BOXING 'Hungry' Hopkins favored

But Oscar De La Hoya said he's never wanted a fight more.
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Oscar De La Hoya stared straight ahead, eyes unwavering under his baseball cap. A few feet away, Bernard Hopkins was telling everyone who would listen what he'll do to the Golden Boy on Saturday night.
For once, De La Hoya didn't have much to say. When he finally did talk, the words came out with the same kind of intensity De La Hoya plans to bring into the ring against the undisputed middleweight champion.
"I'm not thinking of anything else because all I want is those belts," De La Hoya said. "Believe me when I tell you, those belts are mine."
To get the belts, De La Hoya will have to confound the oddsmakers and beat a champion who's not only bigger and stronger but also hasn't lost in 11 years.
Based on his recent performances against Shane Mosley and Felix Sturm, the 2-1 odds against him seem correct. But De La Hoya says he's never wanted a fight more, and those who doubt him don't understand the fire inside.
"This is the fight where I just suck it up and let everything loose," De La Hoya said. "This is for all the marbles. This is the fight that will define my career."
A lot on the line
A fighter often criticized for picking his opponents when they appear most vulnerable, De La Hoya certainly deserves credit for taking a fight against a boxer who has made 18 successful defenses of his middleweight titles.
But Hopkins has just as much to fight for as De La Hoya, and his career is on the line, too, for the biggest payday of his life.
"I'm willing to leave my soul, body and life in there if it takes that," Hopkins said. "You give me a rich fighter and a hungry fighter and I'm going with the hungry fighter every time."
For the first time in his career, De La Hoya will be an underdog when he goes into the ring Saturday night to challenge Hopkins in a fight that could end up the richest non-heavyweight bout ever.
The scheduled 12-round fight, which will be televised on pay-per-view (HBO, $54.95) from the MGM Grand Garden arena, is already a sellout with a $14 million gate. Promoters are hoping the matchup is so intriguing that it will surpass the previous non-heavyweight record of 1.4 million pay-per-view buys set in De La Hoya's 1999 fight with Felix Trinidad.
De La Hoya, who has won titles in five weight divisions from 130 pounds up, will have to show not only that he can be quicker than Hopkins but also that he has the stamina to stay on his toes all 12 rounds.
That's been a problem in previous fights, including his loss to Trinidad, where he was ahead after nine rounds but then ran the last three rounds.
De La Hoya (37-3, 29 knockouts) said he sparred 130 rounds in camp for the fight, compared to his usual 80, and went 12 rounds four different times.
"Stamina is not going to be an issue," he said. "Stamina is covered, speed is covered, legs are covered. Power? It will come, too."