Jose Luis Castillo does not find himself short of incentives as he seeks to become the first man to defeat Ricky Hatton at the Thomas and Mack Centre in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

The 33-year-old former lightweight world champion took part in one of the greatest fights in recent history against Diego Corrales in May 2005, but subsequent problems on the scales caused his reputation to plummet.

Castillo failed to make the weight for the pair's rematch five months later, tarnishing his subsequent fourth-round knockout win. When Castillo again came in overweight for their projected third meeting in June last year, Corrales would not make the same mistake.

The fight's last-minute cancellation cost Castillo a small fortune. Along with his estimated £450,000 purse, he was fined £125,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and still had to fork out for his trainers and camp expenses. All of which has left one of the most ferocious fighters of his generation still requiring a few more big pay-days to guarantee financial security for his family.

Castillo is convinced he can repair both his image and his bank balance by beating Hatton. "I let a lot of people down and it did not make me feel good," he said. "I am just glad I am getting this opportunity to make it up to them. It was a huge hit financially, but I just hope to get some big fights before I retire and get well rewarded.

"I have a feeling this fight is like a new beginning. The motivation of facing Hatton has brought out the best of me. I have been in a lot of wars and I need the best opponents to bring out the best in me. Hatton will not have seen anything like me."

Castillo, who grew up alongside four brothers and sisters in the small Mexican railroad town of Empalme, has been touched by personal tragedy during preparations for the fight. One of his brothers, Cesar, died of a brain aneurysm two months ago. "I would like to dedicate this fight to my brother Cesar," Castillo, who had already been shocked by the death of his great rival Corrales in a motorcycle accident early last month, said. "I will be fighting in his memory on June 23."

Castillo, 55-7-1, learned from early sparring sessions with the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez and moulded himself into an archetypal Mexican warrior. He twice pushed Floyd Mayweather to points, with many believing he should have earned the verdict in their first fight in 2002.

After his two epic fights against Corrales, the cancellation of their third fight and his subsequent suspension contributed to 11 months out of the ring. It was a rusty and unmotivated Castillo who returned with a poor points win over Cameroon's Herman Ngoudjo on the Hatton undercard in January.

But Hatton is wise not to put too much stock in Castillo's performance against Ngoudjo. This time Castillo not only has those incentives, but also the respect for his opponent to reproduce the form which made him an irresistible lightweight force. "I have trained harder for this fight than when I was preparing to fight Diego Corrales for the second time to get my revenge," Castillo said. "It will be a war when I fight Hatton. He commands respect and has the style many Mexican fans and fighters love to see."

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