LOOKING IN ON: BOXING

Saturday, July 14, 2007 | 7:06 a.m.

The promotional title of a prizefight is usually relegated to the status of an afterthought, all but ignored by boxing fans.

This one has attracted some attention, though.

They're calling next Saturday's 170-pound showdown between veterans Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright "Coming to Fight," a tagline that critics wondered about. Was it an example of Orwellian newspeak, or a preemptive attack against cynics who thought "Coming to Dance Around," or "Coming to Clinch" might be more appropriate?

Hopkins, a sure first-ballot Hall of Famer, held the world middleweight title for 10 years before losing two close fights to Jermain Taylor and moving up to light heavyweight. At age 42, he remains one of his sport's most technically sound - and charismatic - athletes.

Wright has been a perennial presence at or near the top of the list of boxing's best fighters, pound-for-pound, especially since his two victories in world championship fights against Shane Mosley in 2004.

Despite the impressive individual resumes, given their tactical, calculated styles, Hopkins-Wright figures to unfold at a slow, deliberate pace at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. For boxing purists, terrific. For mainstream fans, not so much.

The principals have spent their prefight publicity appearances trying to convince the sport's observers, and potential pay-per-view customers, that it won't be a boring fight. Really, it won't.

"Back in the day, I was a slick boxer, stick and move, dance around and win the fight easily, and nobody could touch me," said Wright (51-3-1, 25 knockouts) , explaining that he has become a more aggressive puncher in recent bouts after TV executives suggested his style wasn't fan-friendly.

"I just wanted to change it up and be a more mobile fighter, where I guess the fans can enjoy it, where I give people a chance to hit me. So , you know, there's more heightened (excitement) for the fans and for me, it's enabling me to get closer to hit them a little harder to the body, and it's more of an enjoyable type of fight."

Hopkins, working with two-time trainer of the year Freddie Roach at Roach's Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles for the first time in his career, promised to force the action and make Wright cave.

"It's Bernard Hopkins who's going to bring the show, who makes the show what it is, and that's what people are going to come to watch," said Hopkins (47-4-1, 32 KOs) .

"I can go full blaze. I can go full blazing. If you believe what Winky says, (that) he's coming right after Bernard Hopkins, then trust me, you will see come July 21 that I'll have a high punch count ... That's what they're going to see."

We'll find out next Saturday night whether they both protest too much.

Mixed messages

Great moments from the official Bernard Hopkins conference call transcript:

In the tradition of Hopkins dismissing certain fighters as belonging to the "bum with a muff" club (probably supposed to be "bum of the month") on the transcript of an interview leading to a previous fight, the buildup to the Wright fight yielded a couple of new gems:

I think he's mixing his caped crusaders: Underdog, the canine with glasses, and Mighty Mouse, the rodent who came to save the day. But I get his point.

Replace "soft pole" with "southpaw" and the meaning of the quote changes significantly.

Red, white and green

Golden Boy Promotions, the lead promoter of Hopkins-Wright, is also behind an HBO pay- per- view card that has been announced for Sept. 15, the eve of Mexican Independence Day , at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. In the main event, Juan Manuel Marquez takes on challenger Jorge Barrios in a world super featherweight title fight. The undercard is scheduled to include a middleweight fight between Kassim Ouma and Sergio Mora, and a super lightweight bout between Francisco "Panchito" Bojado and Steve Forbes. Tickets are $50 to $300.

Marquez (47-3-1, 35 KOs) of Mexico City won his second world championship by beating Marco Antonio Barrera in March at Mandalay Bay. Barrios (47-3-1, 34 KOs) of Argentina is coming off a knockout of Decho Bankluaygym in Buenos Aires.

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