Wins by Oscar, Hopkins set up ‘big one’

Dean Juipe

Monday, June 7, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

Oscar De La Hoya has won and lost a number of close fights in Las Vegas, but none was closer than his Saturday bout against Felix Sturm.

Sturm landed more punches and, visually, presented the fresher face as the fight progressed, yet De La Hoya put the fight in the win column by the slimmest of margins: a unanimous decision on the strength of three 115-113 scores from the assigned judges.

The Sun scorecard favored Sturm by a 115-113 count.

"What can I say?" a composed and reserved Sturm said afterward. "I think I gave it my best. I think I was the tougher guy. I was stronger. I was smarter. I think the better shots were mine."

So did many in the 13,041 audience in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, yet few complained as the card's star and unmistakable attraction won a fight that allows him to advance to another. De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins, who defeated Robert Allen in a companion middleweight fight on the same card, are now scheduled to fight Sept. 18 at the same site.

"I have to admit I underestimated Felix Sturm," De La Hoya said later. "I have no excuses whatsoever. He was a game fighter and things happen in the ring that you don't expect.

"He took me off my game plan."

De La Hoya's game plan was evident from the opening bell -- he wanted to brawl. He came out fast and attempted to end the fight in quick fashion, in part to bolster his own stock and in part to offset the crowd's lethargy that carried over from the lackluster 12-round bout between Hopkins and Allen.

But Sturm was blocking shots with a formidable two-hands-up defense that had De La Hoya bending at the waist and peeking for openings. While De La Hoya clearly won the bulk of the opening rounds, when the fight heated up during the second half it was Sturm who was connecting as frequently and, arguably, with more authority.

"Oscar got hit too much," offered Mike Tyson, who made the rounds in the postfight media room and readily answered any and all questions. "I thought he lost."

Promoter Bob Arum, who hit the roof when De La Hoya dropped a close decision to Shane Mosley last September at the MGM, was pacified by this decision yet not exactly convincing in his assessment of the fight.

"I had it 8 rounds to 4, or maybe 7 rounds to 5 for Oscar," he said. "I had Oscar comfortably ahead early and I was never concerned because I knew he had a big early lead."

Maybe so, but the evidence at hand seemed to favor Sturm. He not only landed 234 punches to De La Hoya's 188, he was uncut and all but unmarked while De La Hoya's puffy face appeared as if he'd fallen from the roller coaster at Buffalo Bill's.

"I have a few pains here and there, but it's no big deal," De La Hoya said gamely, choosing to show up at the postfight press conference without a sunglasses disguise that many fighters utilize. "We'll be fine."

But he did say he had been visiting a chiropractor before the fight and that his hands -- a perennial problem -- and shoulder were hurting.

"I fought hard," he said. "I didn't think I'd have to because we didn't think Felix had that type of experience."

De La Hoya wins the lightly regarded World Boxing Organization middleweight title and raises his record to 37-3. Sturm -- who has been promised another fight on HBO and who acquitted himself extremely well during his first trip to America -- drops to 20-1 but looks as if he's a legitimate championship contender.

The same can no longer be said for Allen, who appeared intimidated at times by Hopkins and who barely registered on the fans' radar screens after connecting on a mere 71 punches during the fight.

"It wasn't my night," he said before predicting that De La Hoya would defeat Hopkins in September.

"Oscar's a better boxer than I am and he's going to make it a point to not stand there in front of Bernard," Allen added. "He's going to make Bernard use his legs more than I did."

Hopkins won by 12, 12 and 8 points on the judges' cards. The Sun card had him up by 10.

Allen falls from sight with a 36-5 record and Hopkins improves to 44-2-1 while retaining his International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council championships at 160 pounds. Those three belts plus De La Hoya's WBO crown will make the Sept. 18 fight the first ever in which all four titles will be simultaneously on the line.

"It was an interesting night," Hopkins said, apologetic that he didn't fight with his usual abandon. "I didn't want to be the one who didn't come through. I had a lot of pressure on me."

He said he would treat De La Hoya as if the Golden Boy was still in his prime.

"I'll be ready for the big fight," he said. "I won't be fooled or led to believe Oscar is on the decline or is going to fight me like he did Sturm."