We've seen it many times. Bernard Hopkins walks slowly but purposefully towards the ring, wearing a leather executioner-style mask as the lone, macabre chime of a bell sounds throughout the arena. It is the death knell, a gloomy forecast of things to come for the poor victim already waiting inside the ring. Hopkins makes his way up the ring stairs and upon reaching the apron, turns to the crowd and makes the letter 'X' with his forearms before making a slashing gesture towards his neck.

Then he goes to work.

So does Oscar De La Hoya, the 'Golden Boy', America's Swetheart, really stand a chance of upsetting the long-reigning and undisputed middleweight champ? Or is he just showing up for his own execution?

There has been plenty of hype leading up to this Saturday night's fight at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Some of it is relevant, some superfluous. What it all boils down to is two great champions standing at opposite ends of the ring from eachother, ready to do battle in order to further legitimate their own legacies. So let's cut through all the rhetoric and cut to the chase of this monumental fight which promoter Bob Arum has dubbed, "Quest For History".

Oscar De La Hoya, 37-3 (29), is 31-years-old and stands 5'11". He has won titles in five different weight classes, from junior lightweight to junior middleweight, but hasn't beaten anyone of significance since knocking out Fernando Vargas in September of 2002. Contrary to what many experts say, his defence and hand speed has not improved, and he has shown during the Vargas, Shane Mosley and Felix Sturm fights that he tires down the stretch.

In his last fight with Sturm, his first as a middleweight, he looked bloated at 160 pounds and couldn't find a solution to Sturm's simple but effective jab-and-cover strategy. He claims to have "seen" something in Hopkins that allows him to believe he can beat him, and stands to make upwards of $30 million for the fight.

Bernard Hopkins, 44-2-1 (31), is 39 and stands 6'2". He has been a middleweight his entire pro career and hasn't lost a fight in 11 years when Roy Jones decisioned him in 1993. He is always in superior physical condition and his work ethic is never in doubt. He gave a career-defining performance in September 2001 when he KO'd Felix Trinidad in the 12th round, and his most recent fights versus William Joppy and Robert Allen were lopsided decision victories. He is an old-school, hardcore boxer-puncher with more tools than your average mechanic, but has trouble handling speed (of which De La Hoya has plenty) and has not even come close to fighting the level of quality opposition that De La Hoya has. In a live interview via satellite with De La Hoya last Saturday, he said he was going to "lay him out", and he stands to make over $10 million for the fight, by far his biggest payday to date.

So why is Hopkins going to beat De La Hoya? because Oscar can't handle the weight at 160, and Bernard has been a middleweight his whole career. Because De La Hoya seemed unsettled and unfocused when answering HBO's Jim Lampley's questions, while Hopkins was confident and aggressive. Because when Hopkins says he has more than one gameplan, you tend to believe him, while Oscar choses his words carefully and seems less enthused and sincere about a fight than he ever has in his entire career. Because De La Hoya has made no secret over the years that he's tired of training, and $40 million is a great motivational speaker. Because De La Hoya doesn't move the way he used to in his early years and amateur days. And because the Oscar De La Hoya we saw against Vargas and Mosley can not get any better. De La Hoya will need to execute the performance of a lifetime, or Bernard Hopkins will execute him.

It will be a close, competitive fight, but De La Hoya will lose. He will get roughed up and knocked down, but not out. He will have his moments too, and will make Hopkins look his age. He will make it to the final bell, because he has heart, and because he is a great champion, but it will not be enough.

For the bell tolls for Oscar De La Hoya, and when the dust settles, Bernard Hopkins, having executed the perfect plan, will still be the undisputed middleweight champion of the world.