It seems every boxing commentator, writer or expert wants to express his or her two cents worth concerning the upcoming Bernard Hopkins-Oscar De La Hoya bout so I thought I may as well shed my thoughts on how I see things turning out! This certainly is one of the best matches made in recent times and it certainly has me more interested than when Oscar fought Trinidad, Quartey & Mosley or when Hopkins fought Trinidad. I am going to come out straight away and say I don't see how Oscar can beat a fully fit and motivated Bernard Hopkins. 'The Executioner' has so many advantages. Bernard's taller, naturally a bigger man, just as skilled as De la Hoya, stronger, in possession of a better chin and also has comparable speed. The only advantages De la Hoya has that I can see is that he is marginally quicker and younger, how much of a part these factors play, only time will tell. A lot of people are drawing comparison to the Hagler-Leonard super bout in 1987. Sure there are some similarities, but there are some major differences too. Hagler had not fought for 12 months after defeating John Mugabi in a very physically draining war. Hopkins has recently beaten Joppy & Allen easily without sustaining any physical damage. Hagler was foolish to fight orthodox for the first two rounds and he was also rusty! I sincerely doubt Hopkins will be rusty, I think he will probably be in the best shape of his life. I also think Hagler may have taken it for granted that Leonard would not be able to challenge him after such a long layoff. I would be very surprised if Hopkins underestimates De la Hoya. Bernard is in a position to look back and learn from Hagler's mistakes against Leonard. Also Hopkins is paranoid that he can't win a decision victory in this bout, so that means he will be looking to dominate and pummel him into submission. De la Hoya and others may think it will end up the same result as Hagler-Leonard but Hopkins moves around the ring very well and has the reach advantage over De la Hoya. Oscar found it hard to get through Ike Quartey's jab and perhaps Hopkins will work on that. A few things for De la Hoya to remember: 1.) Use your speed and get in quickly score some punches and get out before Hopkins counters and then run!  (Whilst I hate these kind of tactics, I can't see De la Hoya being successful any other way). 2.) Avoid a street fight, I figure De la Hoya will lose his cool and his game plan if Hopkins roughs him up. If this happens, it's all over for the Golden Boy. 3.) Don't go for a knockout. I seriously doubt that De la Hoya can hurt Hopkins, he couldn't hurt Felix Sturm so what chance does he have of hurting Hopkins? Oscar is an intelligent man, he probably knows he can't get a KO or TKO here, so he probably won't try for one. 4,) Try to dictate the pace of the fight. It is possible that De la Hoya can pull off a decision if Hopkins isn't aggressive and allows De la Hoya to dictate the pace. I don't see Hopkins letting this happen as he is a lot smarter than people give him credit for. I just hope De la Hoya doesn't turn this into a snoozefest. 5.) Watch Hopkins bout with Roy Jones Jnr, using those tactics is probably the only way to victory. Also watch his bouts with Antwun Echols & William Joppy and learn that getting into slugfest will not work against Hopkins. A few things for Hopkins to remember: 1.) Use the jab, boxers like De La Hoya lose their game plan when they are out jabbed. Quartey did this extremely well against De la Hoya. If Hopkins takes away one of De la Hoya's best weapons early on the battle will probably be won. 2.) Maintain constant pressure. De la Hoya either cannot or does not like to fight a full 3 minutes a round hard, he likes to save himself for later in the fight.  Want the win more. Mosley wanted victory more than De la Hoya and he came up with two wins over the Golden Boy. 3.) Use your speed & boxing skills first to upset De la Hoya's rhythm, then unleash your power and aggression and take Oscar into the trenches. 4.) When that 10 second signal is sounded, move away from De la Hoya as he likes to steal rounds in the last 10 seconds. Sugar Ray Leonard liked to use he same tactic. Felix Sturm did this VERY well in his bout with De la Hoya and from my perspective it clearly upset De la Hoya 's game plan. 5.) Review Oscar's bouts with Quartey, Mosley & Sturm. There are plenty of tactics these guys used that worked against De la Hoya. Even Oscar's victory over Oba Carr showed De la Hoya can be hit easily with a straight right hand by a clever boxer. Personally I think Hopkins will use a combination of the tactics he used against Joppy and Trinidad to gain victory. That is he will be looking to dictate the pace, a fast pace and bully De la Hoya ike he did against Joppy whilst subtly utilizing his boxing skills to halt De la Hoya 's counters. I also expect Hopkins to learn from Sturm and that is when De la Hoya tries to steal the round during the last 10 seconds, Hopkins will move away and not give Oscar the opportunity to steal a round (like Sugar Ray Leonard did). I don't think Hopkins will show De la Hoya the same respect he showed Trinidad as De la Hoya is not dangerous in the same fashion. With that said Oscar's game is a lot more versatile than Trinidad's, so De la Hoya is unlikely to be marching straight forward like Tito did (right into Hopkins' game plan). Also Oscar has a much better chin than Felix Trinidad, so I don't see this bout ending early. Some boxing writers suggest that Bernard Hopkins has more to lose than De la Hoya. Sure he wants his 20 Middleweight defenses but I think Hopkins will be very content with his payday of 10 Million regardless of the outcome. Even if Hopkins loses, Bernard is unlikely to be badly hurt in the process (apart from pride) and he could probably seek a rematch or go up to Super Middleweights and fight the likes of Calzache, Green, Lacy, Siaca or Mundine! Oscar on the other hand could be very badly hurt physically in this bout. True I am not a huge fan of Oscar De La Hoya, this is most likely very obvious. But despite avoiding Tszyu at 140 pounds and the fact I feel he should have lost on points to Quartey in their bout at 147 pounds, DLH has fought and generally beaten the best. He has yet to be overwhelmed or completely dominated by any opponent. Oscar can't be denied his due from me but he will be facing a man who fears the judges won't be fair on the point scoring system and I'm sure Hopkins will be hell bent on landing so manypunches that he won't have to worry about a bad decision or he will end up getting a TKO. My prediction is Oscar De la Hoya suffering a bloody 9th round TKO with the Golden Boy taking a similar beating to the one Hopkins handed William Joppy. I think we will see constant pressure from Hopkins and the 'Pretty One' will buckle when he can't hurt Hopkins or maintain a constant fast paced bout and can't run away effectively all night. Hopkins is faster on his feet than Trinidad and he will cut the ring off well from De la Hoya, he also has a reach advantage! I'm looking forward to this bout so much, I just hope Oscar does not spoil the spectacle like he did against Trinidad by running and refusing to engage in combat. I am hoping this bout will live up to everyone's entertainment expectations! Darren Yates 8-31-2004 Brought to you by Saratogamist copyright 2001-2004