By David Sauvage

Roy Jones returns against Antonio Tarver. Jermain Taylor and Bernard Hopkins are doing an encore. Vitali Klitschko is finally defending against a guy who earned his way there. But Jose Luis Castillo’s October 8 rematch with Diego Corrales promises the best of any of these matchups, and it promises them all at once.

Start spreading the word.

Castillo and Corrales are unquestionably the two top fighters in their division. They’re also perfect for each other. More than Morales and Barrera, who can’t seem to hurt each other. More than Tarver and Jones, who never go toe-to-toe. More that Gatti and Ward, who had all the will, but none of the skill.

To understand Castillo and Corrales, you’ve got to go back to Zale and Graziano, Patterson and Johanson and Leonard and Hearns. Here’s what boxing would be without Don King and the International Acronym Association. Here’s the sport at its purest. Here’s the men who can redeem it.

Sit your friends down. Tell them to shut up and watch.

I’m a twenty-four year old college grad, and let me tell you, Castillo-Corrales II can’t come soon enough. Of my generation, there’s maybe two serious boxing fans out there, and the other one is Max Kellerman. The sport would never have died, but it was certainly dying. It was always too corrupt, too confusing, too silly. And more and more, it was too violent.

We’re living in a wimpified age. Growing up, the only violence my friends and I were allowed to enjoy was the homoerotic farce of the WWF. A little fist-a-cuffs signaled a behavioral problem; our masculine genes required immediate treatment. Nobody told us how amazing a beating could be. Nobody told us how much you could learn from it.

Did you see Castillo-Corrales I? If it didn’t teach you something about life, you’re pretty much dead. What are the limits of human endurance? Where does the last burst come from? How do we find it in ourselves? No matter your answers, these are big questions. They’re certainly bigger than words. They’re meant to be experienced.

Enter Castillo and Corrales.

Sure, the rematch might not be as good. They could be too damaged to do more damage. But just as likely, they go all the way. Not in terms of rounds, of course. In terms of will, skill, pressure and pain. They’re why boxing was once considered the greatest sport. They’re why it still has a fighting chance.