone-crunching power, Darchinyan is one of the hardest pound-for-pound
hitters in boxing. The Lord of the Flys has won seven consecutive
bouts by knockout. This will be the southpaw’s fourth title
defense. Darchinyan also holds the International Boxing Organization
(IBO) 112-pound belt.
Maldonado (33-0-1, 25 KOs), of Mexicali, Mexico, had a 33-fight
winning streak end in his last outing when he boxed to a 12-round draw
against slick southpaw boxer Cristian Mijares in a flyweight
elimination bout on Feb. 24, 2006. An aggressive, offensive-minded
slugger who makes for great fights and never takes a backward step,
Maldonado will be the naturally bigger man against Darchinyan. The
unbeaten crowd pleaser, who also is the World Boxing Organization
(WBO) No. 6 contender, will make his second United States start.