Martín Castillo

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Martín Castillo
Born
José Martín Castillo Garcia

(1977-01-13) January 13, 1977 (age 47)
Mexico City, Mexico
NationalityMexican
Other namesEl Gallo
Statistics
Weight(s)Super flyweight
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Reach67 in (170 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights39
Wins35
Wins by KO18
Losses4

José Martín Castillo (born 13 January 1977) is a Mexican former professional boxer. He represented his native country of Mexico at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is a former World Boxing Association Super Flyweight champion.

Amateur career[edit]

Castillo had an amateur record of 160–20 (90 KOs). He represented Mexico as a Flyweight at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He lost in the opening round to Zoltan Lunka of Germany 13–7 on points. It is one of the few foreign fighters who have won a medal (bronze) in the prestigious international boxing tournament Giraldo Cordoba Cardin, which every year is celebrated in Cuba by invitation, Martin Castillo won the bronze in 1996 in Camaguey, losing in semifinals with Cuban Hector Barrientos.

Professional career[edit]

Castillo, nicknamed "Gallo" (Rooster), first fought for a world title on March 30, 2002, against Felix Machado. Castillo suffered a cut due to a headbutt, and the fight was stopped in the 6th round. By rule when a headbutt is ruled to be unintentional, the fight went to the scorecards. All three judges ruled against Castillo, although many thought he was winning the fight.

Championship Reign[edit]

After winning the WBA interim title, Castillo fought the full WBA champion, Alexander Muñoz, on December 3, 2004 in Laredo, Texas. At the time, Muñoz was a widely respected and feared power puncher, with an undefeated record in 25 fights, with 24 wins by way of knock-out. Castillo frustrated Muñoz with slick boxing skills and expert use of angles. Castillo dropped Muñoz twice on the way to a fairly easy unanimous decision victory.

Castillo defended his title in a unanimous decision victory over former WBA flyweight champion Eric Morel on March 19, 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Castillo received some exposure in this fight, as it was the first televised bout on the Pay-Per-View (PPV) fight card featuring the first match between boxing superstars Érik Morales and Manny Pacquiao.[1] However, Castillo's victory was a workman-like effort, largely because Morel employed a very defensive style. Castillo followed this victory with another unanimous decision defense of his belt over Hideyasu Ishihara on June 26, 2005 in a fight held in Nagoya, Japan.

The rematch between Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao on January 21, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada provided another opportunity to feature Castillo on the PPV undercard, this time as the chief supporting bout to the main event. Castillo was rematched with Muñoz, who had won three fights since losing his belt. This time Muñoz came much better prepared, applying pressure from the opening bell and dropping Castillo in the first round. Castillo also suffered bad cuts over both eyes as the fight progressed. The aggressiveness of Muñoz and his heavy punches won him the early rounds. However, Castillo rallied in the later rounds, using better technique and counter-punches, but also exhibiting aggressiveness. The last three rounds featured furious exchanges between the fighters, with Muñoz growing increasingly tired, but still launching dangerous power punches.

Castillo won a split decision victory, but perhaps more importantly, he demonstrated a crowd-pleasing style to a wide audience. Although hard-core boxing fans appreciate his use of boxing skills, "blood and guts" battles lead to larger purses.

Title Loss to Nashiro[edit]

On July 22, 2006, Castillo lost his title to Nobuo Nashiro in Japan. The fight was stopped in the 10th round because Castillo was bleeding heavily from cuts. Given that the cuts were caused by punches, Nashiro won the fight by technical knock-out.[2] Nashiro, a young boxer with only 7 professional fights, surprised Castillo with an effective aggressive style in the early rounds. Castillo was winning later rounds—had the fight gone to the scorecards after the 9th round, it would have been a draw, as one judge had Nashiro winning, one had Castillo winning, and one had it even.

After the Nashiro fight, Castillo underwent surgery to fix the scar tissue over his eyes. As Castillo had always been susceptible to cuts, the surgeons also shaved down Castillo's prominent brow ridges, a procedure sometimes performed on boxers who cut a lot. Therefore, he was out of action for almost a year.

Castillo had two unremarkable wins after losing his title, and as of September 2007, is continuing his comeback.

Castillo is trained by Manuel Robles, managed by Frank Espinoza, and promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank.

Professional boxing record[edit]

39 fights 35 wins 4 losses
By knockout 18 3
By decision 16 1
By disqualification 1 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
39 Loss 35–4 Jorge Arce KO 1 (10) 2010-07-31 Palenque de la Feria, Tepic, Mexico
38 Win 35–3 Germán Meraz DQ 6 (8) 2009-09-25 El Nido Sports Center, Mexicali, Mexico
37 Win 34–3 Alfredo Montano KO 1 (8) 2009-07-18 El Nido Sports Center, Mexicali, Mexico
36 Loss 33–3 Fernando Montiel KO 4 (12) 2008-02-16 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. For WBO super-flyweight title
35 Win 33–2 Jonathan Pérez UD 10 (10) 2007-10-26 Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois, U.S.
34 Win 32–2 Oscar Andrade UD 10 (10) 2007-07-27 Isleta Casino & Resort, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
33 Win 31–2 Jorge Romero KO 5 (10) 2007-05-12 Caliente Hipódromo, Tijuana, Mexico
32 Loss 30–2 Nobuo Nashiro TKO 10 (12) 2006-07-22 Arena, Higashiōsaka, Japan Lost WBA super-flyweight title
31 Win 30–1 Alexander Muñoz SD 12 (12) 2006-01-21 Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBA super-flyweight title
30 Win 29–1 Hideyasu Ishihara UD 12 (12) 2005-06-26 Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Japan Retained WBA super-flyweight title
29 Win 28–1 Eric Morel UD 12 (12) 2005-03-19 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBA super-flyweight title
28 Win 27–1 Alexander Muñoz UD 12 (12) 2004-12-03 Entertainment Center, Laredo, Texas, U.S. Won WBA super-flyweight title
27 Win 26–1 Hideyasu Ishihara TKO 11 (12) 2004-05-16 Memorial Center, Gifu, Japan Won interim WBA super-flyweight title
26 Win 25–1 Roger Galicia UD 12 (12) 2004-01-23 Expo Center, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
25 Win 24–1 Alberto Ontiveros TKO 4 (10) 2003-08-22 Ector County Coliseum, Odessa, Texas, U.S.
24 Win 23–1 Valerio Sánchez UD 8 (8) 2003-02-22 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S.
23 Win 22–1 Keyri Wong TKO 8 (10) 2002-11-23 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S.
22 Loss 21–1 Félix Machado TD 6 (12) 2002-03-30 Sovereign Center, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S. For IBF super-flyweight title
21 Win 21–0 Pedro Morquecho KO 3 (10) 2001-11-18 Soboba Casino, San Jacinto, California, U.S.
20 Win 20–0 Ricardo Vargas TD 6 (12) 2001-07-15 Soboba Casino, San Jacinto, California, U.S. Won NABO & vacant USBA super-flyweight titles
19 Win 19–0 Evangelio Perez TKO 3 (10) 2001-05-27 Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
18 Win 18–0 Francisco Tejedor KO 1 (10) 2001-03-25 Greyhound Park, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
17 Win 17–0 Omar Adorno RTD 7 (10) 2001-01-28 Greyhound Park, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
16 Win 16–0 Gabriel Munoz UD 10 (10) 2000-10-29 El Gran Mercado, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
15 Win 15–0 Oscar Andrade UD 10 (10) 2000-09-03 Casino West, Yerington, Nevada, U.S.
14 Win 14–0 Jose Francisco Sarabia TKO 1 (6) 2000-06-16 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
13 Win 13–0 Miguel Angel Granados KO 8 (8) 2000-03-25 Huntington Park Casino, Huntington Park, California, U.S.
12 Win 12–0 Porfirio Torres TKO 2 (6) 2000-02-05 Steven's Steakhouse, Commerce, California, U.S.
11 Win 11–0 Esteban Ayala KO 2 (?) 1999-09-25 Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 Dario Lopez KO 2 (4) 1999-08-09 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S.
9 Win 9–0 Danny Alberto Rizo RTD 3 (4) 1999-07-24 Tropicana, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Salvador Casillas UD 6 (6) 1999-06-07 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Alejandro Moreno SD 4 (4) 1999-05-15 Equestrian Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Esau Dieguez RTD 3 (4) 1999-04-26 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Ivan Pena KO 3 (?) 1998-11-19 Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Antonio Perez KO 2 (?) 1998-11-07 Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Danny Alberto Rizo UD 4 (4) 1998-10-22 Scottish Rite Center, San Diego, California, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 Ruben Lopez UD 4 (4) 1998-09-28 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Ricardo Contreras UD 4 (4) 1998-07-27 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Castillo retains WBA 115-pound title". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  2. ^ "Castillo thinks he's cut above". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 2024-03-27.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by
Ricardo Vargas
NABO super-flyweight champion
July 15, 2001 – 2002
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
José Navarro
Vacant
Title last held by
Francisco Espitia
USBA super-flyweight champion
July 15, 2001 – 2002
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Vernie Torres
World boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Leo Gámez
WBA super-flyweight champion
Interim title

May 16, 2004 – December 3, 2004
Won full title
Vacant
Title next held by
Rafael Concepción
Preceded by WBA super-flyweight champion
December 3, 2004 – July 22, 2006
Succeeded by