WITH DE LA HOYA AND TRINIDAD SET TO MEET, THE QUESTION IS...WHERE WILL THIS FIGHT RANK?

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Staff Writer

The parallels are striking.

Eighteen years ago, two remarkable welterweights - Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns - met here in one of the most important lower-weight fights of all time. One was a good-looking, charismatic Olympic gold-medal winner, the other a tall, fearsome knockout artist who seemed to be unbeatable.

On Saturday, it seems history will repeat itself - only with the names Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad on the marquee.

``It's almost eerie in terms of their styles,'' boxing television analyst Larry Merchant said.

However, does Saturday's energy-packed matchup truly rival the unforgettable 1981 bout or other bouts in an era graced with the once-in-a-lifetime foursome of Leonard, Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler?

Yes and no.

Yes, in terms of its place in boxing history and the record amount of money it will generate. De La Hoya and Trinidad are two of the three or four best fighters in the world and will be paid handsomely because of it.

No, in terms of impact on the general public. Even the casual sports fan was captivated by Leonard and Co. - who built their names on free television - while only De La Hoya among today's lot has managed to pierce the public consciousness.

At the very least, promoters have a great deal of work ahead if they hope to create anything resembling the earlier era.

``Can it happen again? I don't think so,'' Leonard said. ``I don' think it has the potential. Boxing at one time had true characters and personalities, marquee names.''

No one can argue that Saturday's fight isn't on par with Leonard-Hearns in terms of boxing.

The earlier group came along at the perfect time, when the heavyweight division was down. Muhammad Ali's career had just ended and boxing fans at the time were hungry for new heroes.

Leonard, America's darling after his Olympic success, had already faced Duran twice - including the famous ``no mas'' fight in which Leonard avenged an earlier loss - and the unbeaten Hearns had built a Tyson-like reputation by stopping 30 of his 32 opponents. It was a mesmerizing backdrop.

Fans in those days couldn't have asked for more. Certainly, the same can be said for Saturday.

In this case, both fighters have perfect records - De La Hoya 31-0 with 25 knockouts, Trinidad 35-0, (30 KOs) - and it's difficult to imagine either losing a fight. With the heavyweight division again in a slide, this is the best the sport has to offer.

At the very least, no two other fighters alive (with the possible exception of Mike Tyson) could create such intrigue.

ESPN magazine put it well in its calendar listing for Sept. 18: ``Last chance to see what boxing can be - before Evander (Holyfield) and Lennox (Lewis) remind you what it actually is.''

This bout is unparalleled in terms of economics.

Leonard and Hearns made huge paydays, particularly the time. Leonard took home an estimated $11 million, Hearns $5 million.

However, that's chump change compared to the amount of money generated in the pay-per-view era. De La Hoya could make more than $20 million when a percentage of pay-per-view buys are factored in, Trinidad well over $10 million.

Promoters Bob Arum and Don King and others involved in the promotion won't be hurting, either. Organizers are expecting a pay-per-view buy rate of at least a million, which would be considerably more than the number of people who saw Leonard-Hearns because that fight was televised primarily at closed-circuit venues. It would also break the nonheavyweight record of 760,000 established in the De La Hoya-Pernell Whitaker fight of 1997 but fall short of the estimated 2 million for Tyson-Holyfield II.

At $50 a buy, that's an automatic $50 million. And that's not counting closed-circuit or overseas profits, which promise to fill the deep pockets of those involved with even more cash.

Indeed, the only area in which Saturday's bout seems to fall short in comparison to Leonard's era is on the streets.

Leonard, as with De La Hoya today, was the key cog. Millions watched him win his gold medal on ABC and he continued to build his reputation on free TV. And he appealed to all ethnic groups - everyone followed his career.

The others - Hearns, Duran and Hagler - never claimed that kind of allegiance but were stars in their own right. Hearns had that alluring big-punch appeal, Hagler was a complete, seemingly immobile force and Duran was a legend.

And they all came along at the same time. They fought eight times among them - eight historic matchups in a span of nine years.

``Part of the definition of of greatness is who you rub up against in the ring. Each of those men made the others great,'' historian Bert Sugar said.

And today?

De La Hoya is the only star among a talented but relatively anonymous group of fighters in and around the welterweight division. And even

italhe is no Leonard.

Boxing wasn't a featured Olympic event by the time De La Hoya won America's only gold medal in 1992, although the Barcelona Games certainly was a significant springboard.

And while De La Hoya is signing more endorsement deals every day, his reach seems to be limited.

Experts say he's tremendously popular in the Latino market but not outside it. This is at least in part because his biggest fights have been seen only by hard-core boxing fans willing to pay exorbitant pay-per-view fees while his less-important fights have been televised on cable's HBO.

Beyond De La Hoya, there is a wasteland. While boxing fans and those in the business are well aware of Trinidad and his talents, few others knew who the Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican was before this fight.

Then there are the others in the deep, talented group of today: Ike Quartey, David Reid, Fernando Vargas and Shane Mosley. Again, boxing people are aware of the ability of these fine young fighters, but Vargas might be best known among casual fans because of his recent arrest for assault.

Without De La Hoya in the mix, no one would care.

``Free TV was such a huge vehicle,'' Leonard said. ``It was what really catapulted me to stardom. Fathers, mothers, kids, grandmothers, they all knew me from free TV.

``Now the fight fans who follow boxing are concentrated on pay-per-view. It's a different situation.''

Is there hope?

This match will give boxing what it needs: a megafight worth watching. The question is whether the powers that be will build on the momentum.

If he wins, will De La Hoya give Trinidad a rematch or face Reid or Vargas or Mosley? If Trinidad wins, will De La Hoya get his rematch? And will Quartey, Reid and Vargas - as well as other top welterweights - take the risk of fighting one another to build interest in themselves and the sport?

The idea is to create a series of meaningful bouts a la the '80s. That's what this group and boxing needs to recapture the interest of the mainstream sports fan who seems to have drifted away. However, that doesn't mean we'll ever see the likes of Leonard-Hearns-Duran-Hagler again.

``Nothing ever really duplicates itself,'' Merchant said. ``Leonard was the one who made the series happen. And you had Duran, who is considered one of the greatest fighters ever. Then you had Hearns, a knockout sensation. And then they all grew into Hagler's division (middleweight).

``Now it all depends on De La Hoya, win or lose - who he'll go after, whether there will be rematch. He will have fought three excellent fights in a row now (Quartey, Oba Carr and Trinidad). If that's how he wants to conduct his career and does well in this fight, then we could start to have something similar to the (Leonard) era. It's possible.''

But not likely.

STERLING SERIES

The Hall of Fame foursome of Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler fought eight fights among them.

Leonard-Duran I: June 20, 1980, Montreal, welterweight, Duran dec. Leonard slugs it out with a slugger and pays the price.

Leonard-Duran II: Nov. 25, 1980, New Orleans, welterweight, Leonard KO 8. Duran says ``no mas'' after Leonard makes a fool of him for seven-plus rounds.

Leonard-Hearns I: Sept 16, 1981, Las Vegas, welterweight, Leonard KO 14. Leonard, down on all cards, rallies in one of history's greatest fights.

Duran-Hagler: Nov. 10, 1983, Las Vegas, middleweight, Hagler dec. Duran gives Hagler a suprisingly tough time and is never hurt but comes up short.

Duran-Hearns: June 15, 1984, Las Vegas, middleweight, Hearns KO 2. Hearns is the only fighter to take apart a still-near-his-prime Duran.

Hearns-Hagler: April 15, 1985, Las Vegas, middleweight, Hagler KO 3. One of the most exciting - albeit shortest - brawls in history.

Leonard-Hagler: April 6, 1987, Las Vegas, middleweight, Leonard dec. Leonard returns from hiatus to shock the world in perhaps his finest moment.

Leonard-Hearns II: June 12, 1989, Las Vegas, middleweight, draw. Hearns should've won a close decision in a fight that paled compared to its predecessor.

CAPTION(S):

box, 10 photos

PHOTO (1 -- 5) Marvelous Marvin Hagler; Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard in a stare-down in 1987; a victorious Leonard after beating Tommy Hearns in 1981; Roberto Duran; Hearns.

(6 -- 7 -- color) Felix Trinidad after a victory over Freddie Pendleton in 1996; Oscar De La Hoya after defeating Oba Carr last May.

(8) no caption (Sugar Ray Leonard and opponent in ring)

(9 -- 10) Oscar De La Hoya meets Felix Trinidad Saturday in Las Vegas.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

BOX: Sterling Series (see text)