TAKE FIVE: RICKY HATTON VS. JOSE LUIS CASTILLO

Friday, June 22, 2007 | 8:58 a.m.

1. Tough hit

Two-time lightweight world champion Jose Luis Castillo acknowledges the aftermath of his series of memorable encounters against Diego Corrales took a lot out of him financially. After he failed to make weight for a second consecutive time, for what would have been a third fight against Corrales last year, Castillo was thumped by the Nevada State Athletic Commission with a suspension and a $250,000 fine that might have cost him nearly twice that amount including legal fees, according to Castillo's promoter, Bob Arum, who called the fine "Draconian."

2. Aftershocks?

He won an uninspired split decision against Herman Ngoudjo in January, but Castillo figures to encounter another busy opponent, and likely a brutal action bout, against an elite-level opponent in Ricky Hatton. Castillo has been training in his native Mexico amid questions from boxing observers about whether his vicious first fight against Corrales, who died last month in a motorcycle crash, affected him physically. "I don't feel it took anything out of me," Castillo, 33, said. "But obviously it took something out of him, especially in the last fight I saw him fight," a lopsided loss to Joshua Clottey.

3. He doesn't dance

Arum called Saturday's fight crucial for Castillo, saying a one-sided defeat could be an insurmountable setback for his career, at least as far as fighting at the sport's highest level. "When a guy is 33 and he's a Mexican, which means he starts fighting a lot earlier than American kids do, they tend to burn out at an earlier age," Arum said. "There's a limit to how many punches you can take, and he wasn't a guy who was a dancer. He's a fighter ... If this is a one-way fight and if he loses it, there's not much further he can go."

4. Signature bout

At age 28, Hatton owns an impressive undefeated record along with a career-defining (so far) 2005 victory against Kostya Tszyu before a raucous capacity crowd at M.E.N. Arena in Hatton's hometown of Manchester, England. A victory against Castillo would prove Hatton is no one-hit wonder and would cement the British champ's status as one of boxing's top pound-for-pound fighters. "I'm really bang on," Hatton said in his trademark British slang. "I've got the bit between the teeth for this fight. I've got the same excitement and motivation as when I was in training camp for Kostya Tszyu, because I know the (other) man in the fight is such a huge name."

5. Collision course

As many as 10,000 British fans are expected at the Thomas & Mack to support their fighter, according to Hatton's camp, with nearly as many Mexican loyalists for Castillo. Hatton sees a rough-and-tumble bout fought up close and personal, filled with body shots and uppercuts that could bring to mind the first Castillo-Corrales match. But Castillo pointed out differences between the two opponents. "When I fought Corrales I could see where the punches were coming from," Castillo said. "With Hatton, you don't know. He's reckless. He comes out of everywhere throwing punches ... If he's going to punch two or three times and then hold, nobody's going to like that. If he comes right at me the way he came at Kostya Tszyu, it's gonna be a great fight."

Jeff Haney can be reached at 259-4041 or at haney@lasvegassun.com.