DIEGO Corrales was a con artist with a twinkle in his eye. When he died in a motorcycle crash on Monday night in Las Vegas, boxing mourned its loss but admitted it wasn't surprised.
"He fought recklessly and he lived recklessly," said Gary Shaw, his promoter.
"In the back of our minds, we all saw this coming," said Joe Goossen, who trained him in the glory days of his greatest fights.
in prison for domestic abuse to become a boxing star. On that May 7, 2005, night in Las Vegas, he got off the canvas twice in the 10th round to knock out Jose Luis Castillo.
Many who were there still call it the best fight they have seen. The fight was one of those moments that keeps the sport alive. But like Corrales, the ending was violent and quirky.
Despite fighting at 61 kilograms, these were not two quick little guys jabbing and running. Castillo and Corrales started every round by going to the centre of the ring, leaning on each other and flailing away. "We are magnets to metal," Corrales once said.
Castillo put Corrales on his back twice in the 10th. After the second knockdown, Corrales looked to be one Castillo flurry away from the end. But as Castillo closed for the kill, Corrales mustered enough to catch his rival flush on the chin.
In seconds, of a now helpless Castillo to prevent serious damage.
Corrales was on top of the world, and Goossen was worried. "I remember thinking," Goossen said, "that this fight was 30 fights rolled into one.
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Boxing saw it had a good thing, so five months later, they went at it again. Only this time, Castillo didn't make the weight, they fought anyway, and a stronger, bigger Castillo knocked Corrales out.
For their third bout, Castillo again failed to make the weight and this time, influenced by Goossen, who feared more damage from another brawl with a stronger, heavier rival, Corrales called it off.
Little after that went right for Corrales. He won some fights, lost more, and eventually split with Goossen, failing to pay him for their last fight. He was in and out of his home and the daily life of his family, which included five children.
Sometimes, he'd disappear for four or five days, according to a close friend. High on his list of loves was motorcycle riding. He belonged to a local motorcycle club, sometimes went on long distance rides and recently bought a racing bike.
This, coupled with a tendency to drink too much, made his life a recipe for disaster.
But to the end, the other side of Corrales gave those around him hope. They knew the side that loved to talk about cooking, that with people about existentialism.
Part of the time, he was Oprah with tattoos and facial scar tissue.
"When we were in training, he'd come to the house twice a week for dinner," Goossen said. "After dinner, the guys would go into the living room and watch sport.
Diego would sit in the kitchen hours. He was amazing socially. He could converse just as easily with a prince or a pauper.
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To the end, his friends thought he would get a grip on the demons that drove him. They hoped for him because he was worth hoping for. They could see a future because he had told them there would be one.
Undoubtedly, when he told them that, he had a twinkle in his eye.
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