Steve Forbes not just a contender

Pay no mind to the sports book, Steve Forbes insists.

Certainly, he didn't look at the odds himself as he was leaving training camp in Las Vegas en route to L.A. for Saturday night's fight against Oscar De La Hoya.

The 35-year-old De La Hoya is a staggering 18-to-1 favorite, according to the MGM/Mirage sports book.

"Somebody forgot to tell me that," Forbes (33-5, nine knockouts) said this week as he concluded preparations for the bout at the Home Depot Center's soccer stadium in Carson. "I'm coming to win."

Forbes, 31, is a former world super-featherweight champion who has never been knocked down. He contends he is the more skilled fighter, and also said he believes he holds the big underdog's psychological edge.

Not only is his nickname, "2 Pounds," a nod to his birth weight but it also serves as a reminder that long odds should be defied. "When people don't expect a lot of you, you can accomplish more," he said.

Forbes was raised in Portland, Ore. In his teens, he befriended a professional boxer in a local gym and became riveted, watching the fighter's library of boxing videos. Forbes once told the Oregonian that he saw boxing as a chance to break from a demoralizing youth spent on the smallish side.

"Everybody was extra gentle, and I didn't like that," he said. "I'm just as tough as everybody else."

In his later teens, he was directed to Las Vegas to fight under the guidance of the Mayweather brothers, Floyd Sr. and Roger.

The ongoing Mayweather family drama has, as expected, spilled into this fight too, with De La Hoya reuniting with Floyd Sr. as his trainer for this fight, and welterweight champion Floyd Jr. demanding that his trainer, his uncle Roger, resign as Forbes' trainer mid-camp to avoid spoiling another epic payday with De La Hoya, scheduled in September. Roger did just that.

Forbes quickly hired a new trainer -- Jeff Mayweather, brother of Floyd Sr. and Roger.

"Me and Roger still talk all the time, the game plan is still the same," Forbes said. "It's just been passed on to Jeff. I didn't want any problems. I know it's a touchy situation, but of course Roger wants me to do well. He said to me not too long ago, 'You know the plan we had coming in? Don't change it. You know how to fight, I know you're ready.' "