Hopkins VS De La Hoya... Your predictions..

De La Hoya will win, 5th round.

The promoter will win by several 10s of millions of dollars!

De La Hoya will destroy Hopkins with a knockout.

hopkins in the 8th

Hopkins in the 7th

Oscar will put on a good show for 2, MAYBE 3 rounds, but after that, the extra weight is going to slow him down, and then Hopkins will beat the living shit out of him...

Anyone else going???

respect (Hopkins) vs vengeance (de la Hoya)

Hopkins is currently leading in the HBO polls, but id go for the younger De La Hoya.

De La Hoya by KO. 11%
De La Hoya by decision. 28%
Hopkins by KO. 39%
Hopkins by decision. 20%
Draw. 2%

http://www.hboppv.com/events/delahoya_hopkins/

so fucking right.

Seriously though...De La Hoya
I think he was training hard during the taping of the next great champ

Probably just going to get it on PPV... btw how much were tickets?

in your dreams

the only chance for de la Hoya to win is by desicion.

It's gonna be close but think de la hoya will win.

he's the underdog for sure because of the last fight.

I think he's training physically and mentally hard.

As much as I like Oscar, I hate to say it but this time he's way overmatched. De Lay Hoya will get the shit beat out of him by Hopkins.

Hopkins is goinna knock the fucker OUT!

word around the office from the boxing FANATICS is that they fear de la hoya could leave the arena on a stretcher. and hopkins is getting bet like mad in vegas...

Hopkins will win in the late rounds

Going to be exciting to watch

De La Hoya should take it.

Yeah, I know one could only wish for a slugfest. De La Hoya's probably going to dance around the ring the entire 12 rounds.

just goes to show how much people dont know about boxing...
Mark my words
Dela Hoya in six
Former Champ, Great Boxer
He will show you all the skills it takes to slowly beat someone down systematically

Let's go to the transcripts:

Oscar De La Hoya, WBO Middleweight champion - from his camp in Big Bear, CA:

"It's all talk. Look at Vargas...it's all talk. That don't bother me. (Hopkins) talks about being in prison for three years and all that street stuff. And he thinks that's going to intimidate me. But he's wrong. He's not going to win any battles before we get in the ring. That stuff has never bothered me, so let him talk.

Hopkins is a bully. That's his style of fighting. He's a bully in the ring. That's how I view him. I want to go in there and stop him. A bully can be stopped. You just have to be in great shape and have a good gameplan."

( Trainer Floyd Mayweather actually was willing to reveal the De La Hoya strategy..."Oscar is going to move on Hopkins but he's going to stick that jab in his face the whole time. And he's going to stop, set his feet, get off with combinations, then get out of there before going back to his jab." - Do you find it a display of supreme confidence that Oscar would allow Mayweather to share this info? Or is it foolish? Or is it a deception? )

Oscar continued: I'm no William Joppy. I'm not a fighter like Joppy or whatever his name was (Antwun Echols). Everything about me is different from every fighter Hopkins has ever faced."

On possibly even KOing Hopkins: "You never know. A strong hook, a good right, if it's set up right and it lands clean, you can put anyone down. You can't count out a knockout win, even against Hopkins."

Summary: Oscar sounds as strong and as confident as he can right now. He is not coming to lose, like most expect is his fate. And Oscar's intelligent statements kind of affirm and make you realize that this is Oscar De La Hoya speaking, one of the most successful, most determined and proud champions in history. He was born to be a fighter and is truly one of the greats. And a very decisive factor in this Fight of the Century is that Oscar is by far a much more mentally stronger fighter than any Hopkins has defeated lately. Joppy, Allen and Echols sort of surrendered to Hopkins. They were just outclassed, ran out of ideas and basically stopped trying. You have to know that Oscar is a far different animal. Though many experts believe Hopkins can and will physically punish and slaughter Oscar, maybe just maybe the surprising reality is that he won't. Maybe Oscar is just too smart and saavy than he's given credit for. Maybe it is impossible for another man to physically destroy Oscar De La Hoya as many people predict.

Bernard Hopkins, WBC/IBF/WBA Middleweight champion - from his camp in Miami:

"The key to this fight is not going to be power. It is going to be one word...and that one word is 'speed.'

It is hard to find a villain in this match. De La Hoya has never dissed another fighter. He has a laid-back Golden Boy style. Look at the Vargas fight...Vargas said he was not a true Mexican. But then in the ring, Oscar showed he was what he was said not to be.

He is not a knockout puncher. I have a great chin and I can close the fight at any time.

De La Hoya is anticipating on living, not on winning. If he wants to live, he will be in shape to run, to run, and to run.

De La Hoya will be committing suicide to fight me the way he fought Felx Sturm in June. He underestimated Sturm was a blueprint for me not to train...but I will not fall into that trap on September 18th. Oscar De La Hoya will be my 19th victim...Oscar, you are loco for fighting me."

Summary: Hopkins also sounds pinpoint sharp as he always does. Both gladiators are primed and will be 100% perfectly ready for this classic confrontation which should become the biggest money non-heavyweight fight in boxing history (to eclipse Oscar vs. Tito). This could be the breakout event for one of the most fascinating and inspirational sports figures, this could be the unveiling and creation of a new, transcending superstar. Bernard Hopkins absolutely has that kind of charismatic potential to become a future George Foreman type personality and it might all begin for Bernard next month. All Hopkins has to do is win decisively over Oscar and the world will be his oyster. But it is not going to be easy. Oscar, with his tremendous pride and experience, is going to put up a huge fight. And it is not out of the realm that he may present challenges to Hopkins which he has never had to deal with before. What if Hopkins becomes confused and frustrated? What if he has lost just that small iota of reflexes?

Will the formidable threat of Hopkins force De La Hoya to reveal something extra that we've never seen from him before? Will Hopkins bring out a greatness in Oscar that we've never witnessed yet? How will Hopkins react if he runs into difficulties - as he's not really dealt with that much adversity in his recent fights?

These questions are only a small part of why September 18th is going to be such a thrilling spectacle of athletic competition between two living legends.

Scoop Malinowski is a Boxinginsider.com contributor.

i'd knock both them out

Hopkins . . . I hope Gary has it on at his place

Hopkins ain't consider the best middleweight ever or one of the best pound for pound for nothing. Hopkins is going to do to Dela Hoya what he did with Felix Trinidad

hopkins will win it without a doubt...

Hopkins by KO... Oscar's a little bitch. barley won last fight to get to this fight..

Hopkins in the 7th. De la hoya is washed up.

De La Hoya will win 3rd

Hopkins' last loss occured 11 years ago, against Roy Jones. A blown-up 135 pounder like De la Hoya is not going to hurt Hopkins. He could let his guard down and take his punches all night without flinching. Oscar's only chance is to do what Sugar Ray Leonard did to Hagler 17 years ago: dance, jab, wiggle, run away. Rince and repeat. I have Hopkins by UD, though a mid-fight KO is also likely.

The only disadvantage with Hopkin is his age. He may be a tad bit slower, but in terms of pure skills, Hopkin will definitely win. The only chance De La Hoya have is punch and run and hopefully win a decision.

go oscar!

hopkins will win

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the greatest variable of all . . . it is in Vegas, and unless there is a knockout, anything can and will happen.

If it goes to the cards, expect the unexpected.

Oscar is gonna win

De La Hoya by decision

my $ is on de la hoya

Should had a poll here

I'm going with de la hoya

Only in America


I say De La Hoya in 4

Lay off the pipe mate

De la Hoya will destroy him badly ...

what time is the fight any way?

September 18, 2004
9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT
From MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV

http://www.hboppv.com/

fuck you de la hoya fans

who run it

Sad to see De La Hoya tossing a fight like that. I guess he's not going to retire after all...

Tossing a fight? Do you want me to hit you in the liver with two left hooks? Oscar is a natural 130 pounder who was getting hit by a world class 160 pounder for the first time. You can't even imagine how painful those shots must have felt...

Go back to the kitchen please

Body shots are not taken lightly. Try punching yourself in the body, it hurts.

i told ya sooooooooooo!

Indeed. Liver shots are brutal