Felix Trinidad Boxer News
Felix Trinidad
A phrase I read more frequently when fighting pundits discuss the career of Oscar de la Hoya is that'he hasn't defeated a great champion in his prime.' it is a debatable statement to direct at a six division champion who is also the most financially successful non-heavyweight of modern times, having been involved many of the best fights of the last twenty years. I usually find such statements at least a little dubious, not the least because it is often the job of a reporter to stir the pot by making a controversial statement. Also, it always seems that the higher a man rises, the more some folk will try and deny what he has accomplished. However , the writers who make this claim are as acquainted with the main points of de la Hoya's career as i am , so I'll not take the path of reviewing de la Hoya's past opponents. Instead, I'll examine the career of one of de la Hoya's previous rivals : Felix'Tito' Trinidad. Nobody denigrates'Tito' by saying he never faced and defeated a great fighter in his prime, so let us take some instruction from his career.
He was only 20 years old. However , Blocker himself could hardly be called a'great champion;' he fought only twice more after Trinidad against non-descript opposition and then retired.
Trinidad was signed with Don King, who has a practice of only listening to fighters like Trinidad when he is not dominating his bread and butter, the heavyweight division. Campas wouldn't win a title till he moved up to 154lbs, at that time a feeble division. Trinidad even toyed with moving up to 154 himself in those days, fighting an eliminator for the WBC belt held by Terry Norris in 1997.
In Feb 1999, Trinidad fought Pernell Whittaker, winning a lopsided decision victory against the slick defensive master. However , by that time, Whittaker was extraordinarily far past his game. His close loss to de le Hoya had been almost 2 years before, and it had been more than a year since his tune-up fight with Andrei Pastraev. He fought only once more, losing by knockout to an unknown in 2001.
The Mega-Fight : Oscar de la Hoya
At best, he got away with a particularly close, disputed win over a great fighter in his prime.
He moved up to 154lbs, and took away the WBA title from previous Olympian David Reid. He then met Fernando Vargas, knocking out'El Feroz' in the twelve th and final round in an explosive bout. However , was either Reid or Vargas truly good champions? Reid definitely wasn't. Before Trinidad, his two opponents of note were fringe contenders Laurent Bouduani and Keith Mullings.
Middleweight Waterloo
Don King then set up the unification series for the middleweight title, including Felix Trinidad. In May 2001, he challenged two-time WBA middleweight champion William Joppy in his first fight at 160lbs, knocking out Joppy at Madison Square Garden in 5 rounds. That set the scene for the confrontation with long-reigning IBF middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. Out boxed and roughed up,'Tito' lost by 12 th round knockout.
Felix Trinidad has enjoyed an illustrious career, and deserves his reputation and legion of Puerto Rican fans. However , it is beyond question that the sole great fighter in his prime that Trinidad ever scored a win over was Oscar de la Hoya, and that win remains questionable and contested to this very day.
So what does this mean for Oscar de la Hoya, and all of the critics who say Oscar'never beat a great fighter in his prime?' Simply this : the more you achieve, the more the critics try to tear you down.
For more information on the greates living boxer Felix Trinidad check out felixtrinidad.com
A phrase I read more frequently when fighting pundits discuss the career of Oscar de la Hoya is that'he hasn't defeated a great champion in his prime.' it is a debatable statement to direct at a six division champion who is also the most financially successful non-heavyweight of modern times, having been involved many of the best fights of the last twenty years. I usually find such statements at least a little dubious, not the least because it is often the job of a reporter to stir the pot by making a controversial statement. Also, it always seems that the higher a man rises, the more some folk will try and deny what he has accomplished. However , the writers who make this claim are as acquainted with the main points of de la Hoya's career as i am , so I'll not take the path of reviewing de la Hoya's past opponents. Instead, I'll examine the career of one of de la Hoya's previous rivals : Felix'Tito' Trinidad. Nobody denigrates'Tito' by saying he never faced and defeated a great fighter in his prime, so let us take some instruction from his career.
He was only 20 years old. However , Blocker himself could hardly be called a'great champion;' he fought only twice more after Trinidad against non-descript opposition and then retired.
Trinidad was signed with Don King, who has a practice of only listening to fighters like Trinidad when he is not dominating his bread and butter, the heavyweight division. Campas wouldn't win a title till he moved up to 154lbs, at that time a feeble division. Trinidad even toyed with moving up to 154 himself in those days, fighting an eliminator for the WBC belt held by Terry Norris in 1997.
In Feb 1999, Trinidad fought Pernell Whittaker, winning a lopsided decision victory against the slick defensive master. However , by that time, Whittaker was extraordinarily far past his game. His close loss to de le Hoya had been almost 2 years before, and it had been more than a year since his tune-up fight with Andrei Pastraev. He fought only once more, losing by knockout to an unknown in 2001.
The Mega-Fight : Oscar de la Hoya
At best, he got away with a particularly close, disputed win over a great fighter in his prime.
He moved up to 154lbs, and took away the WBA title from previous Olympian David Reid. He then met Fernando Vargas, knocking out'El Feroz' in the twelve th and final round in an explosive bout. However , was either Reid or Vargas truly good champions? Reid definitely wasn't. Before Trinidad, his two opponents of note were fringe contenders Laurent Bouduani and Keith Mullings.
Middleweight Waterloo
Don King then set up the unification series for the middleweight title, including Felix Trinidad. In May 2001, he challenged two-time WBA middleweight champion William Joppy in his first fight at 160lbs, knocking out Joppy at Madison Square Garden in 5 rounds. That set the scene for the confrontation with long-reigning IBF middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. Out boxed and roughed up,'Tito' lost by 12 th round knockout.
Felix Trinidad has enjoyed an illustrious career, and deserves his reputation and legion of Puerto Rican fans. However , it is beyond question that the sole great fighter in his prime that Trinidad ever scored a win over was Oscar de la Hoya, and that win remains questionable and contested to this very day.
So what does this mean for Oscar de la Hoya, and all of the critics who say Oscar'never beat a great fighter in his prime?' Simply this : the more you achieve, the more the critics try to tear you down.
For more information on the greates living boxer Felix Trinidad check out felixtrinidad.com
