FIGHTING TO PROVE HIS WORTH.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES BOXING

Diego Corrales has always been known as one of the toughest, most courageous hombres in boxing. So to him, anyone suggesting he might have faked a rib injury in order to postpone his third fight with Jose Luis Castillo is a fool.

``When has anybody ever seen me pull out of a fight?'' Corrales said this week during a conference call. ``I think my track record speaks for itself. I do not care what people say or think. Anyone who would say something like that is just a jerk.''

Corrales and Castillo each have a knockout victory over the other.

Their third fight was supposed to be in February, but Corrales said he sustained the rib injury during sparring, and he had to pull out. He said his ribs are all better now, and he and Castillo will get it on next Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, site of their second fight, won by Castillo via fourth-round knockout last October.

Corrales' World Boxing Council lightweight belt will be on the line. Showtime will televise.

In their first fight, in May 2005 at Mandalay Bay, Corrales survived two 10th-round knockdowns to stop Castillo in the 10th in one of the great comebacks in history. Corrales helped himself by first spitting out, then taking out, his mouthpiece to gain recovery time after the knockdowns.

Now, Corrales can be upset at those who suggest his rib injury was faked if he likes. But the truth is, he has sustained much more punishment during the two fights than has Castillo. Even in victory, Corrales took a heck of a beating in the first fight before miraculously turning the tables on Castillo.

Corrales' trainer, Joe Goossen, afterward said Castillo must have thought Corrales was boogeyman Freddy Krueger, the way he kept coming back. But Corrales' face was so badly beaten in that first fight, he literally looked like Krueger.

Then, only five months later, Corrales suffered a savage one-punch knockout at the hands of Castillo, who dropped a crushing left hook on the chin of Corrales.

There was controversy in that fight because Castillo didn't make weight on purpose, knowing that not having to lose the last 3 1/2 pounds to make 135 would make him the stronger fighter on fight night.

Corrales' WBC and World Boxing Organization belts were taken off the table because Castillo didn't make weight, but it's doubtful he cared after knocking out Corrales.

Corrales believed Castillo had, to a degree, cheated to get that knockout and therefore was bent on getting back in with Castillo as quickly as possible for the third fight, only to pull out with the rib injury. Did the Corrales camp make up the injury so as to get their fighter more time to recover from two beatings that included enormous shots to the head?

Castillo isn't sure what to think.

``I don't know if he was really hurt or not,'' Castillo said. ``I'm well aware that anyone can get injured when they are getting ready for a fight. All I know is, I was going to fight him again even if I had to wait a year.''

Another question arises: Is Corrales damaged goods? Corrales looked weary early in the second fight, like he and Castillo had picked up where they left off from their first fight. Bob Arum, who promotes Castillo, said he he believes Corrales is 100 percent.

``I have to rely on his trainer, Joe Goossen,'' Arum said. ``I know Joe very, very well and I know how Joe acted with the Ruelas brothers (former champions Rafael and Gabe) when it was time for them to hang up their gloves. I think that if Joe believed there was any serious danger to Diego, he wouldn't allow him to fight, or wouldn't be part of training him for a fight. Joe is an honorable guy and that is what I really base my assessment on.''

Corrales, who is trained by Goossen in Van Nuys, said he believes he is sound.

``Did Diego try to buy time with a rib injury? No,'' Corrales said. ``Is Diego getting a little old for the game? I do not know. I have taken a lot of punches over the years. I think time tells.

``Right now, I am still young and I have been out there with the best of them and I have shown that time and time again. On June 3, I will show you one last time.''

Corrales, 28, of Las Vegas, is 40-3 with 33 knockouts. Castillo, of Mexicali, Mexico, is 32. He is 54-7-1 with 47 knockouts.

Gonzalez has a pretty good teacher

It's one thing to not be well-versed in the art of fisticuffs, but to be that way when you're the son of a fighter, well, that doesn't cut it.

Such was the case with Mexico City's Jhonny Gonzalez, who tonight will defend his World Boxing Organization bantamweight belt against countryman Fernando Montiel at Home Depot Center in Carson.

``When I was 8 years old, I used to always fight in the streets,'' Gonzalez said. ``They would always beat me up. I would always be bleeding. One day, my father got tired of it.''

His father, Miguel, remembers the fateful day his son's life changed.

``He came into the house and his clothes were all beat up and torn and I said, `What happened to you now?''' Miguel Gonzalez said. ``And he says, `The same guy beat me up.' I said to myself, `The son of a fighter and he can't even defend himself.' I got tired of it. I told him, `OK, I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself now.' He beat the heck out of that same guy after a month and a half. He was a fast learner.''

Jhonny Gonzalez, 24, is 32-4 with 28 knockouts. He will be attempting to make the first defense of his belt, and his fight with Montiel will be televised by HBO (delayed at 10 p.m.)

As colorful as Gonzalez's story is, Montiel is just colorful, period. Don't be surprised if at one point during the fight, he does the Ali shuffle after landing a punch. He also figures to talk to Gonzalez while they're fighting, and maybe even taunt him.

``It's all part of my persona, part of the show,'' said Montiel, who at 5-foot-4 will be 31/2 inches shorter than Gonzalez, who is tall for a bantamweight.

``That confidence I show in the ring is due to the fact that I always prepare myself. ... I go in there and try and take care of business.

``Of course, I like to be colorful. It is not something I came up with, it's just my natural way of doing things up in the ring.''

Montiel is the former WBO flyweight champion and reigning WBO super flyweight champion.

By moving up to bantamweight, he is trying to join Julio Cesar Chavez, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera as the only Mexican-born fighters to win titles in three weight classes.

Montiel, 27, is 32-1-1 with 24knockouts.

Doors open to the Golden Boy Promotions card at 3 p.m. First fight is scheduled for 4.

Tickets starting at $25 can be purchased at the Home Depot Center box office, or by calling [phone].

-- Robert Morales

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1) Ricky Funez, left, removes the gloves from World Boxing Council lightweight champion Diego ``Chico'' Corrales after a training session.

Ric Francis/Associated Press

(2) Jhonny Gonzalez

Getty Images

Box:

(1) Gonzalez has a pretty good teacher(see text)

(2) Etc.