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Stand By Your Man: Corrales Sticks With Shaw
“I have shown every fighter that I deal with loyalty, unfortunately I can’t say that back, but Chico Corrales has always told me, “Gary, as long as you do me right, I won’t leave you.” I have always believed in him, I believe that when he goes to the Hall of Fame that I will have the honor, as his promoter, of making the opening speech,” said Shaw.
In the midst of defections from selfish fighters personal other agendas, Gary can take comfort in knowing that the loyalty and affection he shows to his fighters is reciprocated by the classy warrior Diego Corrales who told Boxing2006/Pound4Pound.com, “First and foremost, I don’t make decisions because of some other guys reasons, I make my decisions because they are my reasons. And my reasons are the only reasons that count. I am not saying that anybody is wrong for what they have done. I am not saying Gary's wrong, or agreeing with the reasons that they left, I don’t know. I don’t get in anybody else's business, that is not my concern. My concern is that I am being treated fairly and when things are going right for me, then I am happy. And Gary so far has always done so. And that’s it, I’m happy!”
Certainly no one ever asks to be tested with fire, but when those trials do come, it can forge a bond of respect and admiration that is hard to deny. The most recent Castillo debacle was certainly one of those trials of fire for both Shaw and Chico, and as Shaw tells you, it gave him and Diego a deeper look into each others heart, Shaw explains, “Look at the Corrales/Castillo fight that got canceled. True, he lost a lot of money, and I also lost money that I could not get back. It would have been easy to say to him, “Chico, c’mon, get in the ring, you will still make over a million dollars, and I will make them give you another $300,000” I believe that deep down he respected that I cared so much about his health and his safety that I was willing to give up my own money, or lose money. Many in the boxing industry have said there may not be another promoter in the industry that would have walked away from that fight. And to Chico’s credit, when we were talking to Arum in that little circle, and Bob said, “How much?” Diego said, “It’s not about money, it’s about making 135!” There was mutual respect there, I respected him for his stance, and I believe he respected me for my stance.”
During that time of hardship Diego knew that things were difficult for his boss as fighters were defecting for one reason or another. In fact it seems in this day and age, dumping the guy who stuck with you through thick and thin seems to be the norm and that’s what makes Chico’s loyalty to his promoter Shaw all the more intriguing , “It’s very easy to follow the crowd, but until I see Gary doing something wrong, and I never have, and as long as he keeps things on the up and up and let’s me know what’s going on, then I don’t have any reason to make waves, all I want to do is my job! I am happiest when I am doing my job, that’s how I work. Gary has always done his job and kept things peaceful with me I am sure he will keep it that way,” added Corrales.
When you ask Chico about his year layoff, and tell him how much his fans miss him Diego laughs and says, “As much as all the fans have been missing me, just imagine how much I have been missing it ( fighting)…I love my work.”
Again, something Shaw will attest to and cosign on in a second, Diego loves his work and there is nothing that comes in the way of him performing, “Chico is special in another way, and it has nothing to do with loyalty and it has nothing to do with me. That is he is one of the few fighters that all you have to do is tell him where the fight is, and what time, and he says “count me in.” Not, is he tall, is he short, is he a southpaw, etc etc. I am telling you there are not many fighters like that in the world, not at all. So, he is special in a lot of ways, and I do believe he is loyal,” noted Shaw.
What it all boils down to is Shaw and Diego have been through hills and valleys and still they are a championship act. It’s not that they hang out with each other everyday, or that they are in constant contact with each other. As Shaw explains, “You find in life that you have friends that you don’t have to call everyday to be their friend. There are those people that you don’t have to see them for a long time, but when you do finally see them, it’s warm and fuzzy and when you speak to them you feel the warmth and friendship. I don’t speak to Diego that often, nor does he speak to me that often, but when we do speak, it’s always with affection; it’s always with respect, it’s just that type of relationship. He also knows that beyond boxing I have been trying to do things for him, not that I get paid for this in anyway; I am trying to do this for him and his family. Diego is special, I feel the warmth, I feel the loyalty. And I hope that you won’t be calling me a year from now or five years from now to ask me how I feel now that Diego Corrales left me. I hope that day never comes because some fighters you don’t care and some fighters you just expect it from, but losing Diego Corrales would be a deep hurt.”
Next up is Joel Casmayor on October 7th at The Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas Nevada, televised by Showtime on a FREE Preview weekend. It’s been almost a year now and Diego is ready to put his WBC Lightweight Belt up for grabs even it’s not the closing of the trilogy we all expected and Chico most assuredly agrees, “As far as the trilogy with Joel goes, well I gotta close the door on somebody, and this isn’t really the one I wanted to close the door on, but hey, I’ll take it. Casamayor is a tough guy, a tough fighter, that’s proven, he knows what he is doing. So I know I will have to bring my “A” game and box well, never losing focus. I know this is going to be a good fight….I love my work!”
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