Hatton’s body of work wins it

It took a beat of the heart for the paralyzing pain to set in.

In that instant, Jose Luis Castillo took a step back and stared at the man who had just delivered the devastating blow to his rib cage on the right side.

But then the agony and the helplessness crept over Castillo as the air was sucked out of his body.

He spun around, his reflexes reacting to move him away from the human sledgehammer that had just battered his body, sunk to the canvas on one knee and remained there, head down, as referee Joe Cortez counted Castillo out at the 2:16 mark of the fourth round of Saturday night’s main event at Thomas & Mack Center.

And just like that, it was over. Just like that, Ricky Hatton had defended his International Boxing Organization junior welterweight title, improved his record to 43-0 with 31 knockouts and set himself up for what he hopes will be a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Just like that, Castillo’s hopes of regaining the status he had held as a world-class fighter before his suspension for failing to make weight a year ago had evaporated.

“He got me good,” Castillo said before exiting quickly from the ring. “He got me with a perfect shot. I couldn’t breath, I couldn’t get up.”

Indeed, even as the decidedly pro Hatton crowd of 13,044 celebrated with songs and cheers and the fighter from Manchester, England, responded by leaping to the top buckle of the ropes, Castillo remained on one knee on the canvas.

“Head first,” Hatton said. “Then left hook, left hook and that’s what finished him.”

Hatton may already be a national hero back home, but in this country, he was known largely for his upset victory over Kostya Tszyu two years ago.

Hatton figured a victory over a name fighter, even one like Castillo who is five years older at 33, would pad his resume and give him leverage to land a Mayweather match.

With that in mind, Hatton came out aggressively from the start, landing a left hook to the right side of Castillo’s face even as the opening bell was echoing.

Hatton appeared to be the quicker and stronger of the two fighters during inside exchanges.

“I really worked hard on this performance,” he said. “I felt very strong inside.

“In the first round, I thought we were good buddies. In my heart, after the first round, I felt he wasn’t going to last long.”

Hatton won the first three rounds on two of the three judges’ scorecards.

Then, before the knockout, Castillo was penalized a point by Cortez for a low blow in that fourth round.

Castillo (55-8-1, 47) was fighting at 140 pounds for only the second time. He had failed to make weight at 135 for a third fight against Diego Corrales last June, causing the Nevada State Athletic Commission to suspend Castillo for seven months and fine him $250,000.

In his first fight at 140, Castillo looked mediocre in winning a split decision over Herman Ngoudjo in January.

“I would think it is time for him to hang it up,” said Castillo’s promoter, Bob Arum. “At his age, that suspension was not just a suspension, it was a death knell.”

While Saturday night’s result has left Castillo’s future cloudy, Hatton has a clear vision of what he wants.

“There was more action in the four rounds of this fight,” he said, “than Floyd Mayweather has had in his entire career.”

Gentlemen, start your negotiations.

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steve.springer@latimes.com