De La Hoya closing in on local fight

LAS VEGAS -- Oscar De La Hoya is in the final stages of negotiations for a May 3 bout at the Home Depot Center in Carson, a so-called “fight for the fans” that will be televised on regular HBO and fought against former “Contender” runner-up Steve Forbes, sources said Saturday.

Richard Schaefer, chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions, said Saturday morning that Forbes’ pronouncements in an ESPN.com report that the fight has been finalized are premature.

“Ask him if he has a signed contract. He doesn’t,” Schaefer said.

Still, the promoter acknowledged East Los Angeles’ six-time world champion and 1992 Olympic gold medalist De La Hoya, 34, will fight for “the final time in Los Angeles,” at the Home Depot Center’s 27,000-seat soccer stadium.

Home Depot Center boxing matches, such as the Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight coming March 1, are typically fought in an adjoining tennis venue.

De La Hoya had previously expressed interest in fighting at Dodger Stadium, but Golden Boy Promotions’ business conversations with AEG officials on other deals led to the fight’s placement at Home Depot.

An HBO official added, “It’d be amazing if any element of the agreement fell apart at this point.” De La Hoya has routinely fought in pay-per-view bouts, but this will be an exception, as he prepares for a September rematch against unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr.

In Forbes, De La Hoya (38-5, 30 knockouts) will be fighting a 30-year respected journeyman who held the International Boxing Federation super-featherweight title from 2000 to 2002 and was runner-up to Grady Brewer by split decision in the 2006 reality TV series, “The Contender.”

Forbes (33-5, 9 KOs) was impressive in his last fight, gaining a split-decision triumph over former young star Francisco Bojado in an October Golden Boy Promotions card.

In March 2007, Forbes suffered a head-scratching unanimous decision loss to Golden Boy fighter Demetrius Hopkins in Las Vegas. Forbes won on most boxing writer’s scorecards, but Hopkins, the nephew of former middleweight champion and Golden Boy employee Bernard Hopkins, won by lopsided judges’ scores.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com