BOXING Hopkins' win over Joppy puts pressure on De La Hoya and Mosley

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- A long night of boxing had turned into morning by the time Bernard Hopkins finally entered the ring.
Cory Spinks gave him a tough act to follow, but Hopkins wasn't complaining.
By beating Ricardo Mayorga, Spinks ruined plans for a March 13 fight between Mayorga and Shane Mosley. Now, Hopkins was determined to make his case for a big bout against Mosley or Oscar De La Hoya.
Less anxious
The middleweight champion might have been too good for his own good Saturday night, though. The beating he gave William Joppy will make both Mosley and De La Hoya take pause before they agree to fight Hopkins.
"Put pressure on De La Hoya and Mosley. Make them fight me," Hopkins pleaded. "I'll come down a few pounds if that's what it takes to get these guys in the ring."
Hopkins might have to stand in line, just as he has during much of a career in which he keeps winning fights but losing battles outside the ring.
Spinks would also like to take Mayorga's spot against Mosley, though that also seems unlikely in the near future. He already had the championship heritage and the name, but Spinks won the fans, too, by outboxing the big-punching Mayorga to win the undisputed welterweight title.
"I want Mosley," Spinks said. "They've been talking big about Mayorga, but maybe they should now talk big about me."
Crowd favorite
Spinks was the crowd favorite and an unlikely winner on a night of eight title fights of sorts at Boardwalk Hall. He used slick movement and some nice boxing skills to win a decision over Mayorga that made his father, former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, cry with pride in the ring afterward.
The sight of Spinks being hugged by his father and his uncle, former heavyweight champion Michael Spinks, was worth the price of admission alone to a sellout crowd of more than 12,000.
Some spectators already were gone by the time Hopkins and Joppy met for the undisputed 160-pound title. They missed a fight that had none of the drama and color of the Spinks-Mayorga bout, but did have a dominant performance by Hopkins.
Hopkins was almost as happy with the fact his contract with promoter Don King expires at the end of the year as he was with the win.
Free man
"I'm a free man. I'm out on parole," Hopkins said.
While Spinks and Hopkins were the two big winners on a night that featured 67 rounds, Mayorga was the big loser.
Mayorga was exposed by a slick boxer who took advantage of two point deductions for holding and hitting after the bell that cost Mayorga at the very least a draw.