By Matthew Hurley: As Felix Trinidad readies himself for his showdown with Roy Jones Jr. on January 19th the Puerto Rican icon will carry the baggage of his lopsided loss to Winky Wright in his last fight back in 2005. That night Wright befuddled ‘Tito’ with a razor sharp right jab shutting Trinidad out completely on one of the judges scorecards while winning only one round on the cards of the other two. Trinidad now admits that he never wanted to retire from boxing after such an overwhelming defeat. Now he will step into the ring at Madison Square Garden to fight another iconic pugilist on the back end of his own career.
In a recent conference call the ever-energetic Trinidad acknowledged the anxiety that ate at him after the Wright loss and why, with only three fights under his belt since his 2001 loss to Bernard Hopkins, he is eager to not only knock out Roy Jones but also resume his on-again off-again career.
“I didn’t feel well about the loss,” Trinidad said. “I like to win every fight and I lost that one. So I did not feel good about it. It is impossible to feel good when you lose.”
Trinidad went on to add that it was the decisive nature of his loss to Wright that led him back into the ring. “It is something that I have had on my mind. It is not the same with a loss as with a win. And it is something that I want to do now. One of the reasons I came back to boxing is that I want to win this fight. I don’t like to remember a defeat, that’s why I want to win this fight.”
Jones, whose ego is once again full blown, tends to gloss over his knockout defeats at the hands of Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson. He’s quick to blame those defeats on his weight loss after winning the WBA heavyweight belt from John Ruiz back in 2003. Once he dropped back down to light heavyweight it was obvious that Jones was not as quick as he was at the height of his athletic prowess. Indeed it was Jones’ athleticism that allowed him to get away with a fistic style based more on agility and speed than technical prowess.
Tarver first exploited this in a close decision loss to Jones and then, in the rematch, ended matters with a second round knockout. Johnson then seemingly put an end to the Jones era by knocking Roy out in the ninth round and leaving the fighter prone on the canvas for several terrifying minutes. Jones then took on Tarver a third time, dropping a lackluster decision. But none of this deters Jones, who insists he’s back and as good as he ever was.
“After I won the heavyweight title I came back down (in weight) and of course there were going to be consequences for that,” he says. “Because I did something that someone doesn’t do everyday. To accomplish that feat, there is a price to pay. Now I am back, my body is back to where I want it to be and I guarantee he (Trinidad) is not going to make twelve rounds with me.”
Jones goes on to describe his losses to Tarver and Johnson as a bump in the road to the boxing hall of fame and even entertains stepping back into the ring with his two rivals.
“I would fight Glen Johnson, Antonio Tarver, Chad Dawson, I don’t care. Let me tell you one more time, my probation period is over. I don’t care who he is. Line them up and I’ll go to them. I don’t care where he’s at.”
As for his fight with Trinidad, Jones is predicting a fourth round knockout.
The Jones – Trinidad bout will be contested at a catch weight of 170 pounds. Trinidad has never fought above the middleweight limit of 160 pounds.
The fight will be broadcast on HBO pay-per-view at a cost of $49.95.