Thursday, May 1, 2003 | 9:45 a.m.
The likely mismatch is evident in the divergent amount of money each man is being paid.
Oscar De La Hoya is set to receive $8 million for his Saturday fight with Luis "Yory Boy" Campas at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, while Campas gets a mere $100,000 according to contracts filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
De La Hoya is also a lopsided betting favorite, up at a minus 3500 in the sports book at the host site.
Campas is a plus 1500.
Bettors don't expect a long fight either, as it's a minus 220 that the scheduled 12-round bout won't exceed 6 1/2 rounds and a plus 180 that it will.
Even Campas agrees that a knockout is foreseeable.
"The fight will end by knockout," he said Wednesday through an interpreter.
"For you?" was the next question.
"Yes," Campas replied with a smile.
Whatever hope Campas has of having his prediction come true rests with the "puncher's chance" he brings into a bout that will have De La Hoya's World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association junior middleweight championships on the line.
In decline or not, Campas is 80-5 with a startling 68 knockouts.
De La Hoya is 35-2 with 28 KOs.
Campas, 31, is only a year older than De La Hoya yet their odometers are hardly similar. Yory Boy began his pro career in 1987, while the Golden Boy debuted in 1992.
"He's been a good fighter for a long time and people always wanted to see us fight," De La Hoya said of the reasons behind the bout, which expects to attract a sold-out crowd and a decent pay-per-view audience.
"For many years I was told I'd have to fight Yory Boy someday," De La Hoya added. "People in Mexico have talked about it a lot."
Campas is a slugger with solid credentials and a former world champion, yet it's also believed he's past his prime and won't be anywhere near quick enough to deal with De La Hoya. All of Campas' five losses were stoppages, including one last year in Las Vegas at the hands of Daniel Santos.
"I've trained for two months for this fight and I'm in the best shape of my career," Campas said. "I've never felt so ready for a fight.
"I'm ready to die in the ring if I have to."
Given that he's susceptible to swelling and cuts, the ringside physicians may keep Campas from taking too much abuse. Nonetheless, he comes into the fight knowing what's in front of him.
"If somebody can beat Oscar, that's going to be the biggest win of their career," he said. "I've got a shot -- and I've got more than one punch. I've got a lot of combinations."
De La Hoya says he won't be taking any gambles.
"I'm not going to stand there and trade with him too much," he said. "I'm going to try and hit him and move and get out of there.
"If anyone's expecting me to throw caution to the wind and just get into a slugfest, they're wrong."
Vic Drakulich has been assigned to referee the fight, with Arthur Mercante Sr., Tom Kazmarek and Paul Smith appointed as judges.
Only a few hundred tickets are still available, said a Mandalay Bay representative.
Those choosing to see the fight on pay-per-view will have to pony up $50, while those in Las Vegas looking to watch it via closed circuit will be charged $40. Twelve sites in Southern Nevada will have the fight on closed circuit, with some 14,000 general-admission seats available.
"Oscar is the biggest draw in boxing," said promoter Bob Arum. "Name anyone else and Oscar exceeds them all."
With that in mind, Arum has already signed De La Hoya and Shane Mosley for a Sept. 13 fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. That fight's on no matter what happens Saturday, yet De La Hoya wants to make sure he comes in off a victory.
"I need to win and look good against Campas," he said. "I'm taking this fight seriously because if I don't, who would want to see me fight Mosley?"
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