Castillo Finishes Strong Against Casamayor

Exciting SHOWTIME Boxing Title Bouts Will Be Replayed On SHO2 On Tuesday, Dec. 7, At 11 PM ET/PT

Jose Luis Castillo took the last three rounds from Joel Casamayor on all three judges’ scorecards to eke out a split decision Saturday on SHOWTIME.  The defending World Boxing Council (WBC) Lightweight Champion won the disputed nod by the scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 113-115.  In the second world title fight on the telecast, undefeated International Boxing Federation (IBF) Super Middleweight Champion Jeff Lacy retained his belt with a hard-fought 12-round decision over the resilient Omar Sheika.  In the opening fight on SHOWTIME, unbeaten heavyweight contender Samuel Peter registered the biggest victory of his career with an impressive second-round knockout over Jeremy Williams.

Saturday’s SHOWTIME telecast, which aired at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on West Coast) from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nev., was promoted by Top Rank, Inc. in association with Gary Shaw Productions, LLC and Cedric Kushner Promotions, LTD with Team Freedom and Duva Boxing.

Castillo (51-6-1, 45 KOs), of Sonora, Mexico, spotted the challenger the first two rounds before picking up the pace in the third.  Still, Castillo needed the last three rounds to successfully defend his crown for the first time in his second stint as WBC 130-pound champion.  There were no knockdowns in a hotly-contested bout that had the fans on their feet during the final nine minutes.  Castillo captured the WBC lightweight crown for the second time with a 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Lazcano on June 5, 2004, in Las Vegas.  Castillo initially won the WBC 135-pound world championship with a 12-round majority decision over Steve Johnston on June 17, 2000.  Following three successful defenses, Castillo lost the title and a subsequent rematch to Floyd Mayweather in April and December of 2002.

Casamayor (31-3, 19 KOs), of Guantanamo, Cuba, had success boxing from the outside until faltering in the final nine minutes.  Stepping up a notch in weight, the southpaw was quicker for the most part and landed his fair share of combinations. Casamayor won the WBA interim 130-pound crown with an easy decision over Antonio Hernandez on June 19, 1999.  In his 21st start, he became the first U.S.-based Cuban defector to capture a world title when he won the WBA belt with a devastating fifth-round TKO over Jongkwon Baek on May 21, 2000. He made four successful defenses before suffering his first defeat on a controversial 12-round decision to Acelino Freitas Jan. 12, 2002, on SHOWTIME.

Lacy (18-0, 14 KOs), of Tampa, Fla. triumphed by the scores of 117-111 and 115-113 twice, but there was never a moment when he could relax. Lacy shook and staggered the game Sheika on a few occasions, but could not put him down. The unbeaten youngster became the first 2000 Olympian to win a world title when he captured the vacant IBF crown with an eighth-round TKO over No. 1 contender Syd Vanderpool on Oct. 2, 2004, on SHOWTIME.

Sheika (26-7, 17 KOs), of Patterson, N.J. gave his best but it was not quite enough to prevent him from falling to 0-3 in world title bouts. Sheika continually fought back in the slugfest and split Lacy’s lower lip in the middle rounds.

Peter (21-0, 18 KOs), of Akwaibom, Nigeria, showed why many consider him to be the heavyweight division’s hottest prospect by turning what most figured to be his toughest test into one of his easiest. The hard-hitting Peter missed with a right hand, but connected with a stunning left hook to Williams’ chin to end matters 27 seconds into the second round.  Peter made his SHOWTIME debut as the main event on “ShoBox: The New Generation,” Aug. 5, 2004, from Hollywood, Fla., putting on a boxing clinic and bloodied Jovo Pudar’s nose en route to registering a 10-round unanimous decision.

Williams (41-5-1, 36 KOs), of Long Beach, Calif. traded shots in the first before getting knocked cold. The veteran scored an impressive eighth-round TKO over Attila “The Hun’’ Levin on SHOWTIME April 15, 2004.

SHOWTIME will close out an excellent year of boxing when multi-talented boxer and musician, Ebo Elder (21-1, 13 KOs), defends his North American Boxing Organization (NABO) lightweight crown against former NABO champion Courtney Burton (21-2, 11 KOs), Friday, Dec. 17, on “ShoBox: The New Generation” (11 p.m. ET/PT), In the 10-round co-feature, unbeaten World Boxing Organization (WBO) No. 15 junior welterweight contender “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis (11-0-1, 5 KOs) will make his third SHOWTIME appearance against an opponent to be announced.

For information on upcoming SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, go to http://www.sho.com/boxing.