IF YOU are a boxing fan you can't miss Saturday's world lightweight title rematch in Las Vegas between the champion, Diego Corrales, and twice former champion and now challenger Jose Luis Castillo (live on Sky TV at 2am on Sunday morning).

The first fight between the pair back in May was one of the finest I've ever seen and though rematches are seldom as good, I wouldn't want to miss this one, just in case.

Top American promoter Bob Arum this week claimed the first clash between the American, Corrales, and his Mexican rival was one of the three finest of all time.

He put it alongside the Marvin Hagler/Thomas Hearns world middleweight fight in Las Vegas in 1985, won by Hagler after what Arum described as "three unbelievable rounds", and the third Muhammad Ali/Joe Frazier fight, the 'Thrilla in Manila,' which he described as the "most brutal fight I have ever seen."

To compare it with those contests is high praise indeed and who am I to disagree, though in all honesty it is impossible to compare fights of different eras, particularly the days before television. But brutal it was, amazing it was and I think the tenth and final round was the greatest single round I have witnessed.

For Corrales to be knocked down twice and look out on his feet and then get up to stop Castillo was unbelievable and showed he possessed great heart and great courage.

But in many ways he was very lucky to win that fight and though he is slight favourite to win again, I believe Castillo will come out on top this time.

There were five or six occasions in the first fight when Castillo was on the verge of winning and Corrales had to resort to unfair methods to retain his title. He kept spitting his gumshield out to delay things when the going got particularly tough and though it worked then and bought him time, it won't work this time.

They have now brought in a rule to penalise a fighter two points for deliberately spitting out his gumshield, so if it were to happen say a couple of times a boxer would have too much ground to make up.

Castillo's overall record (won 52, 46 by KO, lost seven) may not be quite as good as Corrales (won 40, 33 by KO, lost two) but it's not records that always count, it's styles.

Corrales knows only one way to fight and that is to keep coming forward and that is tailor-made for Castillo. And don't forget, though Castillo eventually lost the first fight because he was out on his feet, he never actually went down while Corrales went down three or four times.

I think Castillo will prove the hungrier fighter this time and believe his punching power will win the day.

In last week's column I talked about the third Antonio Tarver against Roy Jones Junior light-heavyweight clash and the Glen Johnson v George Khalid Jones title fight and was right in my predictions.

I said Johnson would stop his opponent and he did, in the tenth after a one-sided contest, and I said I didn't think Jones would come back from two successive KO defeats and he didn't. I was pleased Jones didn't suffer another KO, however, and that he put up a reasonable display, at least for the first few rounds, though he was well beaten on points in the end.

I remain convinced that the Jones of old would have done a number on Tarver and three defeats in a row for a once great fighter is sad to see.

At least after being knocked out in two rounds by Tarver in their second fight (he won the first on points) and then by Glen Johnson, he showed those people who had doubted his heart that they were wrong.

But those who were hoping for a fairy-tale ending and a Jones return to his best were disappointed and I believe Jones should now call it a day, though he seems inclined to carry on.

Nowadays he only seems capable of throwing single shots whereas at his best he would throw terrific combinations. There has been talk of a fourth fight with Tarver, but that would be pointless and only emphasises the dearth of young talent in the light-heavyweight division.

That is also emphasised by Johnson who is now in line to become IBF champion again and is still one of the best around and yet only a few years ago he was regarded as little more than a top journeyman.

Regarding the continuing story of my broken left hand, it is getting better all the time and I am due to go for another X-ray examination next week to make sure it's mending properly.

It feels fine and the specialist has told me I should be able to tell for myself when it is strong enough to start using again, though that won't be for a few weeks.