Things get heavy at weigh-in

LAS VEGAS – Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo were supposed to meet for the lightweight title. Instead, there will likely be a couple of welterweights in the ring tonight for one of boxing’s most anticipated rematches in years.

After a weigh-in bizarre even by boxing standards, the promoters managed to salvage the fight that appeared in jeopardy after Castillo weighed in well more than the 135-pound lightweight limit.

They did it by deciding on having another weigh-in for Castillo about five hours before the fighters enter the ring tonight. Castillo will have to weigh in at 147 pounds or pay Corrales $75,000 for each pound over that weight.

“Diego told me he’s going to make Castillo pay for causing so much trouble,” Corrales’ promoter Gary Shaw said.

The 147-pound limit for today’s weigh-in is the maximum for welterweights, not lightweights.

But fighters normally balloon in weight from the weigh-in the day before the fight until they actually get into the ring, so it is likely that Corrales will be somewhere around that weight, too.

Still, the fight was nearly derailed when Castillo first weighed in at 137 pounds, then twice at 138 1/2 , actually going up in weight despite spending more than an hour trying to work it off.