HOPKINS: I HAVE A PLAN.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES BOXING

Bernard Hopkins lived up to his nickname ``The Executioner'' when he stopped Felix Trinidad Jr. in the 12th round in September 2001.

Hopkins, at 41, no longer is that fighter. He has gone 6-2 since then with only three knockouts.

Two of those knockouts came against Morrade Hakkar and Carl Daniels, hardly world-beaters. The other came against a blown-up Oscar De La Hoya.

All of which means Hopkins, one of the great middleweights of the past 25years, would appear to have little chance of moving up two weight classes and defeating Antonio Tarver, the people's light heavyweight champion, tonight in Atlantic City.

Hopkins, however, said last week during a conference call that he has a foolproof plan that will enable him to come up with perhaps the most unlikely victory of a fabulous career that includes 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses.

Hopkins, of course, would not get into the specifics of that plan.

``Well, I think the unknown is always a problem for the person that don't know,'' Hopkins said. ``I don't think he (Tarver) knows what to think. And I think that's to my advantage, because I would rather know something than not know anything.''

It would seem Hopkins' only chance is to stick and move and try to steer clear of the hard-hitting Tarver, who, even at 37, still is in his prime.

Tarver (24-3, 18 KOs) has had only 27 fights and he never really has been beaten up. All three of his defeats were via decision.

Whatever Hopkins does, he said he is certain it will result in victory.

Tarver, the fans in attendance at Boardwalk Hall and those watching on television might be stunned. Hopkins and his co-trainers Naazim Richardson and John David Jackson apparently won't be.

``In my corner, we won't be jumping up and down like something dramatic happened,'' Hopkins said. ``When I say no emotions, it will be no shock for us.''

Hopkins (46-4-1, 32 KOs) is one of the more intelligent fighters to have graced the ring in decades. Not only does he have the task of staying away from Tarver's tremendous power, but he also has to deal with that power coming from the southpaw.

Jackson, a left-hander who retired in 1999, was knocked out by Hopkins in the seventh round in a challenge to Hopkins' International Boxing Federation middleweight belt in April 1997. Jackson said that Tarver being a southpaw really is of no concern to Hopkins.

``There are not many things that you have to really work on with Bernard,'' Jackson said. ``He has had great success in his career with southpaws in general. The adjustments aren't huge adjustments.''

Tarver is having none of this. He believes that regardless of what Hopkins has accomplished, none of it will mean a thing when the two square off.

``I promise, you will never have seen what you are going to see (tonight) at any time in Bernard Hopkins' career,'' Tarver said. ``You will never have seen him out-manned, out- depthed, out-strengthed, out-boxed and out-classed in a straight, flat knockout.''

The bottom line, Tarver said, is that Hopkins has bitten off more than he can chew.

``My whole thing is that he is not used to carrying that weight around,'' Tarver said. ``When we get in close and I let my hands go, he is going to have to move around and carry that weight. I don't know what Bernard is going to do, what he is going to have, to defend his stuff against me.

``That's the question: What is he going to do when he gets smacked with my right, with my body and combination punches? He has never felt anything like that before. We're going to find out early on how bad he wants it and what he is willing to go through to get it.''

No matter what Hopkins has planned, we can be sure it is not a toe-to-toe battle. He has no chance in that scenario. He's moving from 160 to 175 pounds -- both fighters weighed in at 174 pounds Friday -- against a fantastic fighter.

And in the other corner ... er, channel

There is an alternative to Antonio Tarver-Bernard Hopkins tonight.

That would be the junior welterweight title fight between World Boxing Organization champion Miguel Cotto and challenger Paul Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden in NewYork.

Yes, it is weird that there are two pay-per-view cards on the same night at the same time, 6 p.m., but all we have to tell you is that the respective promoters, Oscar De La Hoya (Tarver-Hopkins) and Bob Arum (Cotto-Malignaggi), are bitter enemies.

Arum's card could be better, top to bottom. Unfortunately, the main event could be similar to Tarver-Hopkins in that you have one fighter, Cotto, who will be searching for a knockout while the other, Malignaggi, will probably be looking to stick and move and stay out of harm's way.

Cotto, of Puerto Rico, is 26-0 with 22knockouts and just a vicious puncher. Malignaggi, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is 21-0 but has only five knockouts. Both fighters are 25.

Cotto has made five successful title defenses, all by knockout. He is an established star. Malignaggi is getting his first taste of the big stage. Interestingly, Malignaggi is the one talking most of the trash.

``I approach every fight the same way,'' Malignaggi said. ``Miguel Cotto is nothing different. He is nothing special to me. He is world champion, but when you bring out the best in Paul Malignaggi, it doesn't matter how strong Miguel Cotto comes.

``Doing all the talking is what got me here. I think he (Cotto) is a one-dimensional fighter who knows how to punch but doesn't know how to fight. I am going to expose him for what he is.''

Cotto said he likes Malignaggi's attitude. He figures it will result in more pay-per-view buys.

``He doesn't have the power nor the courage to knock me out,'' Cotto said. ``But I do have to commend him for selling himself as a viable opponent for me. He is making up all this stuff he is going to do to me, and people want to see if he is going to be able to do it. I think that is good for the fight.''

Both fighters weighed in Friday at 138 1/4 pounds, less than the 140-pound limit.

Etc.

Oscar De La Hoya is expected to make an announcement regarding his future today. De La Hoya, who is promoting tonight's light heavyweight fight between Antonio Tarver and Bernard Hopkins in Atlantic City, will either retire or fight one more time, probably against Floyd Mayweather Jr. ... Hopkins has made a big deal out of trying to do something that Sugar Ray Robinson could not do: move from middleweight to light heavyweight and win a championship. The circumstances are not quite the same, however. Robinson had just defended his world middleweight title with a third-round knockout of Rocky Graziano in April 1952 prior to moving up to challenge Joey Maxim for the world light heavyweight championship. Hopkins is coming off two consecutive losses to Jermain Taylor. Also, Robinson only lost to Maxim because he was suffering from heat prostration, courtesy of 104-degree heat at Yankee Stadium. Robinson was well ahead on all three scorecards, but could not answer the bell for the 14th round of the June 1952 fight. ... The main undercard bout for Tarver-Hopkins is Israel Vazquez of Mexico defending his International Boxing Federation super bantamweight belt against countryman Ivan Hernandez.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Bernard Hopkins, at age 41, is moving up two weight classes to challenge Antonio Tarver for the light middleweight championship.

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

(2) Miguel Cotto, left, and Bob Arum

Box:

HOPKINS vs. TARVER