14.05.05 – By Lee Hayes: Tonight Felix Trinidad will be fighting for only the second time in three years. His choice of opponent this early in his comeback trail is a curious one in Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright. Wright was held a major title belt in the Junior Middleweight division for nearly 10 years. He’s a fundamentally sound, slick southpaw, with a good chin, and the capability to adapt to his opponents style in the ring.. In fact, this is the same Winky Wright that Trinidad himself avoided during his two year lay over in the Junior Middleweight division. The same Wright that was blatantly avoided by other super star boxers that journeyed through the Junior Middleweight’s while Wright was either a champion or a top contender. Fighters such as Oscar DeLaHoya, David Reid, Shane Mosley (who eventually would challenge Winky Wright in duel losing efforts), Yori Boy Campas, Ike Quartey and others.
They usually avoided Winky for good reason. Nobody wants to look bad against an opponent that does not have a lot of notoriety and is generally known as a ‘boring’ fighter, particularly when a fight with Wright would not generate the sort of Pay Per View numbers that would make the risk worth while. So why would the Trinidad’s choose Wright as their second fight back?
My guess would be that Felix see’s it as his opportunity to show Bernard Hopkins that he deserves the rematch he so badly craves. A sound beating of Winky Wright would surely show the world that Tito was back on top, and that he would be a serious threat in a rematch with Bernard. A great plan, but the only problem is that he still has to issue that sound beating to a man that has not sustained more than a couple of beat down in his entire career. A man that is known for his ability to avoid punches, and block them with his gloves and elbows and a man that has been at a naturally higher weight class for more of his career than Trinidad has. If I had to make a call on this fight, I would have to believe that Trinidad can do it. You see, for all of Wright’s strong points that I have mentioned, Trinidad has more to offer. He’s a genuine super star. A genetic freak that is built for nothing but rendering another man completely senseless (like fighters of old such as Stanley Ketchel, Sandy Saddler, Bob Foster & Thomas Hearns). Trinidad is not heavily muscled yet he carries the punch of a light heavyweight or even a cruiserweight=s in his middleweight frame, much like Roberto Duran and Salvidor Sanchez did at their respective weight classes.
Trinidad reminds me of a combination of two of my favourite fighters of all-time. Roberto Duran and Thomas Hearns. Tito displays the coldness, and the assassin mentality that Duran did during his heyday. The eyes of a cold hearted killer. He also showed the vulnerability of Hearns, but also the ability like Hearns, to end any fight, including those against top opposition, with a single punch.
My reasons for picking Trinidad to KO Winky Wright by the 10th round are as follows:
1. One of the major advantages that Wright has always held over his opponents is the frustration of facing a technically sound southpaw. He will not hold this advantage against Trinidad. Felix has faced four southpaw opponents as a professional, and his record has been; Alberto Corles (Win TKO in 3rd round), Hector Camacho Sr. (Win 12 round Unanimous Decision), Pernell Whitaker (Win 12 round Unanimous Decision), Hugo Pineda (Win KO in 4th round). Against superior southpaw opponents Camacho and Whitaker, Trinidad put his boxing skills on display, beating the southpaws with the classic anti-southpaw key punch, the laser sharp straight right hand.
2. Winky Wright has never faced an opponent that hits as hard as Felix Trinidad. Wright’s most famous opponents, Bronco McKart (3 times), J.C. Candelo and Shane Mosely (twice) were boxers, not punchers. The lone exception being Fernando Vargas, an opponent that over powered Wright, so much that he was able to capture the win in the final rounds, because Wright had nothing left in the tank. Trinidad walked right through Fernando Vargas in their match without incident, save a flash knock down of the Puerto Rican Powerhouse in the 4th round. In fact, Vargas has never been the same since they fought. ADamaged Goods@, he’s been called. Trinidad has also basically ended the careers of nine or ten of his opponents, and arguably one more, depending on how you judge the career of Fernando Vargas since he received the terrible beating that Trinidad handed him in December of 2000. Wright has only ever been in one dog fight with a top notch slugger with tons of heart, and that was Vargas. As I already stated, Wright lost that fight, and Trinidad hits harder and has more heart than Fernando.
3. Trinidad’s vastly under rated boxing skills. Are you kidding me? I can’t believe how many ignorant people have trashed the boxing skills of Trinidad since his fight with Oscar DeLaHoya. This despite a very good amateur career with 5 national titles at 100, 112, 119, 126 and 132 lbs, posting a 42-1 (35) record as a professional, and having used his boxing skills and superior punching power to outclass 14 other champions through out his career. It’s always been peculiar to me that people quickly soured on Trinidad’s boxing skills and footwork after the DeLaHoya fight, when it was obvious to me that Oscar had danced around the ring for 12 rounds that night doing a close impression of the foot work displayed by a young Cassius Clay or a Sugar Ray Leonard (unfortunately for DeLaHoya, he did not display the offensive fireworks that Leonard and Clay/Ali were able to in their major fights, because it cost him the fight).
It would be like saying that Hagler and Hearns couldn’t box, and were nothing but sluggers, just because Ray was able to dance around them all night long making them look foolish. Both Hagler and Hearns were excellent technicians. The same could be said of fighter that Ali danced around. It’s very difficult to look good against a fighter who has the conditioning and leg strength to do that all night. Trinidad’s boxing skills are complete. He has everything. He cuts off the ring like an assassin. He throws a pin perfect left jab and has a laser accurate straight right hand. His left hook is as dangerous a weapon as has ever been found in the ring, at any weight class. He throws perfect short upper cuts and hooks, and his hand speed is far above average. He always throws punches in combinations (which will make it hard for Wright to block his punches with his gloves and elbows).
4. Wright can’t hurt Trinidad. Too much is being put in to Wright’s victories over Shane Mosely. The Mosley that faced off against Winky was the worst Mosely to ever enter the ring. Shane even looked better in his losing efforts to Vernon Forrest. It seemed to me that Winky could have done anything he wanted with Shane on both of those nights. It probably had more to do with Mosely than it did with Wright. Wright has never been known as a power puncher (only 25 ko’s in 51 fights of which only 3 were actually knock outs that ended in the referee counting to 10). Trinidad can stop a man with any punch in his arsenal. He is equally apt at finishing opponents with crippling body punches as he is with blows to the head. He stopped Freddie Pendleton, Rodney Moore and Larry Barnes with single shots to the body. In the Ring Magazines annual yearbook of 2003, they rated the top 100 greatest punchers of all-time, including every weight class. Trinidad was voted number 30, ahead of punchers like Lennox Lewis, Marvin Hagler, Joe Fraizer, Kostya Tszyu, Nigel Benn and many others.
5. Tito’s millions of die-hard fans. Trinidad’s self professed reason for coming back (although it seems unlikely that he has returned for any other reason than to avenge his loss to Hopkins) are his fans. There has never been another fighter that creates the atmosphere with his fan base at a fight like Tito Trinidad. Watching the way his legion of supporters jump and scream through out his matches is an experience in itself. Try watching the Trinidad vs Mayorga bout, watching only the crowd during the fight. The energy is unparalleled in the sport. Even surpassing the great Julio Caesar Chavez’s adoration during his prime. When Trinidad hits the canvas, as he is prone to, it seems that his fans support and expectations give Felix that extra boost of heart -that other fighters can’t comprehend- allowing him to rise to the occasion and get up to win the fight.
6. Trinidad’s sole loss came to Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins fought the fight of his life. It was perfectly planned and executed by the “Executioner.” But really, where’s the shame in that? Certainly if you pit two excellent fighters in the ring, one is most likely going to win and one is going to lose. If you are going to lose in the ring, best be to a great hall of fame champion like Hopkins than to someone like Harry Simon or Julio Ceasar Vasquez (both of whom Wright has dropped decisions to, albeit early in his career). People are quick to point out that in Trinidad’s two worst performances of his career, against DeLaHoya and Hopkins, his opponents used slick boxing to out smart and out box Tito. What they fail to recognize is that there are different types of slick boxers.
Certainly Billy Conn and Wilfred Benetiz did not fight similarly, yet they were both skilled technician=s. Wright is not slick the same way Hopkins and Oscar were. He doesn’t dance on his toes around the ropes avoiding punches and countering (in the case of Bernard). Wright is the type of slick boxer that Pernell Whitaker was, that Chris Byrd is. The type that doesn=t avoid contact, but uses his agility and defensive skills to avoid blows from closer quarters. Winky Wright has never displayed the type of footwork necessary to play out a game plan like Oscar or Bernard=s. He is going to have to fight the same way he always has and that means relatively flat footed trying to parry and block blows, while throwing accurate counter punches.
This is exactly what Trinidad needs to look his best. He throws so many combinations that there is no way that Wright will be able to block and parry them all. Also, Wright is accustomed to taking all of the body punches thrown his way on his elbows. An excellent defensive practice, but one that will be rendered useless against Trinidad, because Felix will be glad to beat his arms, elbows, kidneys, thighs or anything else he can get his hands on. Wright is in for a serious beating tonight.
So as I have stated, I believe that Trinidad is an all-time great fighter. I believe he is probably the greatest Puerto Rican boxer to ever live, and that is saying a lot because the island has produced several excellent fighters. I believe that Trinidad has under rated boxing skills, and has an excellent record against boxers that stay flat footed, such as Whitaker and Hector Camacho (who both also happen to be southpaws). Trinidad has vastly superior experience against much better opposition, having faced many more champion calibre fighters than Wright and Trinidad is going to have his massive Legion of fans supporting him. He has the strength and punching technique to make this fight very easy. This is how I see the fight going down:
I suspect that early in the fight Winky will be able to land his jab and a few light combinations, winning both of the first two rounds. Around the 3rd or 4th round, I suspect that Felix will land a serious body shot that will make Wright wince and change his approach for the remainder of the fight. Trinidad will begin landing his combinations and Wrights face and body will begin being marked up. Before the fight ends, I expect Wright=s eyes to be nearly closed and I expect Winky to continue fighting through all the pain until the inevitable. Trinidad finishes Winky with a massive 10th round, putting Wright down 2 or 3 times.
This writer welcomes your comments or suggestions. Express them on this thread or at the following email address leezraven@yahoo.com