LAS VEGAS (AP) - Oscar De La Hoya won an Olympic gold medal, made millions early and carved out an empire that includes his own promotion company. Bernard Hopkins spent time in prison, fought for peanuts and waited until the age of 39 to get his big opportunity.
The two fighters meet Saturday night for the undisputed middleweight title after taking far different paths to what may be the richest non-heavyweight fight ever.
De La Hoya brings big fight experience and a glittering reputation into the ring. Hopkins carries with him a hunger born out of scrapping for every dollar he could get.
"You give me a rich fighter and a hungry fighter and I'm going with the hungry fighter," Hopkins said. "I'm willing to leave my soul, body and life in there if it takes that."
Hopkins will be a rich fighter after Saturday night, when he will make a minimum $10 million to risk defend his middleweight titles. De La Hoya will make far more, at least $30 million, for the riskiest fight of his career.
He'll have to earn every penny of it against a champion who has defended titles 18 times and hasn't lost since Roy Jones Jr. beat him 11 years ago.
"The reason I took this fight is I know I can win," De La Hoya said. "I'm not thinking of anything else, all I want is those belts. Believe me when I tell you those belts are mine."
Hopkins, who turns 40 in January, is a 2-1 favorite in a fight that matches a bigger, stronger natural middleweight against a boxer who has had only one fight at 160 pounds.
For the first time in his career, De La Hoya will be the underdog, something that motivated him so much he trained for 11 weeks and sparred 50 rounds more than usual. He'll likely weigh in at only about 153 pounds, and will need to use his speed and fight in flurries to offset the advantages Hopkins has over him physically.
"He doesn't have my legs and he doesn't have my quickness," De La Hoya said. "And believe me, I can carry power. I will carry power."
De La Hoya, who barely beat little-known Felix Sturm in his last fight and lost to Shane Mosley before that, has said the fight may be one of the last of a career that has earned him some $200 million.
Hopkins (44-2-1, 31 knockouts) says De La Hoya should be making retirement plans because this is a fight he can't win.
"I'm going to set a fierce pace. It's going to be a Marvin Hagler-Tommy Hearns kind of pace," Hopkins said. "If he takes a deep breath, I'm telling you, it's over."
The fight at the MGM Grand Garden arena was long ago sold out, with a $14 million gate. Promoter Bob Arum says it could surpass the 1.4 million pay-per-view buys set by De La Hoya's 1999 fight against Felix Trinidad and become the richest non-heavyweight fight ever.
That's testimony to the drawing power of De La Hoya, who turned to Hopkins after both Trinidad and Shane Mosley wanted more money for rematches.
"I don't think it gets any bigger than this, fighting for the middleweight crown against one of the best fighters out there who hasn't lost in 10 years," De La Hoya said. "These types of challenges at this point I need to elevate me to another level."
While De La Hoya (37-3, 29 knockouts) has been a proven attraction for the last decade, Hopkins has spent his career battling promoters, managers, agents and anyone else he suspects might have it out for him. His talent is unquestioned, but it seemed Hopkins was destined to squander his opportunity to make really big money.
Then De La Hoya came calling, and changed everything. And now Hopkins believes he has a right to feel vindicated.
"I said a long time ago that I would be patient, but nobody could understand my vision," Hopkins said. "I have no regrets. Who thought I'd be where I'm at anyway?"
Where Hopkins is at is on the verge of a payday that dwarfs anything he has made in his remarkable career. Fighting for only $300,000 just a few months ago, he could make as much as $15 million Saturday night against De La Hoya.
Not bad for a fighter who came out of prison to lose his first fight and who promoter Don King once said "won the lottery but threw away the ticket" after beating Felix Trinidad.
"I've come a long way from sitting in a five by five cell with no gold medal, no big sponsor contract, no big promoter," Hopkins said. "I'm the hungriest fighter in the world right now."
De La Hoya said he, too, has rediscovered a hunger for the sport. More importantly, he says, he won't come into the ring out-of-shape as he did against Sturm and won't fade in the late rounds like he did against Mosley and Trinidad.
De La Hoya sparred 130 rounds in training, including four 12-round sessions.
"Stamina is not going to be an issue," De La Hoya said. "Stamina is covered, speed is covered, legs are covered. The power? It will come."
I'm a big De La Hoya fan (we share the same b-day). If he fights the way he fought Trinidad the first 9 rounds he wins easily. If he gets tired Nard will win by TKO. I voted for Oscar. He really only has 1 loss, the first fight vs. Mosley. I also think Oscar is scared for the first time in his professional career. It might make him fight the perfect fight.
Quote: WOW! TKO. I don't think Oscar can hurt Bernard. Roy Jones couldn't stop Nard. I hope you're right though....
I'm not really expecting Oscar to TKO Hopkins, but it could happen. Actually, both men are capable of knocking the other one out. I just feel that Oscar has the advantage in age, speed, and he's out to prove something in this fight.
And another possibility is that this could be the fight we see Hopkins get old right before our eyes. I've seen it happen to many fighters: Holyfield, Tyson, Jones, the list goes on and on. Nobody escapes Father Time forver.
