Variety of issues still weighing on Castillo

As he stepped off the scales at the Augustus Ballroom in Caesars Palace, Jose Luis Castillo could hear the outrage of the promoters, the derision of the crowd and the shouts of the media.

But what concerned him the most was the two pair of eyes focused on him, and that concern brought tears to his eyes.

The date was June 2, 2006. Castillo, 24 hours from facing Diego Corrales in a fight that would have completed their trilogy, was disqualified when he couldn’t make weight. It was a 135-pound match, but Castillo couldn’t get below 139 1/2 .

“I was very irresponsible,” Castillo told Fernando Beltran, his Mexican promoter. “I have respect for the fans, I have respect for the media and I let them all down.

“But the worst part was the look in the eyes of my children. I broke their hearts.”

Jose Jr. was 13 then and Christian was 7.

“He was very, very sad,” Beltran said, “because he is trying to be a role model for his children.”

For Castillo, a two-time World Boxing Council lightweight champion, it was the low point of his career.

Or so he thought.

But Castillo, who will face Ricky Hatton in a junior-welterweight title match Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center, would soon learn his life would sink even lower and the tears would flow much heavier in the months that followed.

For forcing the cancellation of his third fight against Corrales, Castillo was suspended for the rest of the calendar year by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and fined $250,000, money he didn’t have.

In March, Cesar Castillo, a younger brother of Jose Luis, died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm at 29.

And in May, on the second anniversary of his first fight against Corrales, a match considered one of the most exciting in boxing history, Corrales died in a motorcycle accident in Las Vegas.

Castillo, who has seven other siblings, has dedicated Saturday night’s match to Cesar, who, after complaining of headaches, lapsed into a coma and died three days later.

“He left behind two kids,” Castillo said through an interpreter. “When I came into the ring, he would be the one to hold up my belt to the crowd.

“After he died, I didn’t even feel like going to training camp, but it’s my job.”

Castillo and Corrales had a bond, forged in the ring in their first fight, a match in which Corrales was knocked down twice in the 10th round only to pull himself off the canvas each time, regain his senses, recapture his rhythm and go on to win on a TKO before that incredible round had ended.

Having shared such an unforgettable battle, Castillo and Corrales would forever be linked. While Castillo did not enjoy being on the losing end of that classic fight, he now welcomes the opportunity to maintain that link as his way of perpetuating Corrales’ memory.

“His death hit me harder,” Castillo said, “because it came on the same date as our first fight. But I am going to keep him alive because, whenever I fight, people are going to mention him as well.”

While his own difficulties have shrunk in importance in light of the tragedies that have affected him, Castillo hasn’t been able to put the weight incident behind him even now, more than a year later.

That’s because he is still trying to dig himself out of the financial hole he found himself in because of the fine.

“I feel what the [Nevada] commission did to me was abuse,” said Castillo, shifting the blame away from his role in the matter.

“Here’s a guy with no income and they fine him $250,000,” said Bob Arum, Castillo’s promoter. “You want to fine him, that’s OK. But then let him fight. The way they did it was horrible. It was terrible persecution.”

Arum worked out a compromise with the commission. He advanced Castillo $150,000, which came out of his purse for his comeback fight in January against Herman Ngoudjo.

The other $100,000 was paid before this fight, with Arum getting reimbursed from Saturday’s purse.

The other lingering issue for Castillo is his weight. His crisis on the scales in the third Corrales fight, the one that never happened, was not Castillo’s first battle with his waistline. In the second Corrales fight, Castillo came in 3 1/2 pounds over. That fight only went on after Castillo was handed another fine and Corrales agreed to proceed.

Castillo subsequently won on a fourth-round knockout, leading critics to accuse Castillo of deliberately coming in overweight to gain an advantage.

So when Castillo prepared to return to the ring against Ngoudjo, Castillo was sure of one thing. He was not going to come in overweight.

It figured to be easier since he was fighting at 140 pounds. But Castillo was taking no chances.

“It was like a Jenny Craig training camp,” Beltran said. “He was doing aerobics instead of sparring. [Arum] would call me and ask me about his weight and I would say I was not worried about the weight. I was worried he might lose the fight.”

Beltran’s concerns were well-founded. Castillo struggled to a split-decision victory.

Now comes Hatton, who figures to be considerably tougher.

But Castillo insists he’s prepared. He knows those two pairs of eyes will again be watching. And he’s determined not to let his sons down again.

steve.springer@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

FIGHT FACTS

* Jose Luis Castillo

(55-7-1, 47 KOs)

vs. IBO junior-welterweight champion Ricky Hatton

(42-0, 30 KOs).

* 7 p.m. Saturday, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas.

* TV: HBO.