BOXING Big bouts spell doom for Oscar De La Hoya

Bernard Hopkins knocked him out in Saturday's middleweight title fight.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
LAS VEGAS -- At 31, with major world championships in five divisions on his resume, Oscar De La Hoya only gets up for the mega-fights.
The problem is, he keeps losing them.
Saturday night's knockout defeat at the hands of Bernard Hopkins marked De La Hoya's fourth loss in his past five super bouts, including one to Felix Trinidad and two against Shane Mosley. The one exception was his 2002 TKO of Fernando Vargas.
De La Hoya remains the sport's most marketable figure -- his fights have generated well over $400 million in pay-per-view sales -- but it's hard to believe anything in the future will duplicate the buzz of his failed quest to gain the undisputed middleweight title.
Taking on the winner of the Oct. 2 clash between hard hitters Trinidad and Ricardo Mayorga might be intriguing, though it would require rival promoters Bob Arum and Don King to patch their bitter feud long enough to put together a deal. The last time they did, for De La Hoya-Trinidad in 1999, only confirmed their mutual dislike.
Another option
De La Hoya also could go after whoever comes out on top in the Nov. 20 Mosley-Winky Wright rematch, not that many are clamoring for such a bout. A second fight against Vargas could be more attractive if the former 154-pound champ can get his bloated self back into shape.
None of De La Hoya's close advisers expect him to retire right away. The sight of the Golden Boy gasping for air and wincing in pain hardly seems a fitting final image for such a charmed career.
Now Hopkins is focusing on cashing in on the biggest victory of his career. At 39 he wouldn't seem to have many chances left, but he remains a physical marvel whose considerable skills showed no sign of diminishing Saturday.
The 6-foot-1 Hopkins weighed in at 156 pounds, four below the division limit, and lightheartedly threatened to go after the junior middleweight belt afterward, probably sending waves of horror through the classification.
Ninth-round ending
The left hook he delivered just below De La Hoya's rib cage, ending a methodical fight in the ninth round, can best be described as a fluke shot, a blow that found a particularly vulnerable spot and essentially paralyzed his opponent.
Nonetheless, Hopkins had begun asserting himself in the seventh round after taking his time to size up De La Hoya, who had little chance of turning back the momentum of a fight that was quickly slipping away.
He simply lacked the strength to hurt Hopkins.
"He got adjusted to the new weight, it's just that he didn't bring his power up with him," said Hopkins, whose stated goal is a 20th defense of his middleweight crown.
Now the question he faces is whether he can bring his own power up to the 168- and 175-pound ranks, especially the latter. That's where encounters with Roy Jones Jr. -- the last man to beat him, in 1993 -- and current light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver await.