Diego Corrales: I Missed My Chance

I chose the picture of how I remember Diego Corrales: after his unimaginable victory in the first of two matches against Jose Luis Castillo.

After being knocked down twice in the 10th round, he pummeled Castillo on the ropes to pick up an amazing victory.

Corrales fought back to negate what would have been a 10-6 round after he was penalized for removing his mouth piece.

I have friends, many of whom are not even boxing fans, say they admired Corrales after watching that infamous 10th round on YouTube.

I had a chance to see Corrales' last match against Joshua Clottey. The venue was a mere 100 miles from my home in an area where there is nothing of much interest as far as sports go. 

For some reason, I eventually decided to not make the 100-mile trek to see one of my favorite fighters do battle.

Corrales lost the fight to Clottey via unanimous decision. I used the loss to make myself feel better about not seeing Corrales compete.

That lasted for one month.

After his fatal motorcycle accident, I realized that I had an opportunity to see Corrales compete in the last battle he would ever have in the ring

Instead of being a true fan to Corrales, I became a fair-weather fan. I had the money all set to go and cheer on my favorite fighter.

Even if it was a losing effort, I still could have been there.

A tribute to Diego Corrales by Stoker Dafire:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/146815-diego-chico-corrales-august-25-1977-may-7-2007