Interview
with Jose Luis Castillo
World lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo was on hand in Los Angeles
today to meet with fans and speak to the media at Wildcard Boxing Gym
in Hollywood. Castillo is originally from Empalme a small town of 60,000
in Sonora, Mexico. He moved to Mexicali at the age of 17 to pursue his
career as a boxer. Castillo appeared to be in very good shape as he
did a light workout and took pictures with fans. Castillo first felt
that he could be a world champion when he sparred with and helped prepare
Julio Cesar Chavez for his first fight with De La Hoya. By winning the
WBC title from Stevie Johnston and then defending the crown with a draw
against Johnston and knocking out former champ Cesar Bazan in January
of 2000. Castillo established himself as the worlds’ top lightweight.
On Saturday Jose Luis will defend his belt against “Pretty Boy”
Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas. Castillo claims
he intends to pressure Mayweather non stop and work very hard to defend
his WBC title. Castillo briefly shared his thoughts on a few topics:
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photo - Neil Kapin
Questions by German Villasenor and Neil Kapin
NK-
Do you see any comparisons between your upcoming fight with Mayweather
and Chavez versus Meldrick Taylor?
Castillo- I think if you really compare him (Mayweather) its with Whitaker.
He’s closer to what I’m going to face. Mayweather is like
a right-handed Whitaker, a Whitaker-type fighter more than Taylor.
NK-
In your losses you were stopped on cuts, is there any reason why that
has not been a problem lately?
Castillo- I really don’t know, because I’ve never been down.
Every fight I’ve lost was because I was cut and they stopped it.
I’ve never been down in a boxing match. All of a sudden I’m
not cutting, and I hope Saturday is the same thing. I hope I don’t
get cut on Saturday.
NK-
How well did fighting a slick boxer like Stevie Johnston prepare you
to fight Floyd?
Castillo- I don’t think they are similar fighters. Stevie has fast
hands like Mayweather but he didn’t move around as much as I expect
Mayweather to move.
NK-
Who do you consider to be the three greatest fighters of all time out
of Mexico?
Castillo- Salvador Sanchez, Kid Azteca, and Julio ‘Cesar’
Chavez.
NK-
What do you think about Juan Lazcano, do you have any plans to fight
him?
Castillo- He is a strong fighter, but he is not someone I am looking
to fight. I don’t know, maybe in the future but not right now.
NK-
If you beat Mayweather do you plan on moving up to Junior Welterweight?
Castillo- I’m looking to maybe fight Paul Spadafora to unify the
titles, and maybe move up and at the end of the year fight Kostya Tszyu.
NK-
Thank you for your time.
Castillo- Ok, thanks.
Interview with Bob Arum By Neil Kapin.
photo - Neil Kapin
Bob Arum was on hand with World Lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo today at Wild Card boxing Gym in Hollywood. Arum who is considered one of the top two promoters in all of boxing along with Don King shared his thoughts on Mayweather Castillo and other upcoming fights that Top Rank is promoting...
NK-
How worried are you that Mayweather or Castillo will come down with
an injury after the recent postponements of De La Hoya and Barrera?
Arum- Well, right now the planes aren’t landing in Vegas. So we’re
going to drive him (Castillo) in there. We’re not taking a chance
of flying him into Vegas. The planes aren’t landing because of
the winds.
NK-
What are your plans for the winner of this fight?
Arum- The winner of this fight will probably fight the winner of the
Stevie Johnston- “Cobrita” Gonzalez fight, which is on the
card, and then maybe go up in weight to fight Kostya Tszyu.
NK-
If Castillo were to win do you think you would be able to build him
up into an attraction like Chavez was?
Arum- Yeah, I think so. I think if Castillo beats Floyd Mayweather he
would be on his way to being the next Chavez.
NK-
If Mayweather wins do you think he could fight Spadafora instead of
the Johnston-Gonzalez?
Arum- Well, he’s not going to fight Spadafora. He has to fight
the winner of Stevie Johnston- “Cobrita” Gonzalez and then
he can fight either Spadafora or Tszyu.
NK-
Do you think its wise for Floyd to move up so quickly to fight Tszyu,
after just moving up from 130lbs?
Arum- Yeah I think so, if he can beat Castillo. I think Castillo is
a tougher guy for Floyd than Tszyu is.
NK-
What are your thoughts on the postponement of De La Hoya- Vargas?
Arum- Well, I’m disappointed I would like that fight to have happened
May 4th. But its gonna happen September 14th and it will still be a
great fight. But obviously, who wants to wait all these months for that
fight to happen.
NK-
Do you think that the postponement will help or hurt the PPV?
Arum- I don’t think it will have any affect at all, one way or
the other.
NK-
Who would Morales fight next if he were to beat Barrera in June?
Arum- If Morales beats Barrera he’s gonna fight Paulie Ayala.
NK-
How about if Barrera wins..?
Arum- If Barrera wins I don’t know. That’s up to John Jackson
and Maldonado.
NK-
Would you still like to match Ayala with Barrera?
Arum- Yeah I would, but its up to them.
NK- Thank you Bob.