De La Hoya giving boxing a shot in the arm

 LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Just when boxing needed it most, Oscar De La Hoya is giving the sport the fight fans want most.
 In an era when the heavyweight division is tainted and other champions avoid each other, De La Hoya takes on Felix Trinidad on Saturday night in the most anticipated non-heavyweight fight since the days of Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
 It was a fight that didn't have to happen. But it was a fight that De La Hoya personally made sure would take place.
 "Oscar wanted this fight and he insisted we make this fight," promoter Bob Arum said. "If he hadn't insisted on it, there would have been no fight."
 De La Hoya, of course, will be well compensated for his scheduled 12 rounds in the ring in the battle of undefeated welterweight champions, both 26 years old. He'll earn at least $21 million, to $10.5 million for Trinidad.
 But he's risking a lot more in a bout he could have easily avoided while still getting millions to fight much less potent opponents.
 "We haven't even contemplated anything should he lose," Arum said. "We go into this fight with extreme confidence that Oscar will win."
 Despite his two wins over Julio Cesar Chavez, his four weight class titles and his narrow win over Ike Quartey, De La Hoya still gets criticized for a career in which he has picked his opponents very carefully and at all the right times.
 That should change after Trinidad, who boasts every credential that De La Hoya has except an Olympic gold medal and megafight experience.
 "He's never been in a big fight," De La Hoya said. "I don't think about the magnitude of this fight. That's how focused I am."
 De La Hoya (31-0, 25 knockouts) has been in big fights, of course, including seven pay-per-view events that generated total buys of $150 million. But in his last major test, Feb. 13 against Quartey, he fought tentatively and had to rally in the 12th round to ensure he would get a split decision.
 "I wasn't aggressive enough in that fight," De La Hoya said. "People were talking about what a good fighter and strong puncher he was. That kind of got me ... not scared ... but a bit nervous."
 That won't happen against Trinidad, De La Hoya vows, in a fight that will unify the WBC title owned by De La Hoya and the IBF crown held by Trinidad.
 "I don't think Trinidad is the fighter than Quartey was," De La Hoya said. "I think Ike Quartey was stronger, faster, had better upper body movement and was faster."
 Oddsmakers make De La Hoya a 6-5 favorite in the scheduled 12-round fight, which is expected to begin sometime around 11 p.m. EDT in an 11,610-seat arena at Mandalay Bay that was sold out without a ticket even going on sale to the general public.
 The fight could draw some 1 million pay-per-view buys, a non-heavyweight record, and gross some $80 million once all the revenues are counted.
 "It may be the biggest fight in my career, but I have already had big fights," said Trinidad, whose biggest win was probably a decision over Pernell Whitaker. De La Hoya also beat Whitaker in a disputed decision, and both fighters stopped Oba Carr, their only other common opponent.
 Both Trinidad (35-0, 30 knockouts) and De La Hoya are feared punchers, with Trinidad using his right hand to stop most of his opponents and De La Hoya relying on a left hook to do most of his damage.
 But they have also shown they can be dropped to the canvas themselves, giving fight fans the possibility of a brawl the likes not seen in the lighter divisions since Hagler's spectacular third-round knockout of Thomas Hearns more than a decade ago.
 De La Hoya was knocked down twice in the first round early in his career, then was put down and hurt in the sixth round by Quartey after knocking Quartey down earlier in the round.
 Trinidad was knocked down twice in the second round by Alberto Cortes in his 16th fight. He also suffered second-round knockdowns in four other fights, the last time by Kevin Lueshing on Jan. 11, 1997.
 "The under bet is a great bet," Trinidad promoter Don King said of the line in the sports books that allows betting on whether the fight will go over or under 51/2 rounds.
 King offered another bet at Wednesday's final prefight press conference, challenging Arum to a $1 million wager on which of their fighters would win. Arum rejected the bet.
 Trinidad, who doesn't speak English, will be making the biggest purse of his career, but will still have to settle for about half of what De La Hoya gets. Negotiations for the fight were held up while Trinidad's father demanded another $500,000 for his son, who has never proven to be ticket-selling attraction outside of his native Puerto Rico.
 "We feel Oscar is overrated," Trinidad said. "I'm going to put him on the level he really is. He has weaknesses and I'm going to take full advantage of his weaknesses."
 The fight has generated so much interest in this gambling city that 30,000 people who couldn't get tickets will watch it for $50 a seat from arenas at various casinos. It is even bigger in Puerto Rico, where 8,000 will watch it courtesy of the government at the capitol building in San Juan, and prisoners in four prisons will get it for free.
 The pay-per-view telecast begins at 9 p.m. EDT, with the main event preceded by an IBF cruiserweight title fight between champion Vassiliy Jirov of Kazakhstan, now living in Phoenix, and Dale Brown of Canada. Also on the card are two specialty fights, a four-round women's bout between Mia St. John and Kelly Downey and a four-round heavyweight bout between Butterbean and Ken Craven.
 

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