Champ Castillo survives rematch with game Munoz
Martin Castillo, bleeding and hurt, managed to hang onto his junior bantamweight title, winning a split decision against former champion Alexander Munoz.
LAS VEGAS -- Martin Castillo, bleeding and hurt, managed to hang onto his junior bantamweight title, winning a split decision against former champion Alexander Munoz on Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The main undercard bout on the Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao 2 bill was a hard-hitting affair that left both men bleeding as they traded heavy shots for much of the fight in a rematch.
Castillo (30-1), who took the title from Munoz in 2004, had a much tougher time in the mandatory rematch.
In their first fight, Castillo scored two knockdowns and cruised to a decision victory. But Munoz (28-2) had much more to offer the second time around. He came out strong and knocked Castillo down early in the first round with his main weapon, a potent right hand.
"I knew he was going to be more aggressive this time and I knew the right hand was coming," Castillo said.
In the fifth round, they clashed heads and Castillo emerged with a nasty gash over his right eye. In the sixth, another accidental head butt ripped open a cut under Castillo's left eye.
And in the eighth, Munoz badly staggered Castillo in the final 10 seconds, landing two right hands that sent Castillo backwards into the ropes.
But Castillo came on strong in the later part of the fight. Munoz came out for the ninth with his right eye badly swollen, perhaps from one of the head butts. He appeared to have a hard time picking up Castillo's punches.
Castillo swarmed him and it resulted in the best round of the fight, a toe-to-toe frame that had the crowd on its feet.
Munoz, bleeding from his mouth and nose, was fading and Castillo hammered him near the end of the 11th round. And as Castillo came out for the 12th, he clearly had more energy as he was on his toes and popping Munoz with his jabs despite blood dripping down his face.
In the end, judges Glenn Feldman (115-112) and Dick Houk (116-111) had it for Castillo, who made a successful third title defense. Judge Dalby Shirley scored for Munoz, 115-112.
ESPN.com at ringside scored it 114-113 for Munoz, of Venezuela.
"Everybody in this building knows I won the fight," Munoz said. "I beat him fair and square and I should get another chance to fight him again. I deserve it."
Castillo had other ideas.
"Only if he's the No. 1 contender and I have to fight him," Castillo said regarding a rematch.
Since losing to Castillo the first time, Munoz had reeled off three straight victories, including an eliminator over Julio Ler in Argentina in May, to earn the title shot.
• Featherweight prospect Juan Manuel Lopez (9-0, 9 KOs) destroyed Jose Luis Caro (10-4-1) with a flush right hand in the third round to continue an impressive start to his pro career.
Lopez, a 22-year-old southpaw who represented Puerto Rico in the 2004 Olympics at 119 pounds, knocked Caro down in the second round with a right hook but it appeared to be more of a slip than a true knockdown.
But in the third, Lopez left no doubt, drilling Caro with a single short right that dropped him to his back as one of his legs bent backwards, and referee Joe Cortez called it off at 1:43.
• Middleweight Jose Luis Zertuche (18-2-2) punctuated a dominant unanimous decision against Marcos Primera (19-13-2) with a 10th-round knockdown.
Zertuche, a 2000 Mexican Olympian, was facing late substitute Primera because his original opponent, top 10 contender Kelly Pavlik, fell out with a hand injury.
Primera was the third choice to get the fight after Fernando Zuniga and Anthony Thompson committed to the fight only to back out in the days before the match.
Zertuche won every round on all three scorecards, winning by scores of 100-89 (twice) and 100-88, as Primera was in survival mode most of the fight.
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
