Written by Sean Malone | 31 July 2008

Not sure if I am more surprised by the fact that Jose Luis Castillo actually made weight for his welterweight fight last night against Sebastian Lujan, or that in dropping a wide decision to the Argentinian, Castillo has just entered into "opponent" status.  It's a hard pill to swallow for a fighter who gave so much of himself in this punishing sport.  Castillo was once a legitimate star and pound-for-pound caliber fighter.  After all Castillo is the only fighter to come close to have beaten Floyd Mayweather and has bested some of the games most dangerous lightweight fighters.  Then of course there was his role in arguably one of the greatest fights in history as both he and Diego Corrales waged a war that will live on in the memory of all who witnessed it.  But like so many great fights, a little something was left in the ring that night as neither fighter ever seemed to regain their form.  Castillo has had much publicized battles with making weight for fights.  He failed on two separate occasions in rematches with Corrales as well as failing to make the 140 pound limit in a title eliminator against Timothy Bradley this past March.  Sandwiched in between those two failed weigh-in attempts was a knockout loss to Ricky Hatton in which Castillo lacked the passion and fire he had previously embodied.  Wednesday night was not any better as Castillo looked like a shell of his former self.  Sure he has some brief moments and credit should be given to Lujan who came in with a plan to win but the fact that Castillo was barely competitive is reason toe believe that his great career is just about over. 

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