TAKE FIVE: BERNARD HOPKINS VS. WINKY WRIGHT

Saturday, July 21, 2007 | 7:23 a.m.

Principals: Bernard Hopkins (47-4-1, 32 KOs) vs. Winky Wright (51-3-1, 25 KOs), 170 pounds, 12 scheduled rounds

At stake: The Ring magazine light heavyweight title

Time/site: Today at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Doors open 3:30 p.m. Pay-per-view broadcast begins 6 p.m.

Tickets: $100 to $850, mandalaybay.com

TV: HBO pay- per- view ($49.95 suggested retail price)

Promoter: Golden Boy Promotions in association with Winky Promotions

Featured undercard bout: Oscar Larios (59-5-1, 37 KOs) vs. Jorge Linares (23-0, 14 KOs), 12 rounds, WBC interim featherweight championship

Betting line: Wright minus-145

1. Old but good

Owing to an ability to avoid punches in the ring throughout his superb career and an intense training regimen outside the ring, Bernard Hopkins remains one of the sport's best-conditioned boxers at age 42. New trainer Freddie Roach, who took over when Brother Nazim Richardson of Hopkins' hometown of Philadelphia suffered a stroke, praised Hopkins' rigorous routine. "He lives a disciplined life," Roach said. "He doesn't eat junk food. He doesn't let his weight fluctuate, and he takes care of his body. He's a very fresh 42."

2. Choosing a challenge

The former undisputed world middleweight champ who defended his title a record 20 times, Hopkins is coming off an upset unanimous-decision victory against Antonio Tarver at light heavyweight last year in Atlantic City. His boxing legacy secure, Hopkins agreed to fight Winky Wright, a talented and tricky boxer who fights from a southpaw stance, at a "catch weight" of 170 pounds. "Winky Wright is a guy that nobody likes to fight," Hopkins said. "Bernard Hopkins has always been a guy to take the tough road and a hard road. Winky Wright is the guy that I chose, not because I thought it was going to be easy, because it's not, and I know that I have to look good, where he makes you look bad."

3. 'Tito' and Taylor

Felix "Tito" Trinidad's only two losses (to 42 career wins) came to Hopkins in 2001 and to Wright in 2005. Trinidad is picking Wright to win tonight, but his prediction was probably influenced by his friendship with Wright , which developed after their fight, a 12-round unanimous decision for Wright. Current middleweight champ Jermain Taylor beat Hopkins twice and believes he beat Wright in a bout last year that was scored a draw. Taylor called tonight's fight a "tossup," but said neither man has showed him any knockout power. "If Winky comes out with the same kind of fight that he used with me in the first round, I believe he'll win," Taylor said. "If he don't, and he lets Hopkins dictate the fight, it's going to be Hopkins' fight."

4. Tough talk

Wright, a former junior middleweight world champ, prepared for Hopkins with his longtime trainer Dan Birmingham at the Round One Gym in Las Vegas. "I've been putting it in his head that Bernard is going to be the best tactical fighter that you fought, the strongest guy that you're going to fight and the toughest guy you're going to fight," Birmingham said. Wright, 35, hasn't lost since dropping a majority decision to Fernando Vargas in 1999. "My job is to go into the ring and dominate my opponent, and that's what I'm going to do" against Hopkins, he said. "He's going back to the retirement home. He should have stayed there."

5. Career renaissance?

Hopkins figures to have size and strength advantages in tonight's bout even if he's giving away a few years. As Hopkins tries to extend what he considers a second act of his boxing career, he's confident yet ambivalent about becoming known as a "senior citizen" who embarrasses his younger counterparts by beating them up. "I think it would be a really great accomplishment for me and a lot of other people that say 40 years old is not a death sentence," Hopkins said.