"No," Diego Corrales says solemnly, "I'm not crazy. And no, I don't have a death wish."
By Ken Ritter, Associated Press Writer | May 8, 2007
LAS VEGAS --To his closest friends and boxing associates, Diego "Chico" Corrales' death in a high-speed motorcycle crash came as no surprise.
"I think anyone who knew him well knew he was a real thrill-seeker," said Joe Goossen, Corrales' estranged former trainer. Goossen recalled begging the boxer who threw big punches and took big chances not to ride the motorcycles he brought to training camp.
"We had a great three-year run," Goossen said Tuesday of a relationship that ended when the two parted in October 2006. "We won three world titles in three straight fights in two different weights."
Corrales' promoter, Gary Shaw, said Corrales, whose career faltered the past two years, recently bought the racing motorcycle he was riding when he was killed.
"He fought recklessly and he lived recklessly," Shaw said. "That was his style."
Police said Corrales' 2007 Suzuki hit the back of a car Monday evening while trying to pass at high speed on a busy residential street about 7 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip and not far from his home.
Corrales, who was wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 7:22 p.m. crash. He was 29.
Las Vegas police blamed speed and rider inexperience. The state Department of Motor Vehicles said Corrales' vehicle and motorcycle licenses had been revoked in July 2006 for a drunken driving conviction on an October 2005 arrest.
Las Vegas police Sgt. Tracy McDonald said investigators found an April 21 bill of sale for the motorcycle and were trying to calculate the speed, which he said appeared "well above" the posted 35 mph.
The Clark County coroner's office was awaiting results of blood drug and alcohol tests before ruling on a cause of Corrales' death, a spokeswoman said. McDonald said the toxicology tests could take about two weeks.
Corrales had a history of drunken driving and faced arrest stemming from a failure to appear in January in a Las Vegas court on a separate DUI charge on March 1, 2006, said Kathy Karstedt, a spokeswoman for the Clark County district attorney. Charges also included speeding and evading a police officer.
In 1999, Corrales also pleaded guilty in Henderson Justice Court to misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol, was fined and agreed to attend traffic school, Karstedt said.
Corrales' lawyer, Marc Risman, said the 2006 DUI case was "being resolved." Risman said Corrales was in training camp at the time he was supposed to have appeared in court.
"It would be a shame if his memory was tarnished at this point by past incidents that may have nothing to do with what happened yesterday," Risman said.
"Diego lived life to the fullest," said Pat Lamparelli, 51, a family friend who used to go on father-son outings with his son, Corrales, and Corrales' son. "He lived it as if every day was his last day."
05-08-2007, 05:10 PM
DIEGO CORRALES KILLED IN MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT
