Score it!... #7 - Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Jose Luis Castillo I

When Floyd Mayweather Jr. faces Juan Manuel Marquez on September 19, he'll be bringing an unblemished mark of 39-0 into the ring with him. That's what the official record states, however many that watched his first lightweight encounter with Jose Luis Castillo on April 20, 2002, believe the defensive whiz from Grand Rapids came out a decided second best.

Was the unanimous decision given to Floyd that night at the MGM Grand a just one?

Or was the rugged Mexican robbed of his rightful victory?

Let's go to the cards...

The Boxing Bulletin judges for this one are: Michael Nelson, Lee Payton, Andrew Fruman, Joseph R. Holzer and Matt Chudley. “Not many punches landing here. Castillo's jab finds its mark a few times, but Floyd gets in a nice hook early and a leaping right hand near the end to take the round. Castillo's nose is already bleeding.” – MN “Not too much action, but Floyd had his jab working and did the majority of the work.” – AF “First off, it cracks me up how sinister Michael Buffer sounds when he announces referee Vic Drakulich's name. The opening round begins with a bang as each fighter lands a hard left. As expected, Mayweather shows superb head movement in eluding most of Castillo's punches. Not much is landing clean for the Mexican. The challenger picked his shots and landed enough to take the round.” – JH In the corners... "He's doing the same thing that we told you he would. You don't have to go for him. All he wants to do is play around." - Romulo Quirarte "You going to get him anyways. Don't worry about it. Just slice him up. Keep fighting. Keep him in front of you. That's all you go to do. He can't out-think you." - Roger Mayweather "Mayweather made a comment in the corner about his left shoulder. We'll see if there's something wrong with it." - Larry Merchant "Massage my left shoulder, he said. That's not a good sign." - George Foreman “More of the same from Money. He must be shocked at how hard Castillo is to hit. JLC started to apply his smart pressure in this round, but didn't find the target quickly enough.” - LP “This was another relatively slow round. I thought Castillo just edged it based on some effective body work in the clinch.” – AF “Castillo doesn't want to chase Mayweather, but his aggressiveness is walking him into counters and clinches. Floyd is switching between orthodox and southpaw, frustrating Jose Luis but not doing himself any favors in terms of balance. Castillo is able to stalk with some effectiveness in the middle of the round, but Mayweather regains control and caps it off with some decent counters in the final half-minute. For the record: I think Mayweather stepped on Castillo's foot in what was ruled a slip.” -JH “You begin to see what makes both of these guys special in round 3. JLC makes Floyd miss without ever taking a backward step. His feints coming forward are the stuff of a real pro. Mayweather is being forced to use his legs more than he'd like, so I gave the close round to the champion.” - LP “Floyd is controlling the proceedings with a jab, both to the body and the head. Castillo managed to land a nice right hand in the last 30 seconds, but Floyd bagged the round for his more consistent work.” - MN “Castillo landed a solid right hand with about 30 seconds left but didn't do much up to that point. His inability to cut off the ring and avoid counter right hands cost him the round and will lose him his title if the same problems persist. Mayweather isn't doing much, but he's avoiding being hit.” - JH “Castillo is starting to impose himself and has Floyd on the retreat, but is still failing to really connect. I didn't think either man did enough to take it and scored it even.” - MC "I have the impression that this is much rougher going for Mayweather than he anticipated... Roger Mayweather said if you throw a beer bottle into the ring, it's going to hit Castillo somehow. He's not that open." - Larry Merchant “Each fighter landed a couple sweet shots in there. I simply cannot find an edge for either so I'm calling it an even 10-10. I do wish referee Drakulich would allow them to be close for more than 1 second at a time though. He is breaking up up every clinch immediately. That shouldn't be happening.” - LP “Close round, Castillo edged it with a nice uppercut in the last ten seconds. He's starting to cut the distance down. There really isn't much happening thus far in the fight though.” - MN “Floyd’s jab was the difference and he also landed a couple lead hooks. He’s managing to cope with Castillo’s pressure by using his legs and holding in close. Vic D’s quick breaks are definitely benefiting Floyd, as Castillo’s often banging him in the clinch with a free hand and isn’t being served as all by the constant breaks in the action.” - AF “Untidy work from both but JLC lands the best punch of the round with a left hook/uppercut.” - MC "Castillo more and more just wading in. Getting close at any cost so that he can try and bully Floyd. - Jim Lampley “Very interesting round. I started out thinking that Floyd is pulling out all of his tricks to win this round, and he was. We saw it all... foot work, switching angles, brilliant defense with the upper body, quick counters... and then in the last 5 seconds Castillo landed 5 clean, heavy blows that were certainly the hardest delivered by either man in the round. Could easily be called even, and I'm tempted, but I'll give it to Mayweather based on control, defense to go with his quality punching. He stood his ground enough to take it.” - LP “Mayweather lands a slicing left hand out of the southpaw stance and remains on his bicycle throughout the round. Castillo's best punch was a hard right hand to the body. Again, not many punches are being landed by either man. This was about as even of a round as you're going to get, so that's how I'm scoring it.” - MN “This was a close one. Castillo closed strongly and landed several nice body shots, but Floyd did the better work over the course of the round to just narrowly edge it.” - AF “Mayweather boxed beautifully for most of the round. His worry should be that he was victim to a few vicious blows from Castillo in the final minute. Floyd can't stand and trade with Jose Luis, as he did at the end. On the other hand, Castillo can't allow Mayweather -- who chronically throws one punch at a time -- to out-work him.” - JH “Castillo keeps pressing the fight and started to find some real success going to the body, especially late in the round.” - MC In the corners... "Listen. Keep the jab working. Keep fighting smart. Keep busting him up." - Roger Mayweather "You're trying to focus too much on hitting him in the chin. Hit him in the body!" - Romulo Quirarte "Mayweather is complaining of low blows." - Larry Merchant "Well he's got a lot to complain about as Castillo continues to turn this into a bar room brawl." - Jim Lampley "That's what you got to do if you want to beat Mayweather. Keep this thing a brawl. He's not going to win a boxing match against Mayweather." - George Foreman “Castillo is starting to land his jab, and places a straight right that snaps Floyd's head back along the ropes. Floyd is having trouble hitting JLC with his right hand. Clear Castillo round.” - MN “This was the best round of the fight from either fighter so far. Castillo landed a couple hard right hands, ripped the body in close and effectively pushed Floyd around for most of the 3 minutes.” - AF “Finally! Some semblance of cutting off the ring from Castillo. He let his hands go freely this round, not allowing Mayweather to tie him up when they were close and pummeling him on the ropes. Floyd landed a couple counters as he's been doing all fight, but momentum seems to be shifting in the champion's favor.” - JH “A hard left hook on the ropes for Castillo is the hardest punch in the first half. The second half sees Mayweather moving and missing with his pot shots, while JLC chips away. In the last :14 Floyd gets mugged.” - LP “This is a fairly close round that was emphasized with Castillo trapping Mayweather on the ropes and unleashing hell. Jose Luis is landing with regularity, and his demeanor is proof that he's also aware of it. His upper body appears more loose, shoulders dipping fluidly, head bobbing. I think he even waved Floyd in to meet him at one point. As his confidence grows Castillo is becoming more dangerous.” - JH “Dominant round from Castillo, closing off the ring and beginning to catch Floyd consistently upstairs now.” - MC Mayweather's corner... "How you feeling?" - Roger Mayweather "Good." - Floyd "Alright, show me something then!" - Roger “I didn't see a lot happening in that round. Castillo landed a few hard punches and pressed so I gave it to him, but it's an even 9-9 because of the point deduction from JLC for hitting on the break.” - LP “A nip and tuck round. Floyd landed several jabs, while Castillo's still targeting the body with right hands. Every young fighter should study how Castillo cuts the ring off, it's a work of art. Still, I think Floyd edged it with his jab, making it 10-8 with the point deduction.” - MN “I thought Castillo had a very slight edge on the strength of his body work, but the point deduction evened things out.” – AF “Mayweather is boxing as smart as he was in the first three rounds. He's not running anymore, instead countering and shifting, creating angles that make it difficult for Castillo to set and effectively punch (even if he's only jabbing). Jose Luis, as he has most of this fight, is waiting too long to open his offense. He can't give pivotal minutes away like that. I thought the point deduction was excessive considering how close the fight is.” - JH “Action wanes after a lively 7th, Castillo still the busier fighter but is deducted a point for hitting on the break.” - MC "Drakulich removes a point. Big moment. Big moment in a close fight." - Jim Lampley "That's what you want a referee to do." - George Foreman "I think this referee has been altogether too involved in the fight. Too officious." - Larry Merchant In Castilo's corner... "Don't worry about the point. We got to work fast and we got to work hard." - Romulo Quirarte "What do you mean calm it down!? It's a fight. The referee is telling two fighters that want to fight to calm it down. He should calm down! Nobody paid to see this referee!" - Larry Merchant “Larry Merchant is going nuts on Drakulich and I love it. Has this ref heard of in-fighting before? Castillo's pressure and body punches are the positive action in the round.” - LP “While Castillo was still pressing, his pace seemed to slow a little and Floyd managed to edge the round with the cleaner shots.” – AF “Where was Drakulich on that late punch by Mayweather? Jose Luis had the first part of the round; Floyd had the second. I'm leaning toward Castillo's harder blows and combination punching over Mayweather's counters and intermittent right hands.” - JH “Close round, but Castillo landed the more damaging shots. At one point Floyd is forced to retreat, then hold after a brutal left hook under the ribcage.” - MC "Three rounds of drama upcoming in Floyd's so far unbeaten and spectacular career." - Jim Lampley "4-4 and 1 even, I got it 85 to 85. I got it all even. You know for four rounds, 5, 6, 7 and 8 I was watching Floyd Mayweather fight a desperation fight. It wasn't ring generalship, he was running away." - Harold Lederman “I thought Mayweather both controlled and owned the first minutes of the round with some new found energy. The champion came on in the last third, but I thought Floyd's punches were of higher quality, so I made it 9-9 after the point deduction for elbowing off.” - LP “Drakulich takes a point from Mayweather for pushing off with his forearm. Mayweather had a dominant minute and a half before Castillo starting banging his body along the ropes. I feel Mayweather did the better work, making it a 9-9 round.” - MN “This was a tight one that I had to watch over a couple extra times. Castillo did some very nice work over the final minute to even up the edge Floyd had built to that point in the round. I’d have scored it 10-10, but the point deduction gives Castillo the 10-9 edge.” – AF “Well, I guess it's even now. Mayweather has a good round despite the point deduction (elbowing). Once again, Castillo is procrastinating and walking into counter rights, as Big George said. Floyd seems composed and ready for the championship rounds. By now each has settled into his respective approach. Now it's a matter of who can execute better in the championship rounds.” - JH “Perhaps over-eager to even things up after hastily taking a point from Castillo, Drakulich deducts one from Mayweather for use of the elbow. This was another close round. Castillo digging away at the body on the inside was the difference.” - MC "Roger Mayweather told his nephew that he now has to stand and punch and move out against Castillo which indicates that Roger thinks this is a very close fight and that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has to land some meaningful punches in these next two rounds." - Larry Merchant “Floyd finally stops running and elects to stay on the inside for much of the round. Castillo rakes his body throughout the first half, but Floyd came back in the second half with a left hook to the body that may have hurt Castillo a bit and some hard uppercuts. Castillo edges the round by being the far busier fighter.” - MN “This was a hard fought round – the best of the fight. Perhaps Floyd’s legs were a little tired, but whatever the reason, he didn’t give up ground easily. He landed the cleaner punches upstairs, and the flashier ones by either man, but Castillo’s steady persistent body work throughout the full 3 minutes was just a little bit more effective.” – AF “Despite fighting Castillo's fight, Mayweather nearly wins this round. Through the first minute it seemed Roger was trying to give his nephew his first loss. Jose Luis threw some wicked body shots and was too far ahead early for Floyd to take the round.” - JH “Competitive exchanges in close, the more eye catching work arguably coming from Floyd.” - MC "Tough round to score. Flurries by both fighters. Close fight hanging in the balance." - Jim Lampley "Castillo showing stamina and strength." - Jim Lampley "He is the champion, fighting like the challenger... Jose Luis Castillo took a major payday. The assumption was he was selling his title. He is here to show that he is here to keep his title" - Larry Merchant "He's earned it tonight. He's taken everything from Mayweather and given him some." - George Foreman “Close round. I gotta give it to Castillo for pressing as hard as he did. His body punches were the clean blows.” - LP “Floyd controls the first minute with his jab. Castillo bangs him to the body whenever he catches up to him along the ropes. A couple of good shots to the head landed by both near the end. Castillo takes the last round due to his body work.” - MN “Castillo just out-hustled Floyd and kept working downstairs, although some of his shots might have strayed a little low.” - AF “As Larry Merchant said, "The champion is fighting like the challenger." Castillo attacked Mayweather upstairs and downstairs, looking like the hungrier fighter. Floyd looked calm, but the appearance of composure doesn't win fights. ” - JH “Castillo proves to be the more determined fighter in the 12th, upping the pressure and finishing strong.” - MC "I thought Castillo retained his title." - Larry Merchant "It looked to me like he did enough in the 10th, 11th and 12th rounds. If the fight was hanging in the balance, Castillo remained the aggressor down the stretch." - Jim Lampley Final Scores Official Cards Anek Hongtongkam: 116-110 Mayweather John Keane: 115-111 Mayweather Jerry Roth: 115-111 Mayweather The Boxing Bulletin Cards Lee Patyon: 115-112 Castillo Michael Nelson: 114-113 Castillo Andrew Fruman: 114-113 Castillo Joseph R. Holzer: 114-112 Castillo Matt Chudley: 116-112 Castillo "115-112 for Jose Luis Castillo who took over in the 6th. Floyd won the 10th but it was turned into a 9-9. I didn't give Floyd a single 10 in any round past the 5th." - Lee Payton "Running theme was Floyd controlling the first half of rounds with his jab and Castillo outworking him in the last half of rounds with his body work." - Michael Nelson "I had Castillo coming on strong to win 114-113. Could I have scored it for Floyd? The 11th round which I gave to JLC was very close, so reversing that one does give Floyd the fight on my card. That said, I believe I gave Floyd the benefit of the doubt in more of the close ones - and when you need to give a fighter every benefit of the doubt, it's hard to say he was a worthy winner." "Before tallying my scorecard, I believed Jose Luis retained his championship by his work in the latter rounds. Once he figured out the Mayweather conundrum, Castillo pressed harder and was effectively aggressive whereas Mayweather relied on defense and counterpunching. I like the stronger guy and the one who lands more. Those scorecards were awful. I can see my score reversed, a draw or a wider margin in Castillo's favor. There were close rounds, but there were many more clear ones for the champion." - Joeseph R. Holzer "As is sometimes the case with contentious decisions, the judges seemed to have scored the fight as it was expected to play out or at least seem to have been influenced by their preconceptions. Castillo put forward the greater volume of work and seemed to hurt the hometown fighter on a couple of occasions. He was the clear winner on my card." - Matt Chudley The Boxing Bulletin Official Scorecard R1: Mayweather R2: Mayweather R3: Mayweather R4: Castillo R5: Even R6: Castillo R7: Castillo R8: Mayweather R9: Castillo R10: Even R11: Castillo R12: Castillo Overall, we scored it 6-4-2 for Castillo. Round 10, would have been a Floyd round except for the point deduction. Our average scores added up to 114.6-112.4 for Castillo. Castillo had the unanimous edge in 3 rounds on our cards - 6, 7 & 12 - along with a 4/5ths share of round 9. Mayweather only swept the 1st round, while also having a 4/5th's edge in the 2nd. There were 6 rounds where neither man had more than 60% majority, with the most contentious frame being the 5th where we split 2-2-1 on the winner. Did you think the judges had it right, or did you agree with our take? Give us yor thoughts on the fight and decision. Previous Editions of Score it! Score it!...#6 - Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez II Score it!...#5 - Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez I Score it!...#4 - Nigel Benn vs Chris Eubank II Score it!...#3 - Larry Holmes vs Tim Witherspoon Score it!...#2 - Erik Morales vs Marco Antonio Barrera I Score it!...#1 - Sugar Ray Leonard vs Marvin Hagler