Castillo retains title...

By Patrick Kehoe: On the card of the Manny Pacquiao vs Erik Morales thriller at the Thmas and Mack Center in Las Vegas Mexican Martin Castillo, WBA super-featherweight champion, had another difficult night proving his talents superior to Venezuelan rival Alexander Munoz, 28-2 (26), as the two fighters pounded it out over 12 rounds with Castillo, 30-1 (16), nabbing a split decision victory. Munoz's frustration continued Saturday night against the man who took his WBA title December 2004. He did come out storming from the opening bell, with the champion looking to box his way into a dictating rhythm. It was rough early for Castillo, as the champion hit the deck in the first round courtesy of a Munoz heat-seeking flurry.

Throughout a pitched battle, the punches were sharp, heads coming together often, with Munoz's head opening up two cuts on the champion. The jab and combination exchanges had the right eye of the ex-champ - "El Explosivo" - closed by the middle frames of the fight. The seventh, eighth and ninth rounds had some of the best action since the first, each fighter find pay-dirt for their best combinations. Time and again, both fighters were more than willing to exchange and charge into the hitting zone, each feeling they could stop the other. In the end, endurance proved the marginal difference in this tight affair for the feisty Castillo, who was the busier fighter in the championship rounds. The champion ripped into Munoz in the last minute of the eleventh, continuing his solid hitting for the balance of the twelfth.

Referee Dalby Shirley was again the dissenting voice as he saw Munoz winning 112-115; Richard Houck saw the fight for the Mexican champion 116-111 and Glenn Feldman had the fight the reverse of Shirley's awarding the championship contest to Castillo 115-112.

Up and coming super-bantamweight prospect Juan Manuel Lopez of Puerto Rico remained undefeated in scoring a knockout against tough Jose Luis Caro 10-4-1 (9) before an impressed crowd at the Thomas and Mack Arena. The southpaw has yet to hear the bell for the fourth round as a pro, his stoppage of Mexican Caro coming at 1:44 of the third, after scoring a knockdown in the second.