Diego Corrales Lightweight champ to face Jose Luis Castillo at Thomas & Mack on Saturday

As Diego Corrales made his way down an aisle toward his seat at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 10, a low murmur began.

It built within seconds to a deafening roar, and bodies rushed en masse toward him as he prepared to sit down to watch Manny Pacquiao box.

"It was insane how loud the crowd was," said promoter Gary Shaw, who was with Corrales. "It took him almost a half-hour to get where he had to go, just this short little walk. People were reaching out and just wanted to touch him."

It's become a way of life for Corrales, who has become one of the world's most popular boxers since his amazing comeback victory over Jose Luis Castillo on May 7 at Mandalay Bay.

Corrales was knocked down twice in the 10th round and appeared on the verge of being stopped when he ripped Castillo with a hook and knocked him out to win the WBC and WBO lightweight titles.

Many have called the bout the best of all time. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum ranks it in his top three, along with the 1985 middleweight title fight between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns, and the 1975 heavyweight fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

Corrales and Castillo will meet again Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center in a rematch that is garnering more attention than any lower-weight boxing match has gotten in many years.

"It's getting a little crazy around here," Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels said.

It's a life Corrales' wife, Michelle, has lived for the past five months. Corrales was largely anonymous outside of boxing circles five months ago, but all that has changed since his epic victory.

Michelle Corrales bought her husband small Sharpie pens to hook to his keychain so he has something to quickly use for autographs.

Her husband has always loved meeting fans, and before beating Castillo he used to send those who approached him autographed gloves and photos.

But when the crowds swelled considerably after May 7, Michelle Corrales had photos printed of her husband that she carries with her when traveling.

"Diego just loves to talk to people, and he especially loves to talk to fans about boxing," Michelle Corrales said. "You just stand back and look at him when he's talking to people and you can see how much he enjoys it. He'd stay until they turned off the lights.

"I don't want to look tacky or corny (by bringing the pictures), but he'd promise so many people he'd send them something, it was getting out of control."

Corrales threw out the first pitch at a Las Vegas 51s game a little more than a month after his win over Castillo. He was wearing a white baseball jersey that was modeled after those of the Los Angeles Dodgers, with his name in script across the chest.

When he walked off the field, 51s security guard Mary Wilmore told him how much she loved his jersey. He took it off and signed it for her.

"He's a good, good dude," 51s president Don Logan said. "He had time for everybody."

Corrales admitted he's enjoying the attention and said he doesn't want it to end.

That's why, he said, he won't take any tuneup fights.

"Eighty five percent of the male population dreams of being a professional athlete and I'm living that dream," he said. "And I'm not just a professional athlete, I'm a great one. That makes me happy. I'm living a dream tons of people would love to live."

But most of it wouldn't have been possible were it not for that dramatic rally.

As good as the first fight was, had Corrales been stopped after the second knockdown it would have generated little buzz outside the boxing community.

"There's no question things would be different if the fight had ended after that second knockdown," Arum said. "It was still a great, great fight, but it would lack that dramatic, suspenseful ending.

"No one in that arena or watching on TV expected it to end the way it did. It was one of the all-time thriller endings and it started a legend."