Diego Corrales was born in Sacramento, Ca on August 25th, 1977 to a Colombian father and Mexican mother. “Chico” racked up an amateur record of 105-12. On March 19th, 1996, Diego made a victorious pro boxing debut. Three years and 27 wins later, Chico would get his first taste of glory by defeating champion Roberto Garcia to win his first world title. After defeating Angel Manfredy in 2000, Corrales vacated his title in an attempt to move to lightweight. Diego would go on to capture world titles from the likes of Joel Casamayor and Acelino Freitas before making his lightweight quest a reality on May 7th, 2005 after a 10th round TKO victory over Jose Luis Castillo in what is widely regarded as the best fight of 2005. The two warriors would meet again and this time the victor was Castillo. A third bout was scheduled and called the “War to Settle the Score”. Castillo failed to make weight twice and the bout was canceled. On May 7th, 2007, exactly two years to the day after his legendary fight with Castillo, Corrales was killed in a three-vehicle accident near his Las Vegas home. He was 29 years old. Diego “Chico” Corrales is and always will be a Champion, a Warrior, a Legend. You are greatly missed.
