Talk about your irony of ironies.

Diego Corrales, who was outweighed by Jose Luis Castillo in their October 2005 rematch, and who chose to abort their rubber match in May when Castillo once again failed to make weight, didn't even come close to hitting the 135 lb limit in his rubber match with Cuban Olympian Joel Casamayor.

The show will go on at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, however, as Corrales, who will no doubt be fined, has agreed to pay a percentage of his purse to Casamayor. In light of the fact that "Chico" was so critical of Castillo for forfeiting their third fight, and rightfully so, it's interesting that Corrales finds himself in the same shoes. Is it a strategy employed by the Corrales camp, or did the unexpected inactivity ensuing from the aborted Castillo bout in May mess up his biological rhythm?

At any rate, both fighters will weigh in again on Saturday afternoon, and neither is allowed over 147 lbs. The recent inabilities of fighters to make weight has reached ridiculous proportions, and a re-examining of day-before weigh-ins is in desperate need.

In Corrales' first bout with Castillo, judged by many to be one of the greatest fights of all-time, Castillo was floored twice in the 10th before staging a miraculous comeback by stopping the Mexican in the same round. In the rematch, Corrales agreed to fight the bigger Castillo and paid for it when he was knocked out with a left hook in the fourth round. The punishment Corrales has sustained in the past year and a half will likely be a factor in Saturday night's bout with Casamayor, but Corrales is most dangerous when he looks vulnerable.

The first fight between Corrales and Casamyor in 2003 was intense; Casamayor floored Corrales twice and was himself knocked down before the referee stopped the fight because Corrales' mouthpiece was grotesquely slicing out of his lip and cheek. In the rematch, both fighters boxed tentativley, but the aggressor Corrales boxed a disciplined fight and had Casamayor backpedalling, although Corrales was dropped in the 10th with a left hook.

This time, Casamayor-Corrales will probably be a barn-burner. Casamayor, 35, has lost a step and looked vulnerable in his draw with Almazbek Raiymkulov, even though I felt he deserved the victory. In his last fight on ESPN, the crafty Cuban looked so-so in dismantling a second-rate opponent and then doing a little verbal sparring with studio guest Corrales about a rematch. Casamayor will probably look sharper than he has of late, but the odds are that both fighters will throw the gameplan out the window and go for the gusto.

This is a hard one to pick. Casamayor,33-3-1 (21), is a superior boxer, a smarter fighter. But that was then. After being soundly outboxed by Corrales in their rematch, and after Corrales went to hell and back with Castillo, you have to like "Chico"'s chances. Corrales,40-3 (33), will be outboxed in the first few rounds of the fight - as he was against hard-hitting Brazilian Acelino Freitas, before making "Popo" quit in the 10th - and then stage a dramatic comeback by hurting Casamyor with a combination at close range. Corrales will get rocked himself but manage to finish off his arch nemesis.

And leave Casamayor wondering if it was worth the weight.

Prediction: Corrales KO 9