HOPKINS TAKES NOTHING FOR GRANTED.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES Boxing

Bernard Hopkins isn't one of the greatest middleweights in history because he is stupid.

He knows he is in danger each time he steps into the ring. When experts say neither Robert Allen nor Oscar De La Hoya stand a chance of defeating him in his next two fights, Hopkins doesn't listen.

``I'm not going to let anyone downplay anyone I fight,'' Hopkins said last week in a conference call.

Hopkins, the WBA, WBC and IBF champion, will fight Allen for the third time Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. De La Hoya will fight lightly-regarded WBO middleweight champion Felix Sturm in the main event.

The card will be available on pay-per-view television.

If Hopkins and De La Hoya win, they will fight each other Sept. 18, also at the MGM Grand. That fight could produce record pay-per-view numbers.

First up for Hopkins is Allen. The two fought to a four-round no contest Aug. 28, 1998. Allen was losing but holding his own until Hopkins was pushed out of the ring by referee Mills Lane, who was trying to break a clinch. Hopkins sprained an ankle and could not continue.

Hopkins stopped Allen in seven rounds in the rematch Feb. 6, 1999. Still, Hopkins is focused on Allen, not De La Hoya. Or so he says. For the record, Hopkins is scheduled to get about $11 million for the De La Hoya fight, which would be by far his biggest payday.

``What motivates me is that Robert Allen is trying to stop me from making $10-plus million to fight Oscar De La Hoya,'' Hopkins said. ``Robert Allen has everything to gain and nothing to lose. I never take no one lightly.''

A good example, Hopkins said, was his fight with Morrade Hakkar on March 29, 2003. Hakkar somehow was ranked No. 1 by the WBC, but he was bad. Hopkins knew that going in, so he took precautions.

``I stopped watching tapes of him,'' Hopkins said. ``Any person with any lack of discipline would have said, 'Why do I have to train? This guy can't beat me.' I had to stop watching tapes of him and start to watch tapes of some other guys.

``I had to pretend I wasn't fighting him. Watching that tape of him was painful. Never take anyone lightly.''

Hopkins stopped Hakkar in the eighth round.

Allen, 34, is better than Hakkar. As Hopkins pointed out, there is a reason Allen (36-4, 27 knockouts) is nicknamed ``Armed & Dangerous.''

Hopkins, 39, has made a record 17 middleweight title defenses. He has a goal of 20. Allen will be No. 18, De La Hoya No. 19.

Speaking of De La Hoya, Hopkins (43-2-1, 31 KOs) said he isn't paying attention to anyone who says De La Hoya has bitten off more than he can chew in signing to fight him.

De La Hoya has won world championships in five weight classes, and Saturday's bout will be his first as a middleweight. But De La Hoya (36-3, 29 KOs), even with all his success, has been known to get tired late in fights. Hopkins said he knows why.

``I believe the days of him tiring out in the later rounds are over because he is now at 160,'' said Hopkins, of Philadelphia. ``I believe for the last few years he was a middleweight.

``Look at his shoulders, at his face, at his neck. He has been fighting against the chemistry of his own body, so you can fade out. A lot of people are going to be surprised, but I'm not fooled.

``He is going to have endurance now because he didn't have to kill himself to get down to 154. Now when he has to dig down deep, it is going to be there.''

--Buy, Hopkins says: Hopkins was asked why viewers should spend money on Saturday's card when the semi-main and main events are expected to be blowouts.

De La Hoya's opponent, Sturm, is 20-0 but has just nine knockouts. The German has fought 18 fights in his home country and two in Hungary.

``The curiosity of someone losing and not making this fight (between him and De La Hoya) happen is going to sell tickets,'' Hopkins said.

--'Ghost' in the house: Robert ``The Ghost'' Guerrero will face world champion Enrique Sanchez (30-2-4, 21 KOs) of Mexico City on Thursday in Lincoln City, Ore. Showtime will televise the ``ShoBox'' card, a weekly series showcasing up-and-coming fighters.

Although Sanchez, 31, is more down-and-sinking, Guerrero certainly fits the bill of a fighter on the rise. Guerrero (12-0-1, five KOs), of Gilroy, is just 21. At 5-foot-10, he is extremely tall for a featherweight. He's also a southpaw.

--Unification bout: Erik Morales and Carlos ``Famous'' Hernandez will meet in a junior lightweight title unification bout July 31 at the MGM Grand.

Morales (46-1, 34 KOs), of Tijuana, Mexico, is the WBC champion. Hernandez (40-3-1, 24 KOs), of Bellflower via El Salvador, holds the IBF belt.

FIGHT SCHEDULE

Thursday

At Chinook Winds Casino and Convention Center, Lincoln City, Ore. (SHO), Robert Guerrero, Gilroy, vs. Enrique Sanchez, Mexico, 10, featherweights; Juan Carlos Ramirez, Mexico, vs. Jorge Martinez, Escondido, 12, for Ramirez's NABF featherweight title.

Friday

At Chinook Winds Casino and Convention Center, Lincoln City, Ore. (FSN), Keith Holmes, Washington, vs. Rodney Jones, Stockton, 12, for the NABF junior middleweight title.

At The Mid Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Chris Smith, Queens, N.Y., vs. Vinroy Barrett, Jamaica, 12, for Smith's NABA welterweight title.

At The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Juan Ruiz, Santa Clarita, vs. Ruben Estanislao, Mexico, 10, super bantamweights.

Saturday

At MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas (PPV), Felix Sturm, Germany, vs. Oscar de La Hoya, Los Angeles, 12, for Sturm's WBO middleweight title; Bernard Hopkins, Philadelphia, vs. Robert Allen, Stone Mountain, Ga., 12, for Hopkins' WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight titles; Juan Lazcano, El Paso, Texas, vs. Jose Luis Castillo, Mexico, 12, for the WBC interim lightweight title.

At the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center, Joplin, Miss. (SHO), Kassim Ouma, Palm Beach, Fla., vs. Verno Phillips, Troy, N.Y., 12, for the vacant IBF junior middleweight title; Jeff Lacy, St. Petersburg, Fla., vs. Vitali Tsypko, Ukraine, 12, for Lacy's WBC Continental Americas/North American and USBA super middleweight titles.

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FIGHT SCHEDULE (see text)