It's shocking how many people get the Castillo fights wrong

I'm not talking about who won, I'm talking about what Jose did well that gave Floyd problems. There is this stupid belief going around that the "blueprint" against Floyd is to bully him on the ropes. This isn't what Jose did well in my opinion. As evidence look at rounds 10-12 in their first fight... It worked pretty well, but Floyd stood his ground well too. Castillo's best rounds were 5-8 in the first fight.

Here is what he actually did well:
First couple rounds it was obvious he struggled with Floyds speed, but he started to figure things out.

1. He used head feints and movement to make Floyd commit to either his defense or offense, then fired off his shots. He didn't come charging in throwing punches but by moving aggressively forward with head movement he forced Floyd to either move, or throw inaccurate punches. Castillos effective movement (head and feet) are what put Floyd on the ropes, not bullying.

2. He started being able to guess where Floyd was moving. He had quite a few occasions where he correctly read that Floyd was either going to flee to his left, or bend to his right.

3. Occasionally used his jab well. It's no secret that this is a punch Floyd has had some problems with (and anyone using a shoulder roll D) and Castillo found some good success when he came in from a low point

4. In the second fight, Castillo did a better job of coming in low. In the second fight Floyd did a better job of using his jab to the body to back Castillo up, but Castillo adjusted by coming in with his head low and bobbing and weaving making it harder to land those clean shots Floyd is used to landing.

5. Castillos patience As i said he didn't charge in with guns blazing. He was aggressive but waited for Floyd to commit to something.

In my opinion, it looks like every guy who Floyd fights tries the bullying tactic (rds 10-12 in Castillo 1) but I personally think those rounds happened because of what Castillo did earlier. Floyd was injured in the first fight, but JLC still showed well in the second fight too.

 

Agree. He showed some skills that you just dont see in fighters today. He accounted himself well in those fights.

 

I also like rewatching fights. Sometimes you pick up things you never saw before. I also get a laugh out of the commentary. They kind of remind you of what the fans opinions were at the time and what the boxing scene as a whole was.

 

Im not talking about Floyd today... this thread is more about the things that Jose did well and the misconception that he simply bullied Floyd. Im just saying that when Jose did do that it wasnt as effective aa the other stuff he did... but I bet you didnt even read the thread... did you?