LAS VEGAS - Jose Luis Castillo failed to make weight Friday for his lightweight title defense against Diego Corrales, throwing the third fight between the two men into jeopardy.
Castillo never came close to the 135-pound limit, weighing in at 140 on his first try and 139 1/2 a few minutes later. It was the second straight time he had failed to make weight for a fight with Castillo.
If the fight goes on Saturday night it will not be for the lightweight title because Nevada boxing regulations allow a fighter only to lose two pounds after the first weigh-in.
Promoters were negotiating whether the fight would go ahead as a non-title bout, though Corrales' trainer, Joe Goossen said he would advise his fighter not to fight.
"I would say pull the plug on it," Goossen said. "He (Corrales) drained himself to make 135 and the other guy didn't have to do it."
The missed weight was a repeat of the second fight between the two men in October when Castillo weighed 138 1/2 pounds. Castillo knocked out Corrales in the fourth round, and Goossen said Castillo was stronger because he didn't have to make the weight.
Castillo was visibly drawn and had trouble getting up while lying on the stage at the weigh-in. The concern over his weight prompted the WBC to weigh him at various times in his training, and Nevada boxing officials said he would forfeit up to 25 percent of his $900,000 purse if he was over the limit.
None of that helped Castillo get anyway near the weight limit, and his own promoter, Bob Arum, angrily accused his fighter's camp of lying to him.
"It's disgusting," Arum said. "If I was Corrales I wouldn't fight."
Corrales said he would spend the two hours allowed before Castillo's final weigh-in to decide whether to fight.
"A lot of things are going through my head right now," said Corrales, who weighed in at 135 pounds.
Corrales was to make $1.2 million for the fight, and there was a good possibility the two camps could negotiate a settlement and let the fight go ahead as a non-title bout. The fight was expected to draw a crowd of more than 10,000 and was to be televised by Showtime.
"I thought all along he wouldn't make the weight," said Corrales' promoter, Gary Shaw. "It's perpetuating a fraud on the public. Don't do the charade."
Corrales and Castillo engaged in one of the great fights of modern times last year, with Corrales getting off the canvas twice in the 10th round to stop Castillo in a battle that left both fighters battered and bruised.
The rematch, though, came off only after Castillo agreed to forfeit some of his purse, then made the most of it by landing a crushing left hook in the fourth round to stop Corrales.
