JESUS " CHUCHO " CASTILLO ; A Forgotten Champion

JESUS " CHUCHO " CASTILLO ; A Forgotten Champion He lost his professional debut in 1962 but he would go on to later winthe bantamweight title and be a major force for several years. Jesus "Chucho " Castillo rebounded from that initial loss to win fourteen straight.As he moved up in competition he suffered an occasional loss but he was alsobeating some good fighters like Jesus Hernandez and Lenny Brice. In 1967 Castillo challenged and defeated Jose Medel for the Mexicantitle. He then defeated the rugged Bernardo Caraballo. In 1968 he continuedhis march to a title shot with wins over Joe Valdez, Jesus Pimentel and atwo round kayo of Evan Armstrong. On December 6th at the Forum in Inglewood,California Chucho finally got his title shot. He met the slick boxing LionelRose. After fifteen rounds Rose, who was knocked down in the tenth round wasawarded a split decision. The verdict sparked a full scale riot in protestof Castillo not being proclaimed the new champion. Chucho would go on a solid campaign in 1969 to earn another shot atthe title. He knocked out future champion Rafael Herrera. He drew withUshiwakamaru Harada and Jose Medel. He also split a pair of bouts with RaulCruz. On April 18, 1970 Castillo would meet the new champion, RubenOlivares. " Rockabye " Ruben had stopped Rose in impressive fashion to winthe crown. Although Castillo knocked Ruben down, Olivares did enough to earnthe decision and retain his title. Still Chucho's game effort warranted arematch. They met again on October 16th and Castillo finally became worldchampion as a severe cut forced Olivares out in the fourteenth round. Chucho's tenure as champion did not last long. On April 2, 1971 Rubenregained his crown with a decisive decision. Once again though Chuchu putRuben on the canvas.In his next bout Castillo lost a rematch to RafaelHerrera with the NABF title at stake. Herrera would go on to dethroneOlivares but then lost the title to Enrique Pinder. Castillo would then meetPinder in a non-title bout losing a decision. In 1973 Chucho would lose to Jose Luis Soto and then be stopped byBobby Chacon. In his last attempt to remain in the limelight he was stoppedin two rounds by Danny " Little Red " Lopez in 1975. Chucho would lose onemore fight and then call it quits. Castillo had 66 fights in his illustrious career, winning 46 of them.Many of his 18 losses came early and late in his career. Castillo's recordfrom 1967 through his second loss to Olivares was 17-5-2 and that wasagainst top level opposition. He was a warrior and a true champion. Jim Amato