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oh and hopkins vs winky wright on july 21st should be a sure fire bet too
Saying that boxing is dead and boring, well guess whos coming back......
Puerto Rican icon Felix Trinidad (42-2, 35 KOs), the former three-division champ, who intends to end his second retirement by fighting, he hopes, in December or January.
"He's in great spirits, great health and great shape. He is going to come back," promoter Don King told ESPN.com in his first public remarks about Trinidad's rumored comeback. "It's an extraordinary day for boxing."
King went to San Juan last Friday with Dana Jamison, his vice president of boxing operations, and close adviser Juan Gonzalez to meet with Trinidad, his father-trainer Felix "Papa" Trinidad Sr. and attorney Nicolas Medina.
The subject of the two-day visit was Trinidad's comeback.
"It was, 'Please, o come back. The public wants you back, I want you back, boxing needs you back,'" King said. "He asked, 'What do you have for me?'"
King said Trinidad is up for fights with any of the top stars: Mayweather, Roy Jones, Shane Mosley, Jermain Taylor, a rematch with the winner of Hopkins-Wright and eventually a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya.
"He said, 'I want to fight all of them.' Now, it's up to me to go to work and deliver for him," King said. "He was listening to me and he was feeling good. We have a very special relationship. He knew I was coming to Puerto Rico to bring him back. He told me to go to work. I'm excited, ecstatic and overwhelmed. Boxing needs this now. Boxing needs o."
King said Jones is Trinidad's first desire. They were on track to fight once before, but it was derailed when Hopkins knocked out Trinidad in September 2001 to become undisputed middleweight champion.
"What he wants to do now is he wants to kick Roy Jones' ass," King said.
"The fight against Jones would be more realistic to make a comeback for o," Papa Trinidad told the Associated Press. "Jones is in a different [weight] category, but for o it would be much easier to make 170 pounds [than going back to 160]. Jones has always been one of the opponents that we have wanted for o."
Jones, who faces Anthony Hanshaw on July 14, is interested.
"This will be the second time this should've happened," Jones said. "We should have fought back in the day, but his loss to Hopkins ruined it. Let's get it on now. I love it."
King said Trinidad could return as soon as December. More likely, however, it would be January. King said the comeback would not just be a cameo.
"It's not a one-shot deal," King said. "His ultimate goal is to whip Oscar's ass, but we won't wait on Oscar. The island ain't big enough for both of them. But he won't beg for Oscar. So he will get Oscar by whipping everyone so nobody is left for Oscar to fight."
Trinidad, a former champion at 147, 154 and 160 pounds, first retired after beating Hacine Cherifi in May 2002, only to return in October 2004, when he crushed Ricardo Mayorga in eight rounds.
However, in Trinidad's next fight, Wright easily outpointed him in May 2005, sending him into retirement again.
In Puerto Rico, fans have clamored for Trinidad's return since the Wright fight. King said the outpouring of love from the fans that he saw while with Trinidad last week probably pushed him over the top.
"When we talked about [a comeback] his eyes glittered and shined," King said. "We met at the El San Juan Hotel, and everybody gave him a round of applause when we came in and [they cheered] ' o, come back!' I think that did it more than anything. We walked in there, and it was spontaneous love in the lobby."
King said that whenever and whomever Trinidad faces, he will fight at New York's Madison Square Garden, where he has fought many times and is a crowd favorite, especially among the large Puerto Rican population.
"It's going to be one of a New York celebration," King said. "He is working now, getting himself prepared. o is the man. It doesn't matter who he fights. He can come back with anyone and the Garden will be sold-out. o is the top honcho here. We're not concerned with who the opponent would be, but we would want a top, dangerous opponent. o loves the sport of boxing and the fans. He told me he wants a top opponent so the risk factor is there and so people can't say he's coming back for any other reason than because he wants to fight the best. We can bring excitement back with o."
King said he was impressed by promoter Bob Arum's ability to sell out the Garden for Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico against Zab Judah on June 9. King predicted Trinidad also would draw a massive crowd.
"I'm very proud of 'Lonesome' Bob for putting that many people in there," King said. "But now we're bringing the grand master back."
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/box...dan&id=2920744
looks like some exciting developments are in the works.... haters take note.
oh and hopkins vs winky wright on july 21st should be a sure fire bet too
Boxing doesn't need guys coming out of retirement to help it... they need a fresh 24 year old with a thundering right overhand that sends guys into retirement by the 4th round.
Besides, one major criticisms of boxing is the constant retiring and un-retiring.
Glad to see him fighting again regardless. Thanks for posting.
Last edited by Evan; 07-01-2007 at 08:26 PM.
My complaint with boxing is the too often incredibly ridiculous scoring by judges that screams of corruption. There are plenty of good fighters to watch for those of us who actually know boxing well enough as a sport to not need glitz and glam to appreciate. Compatible styles and tough battles are what I like.
Boxing isn't "dead"...2006 was boxing's biggest PPV $$$ year ever...
It just doesn't have any young up and coming big names that people care about. It better find some to get some new fans before all of the current generation of fans die off though...
I love o but I hope he doesn't come back, Roy Jones is washed up. Hopkins v Winky is going to be a snoozefest. But there are plenty of great fights that can be made that people will want to see with guys in or near their primes.
Manny Manny Manny Manny
Come Oct 6 Pac Man is going to retire Barrera. I wish JM Marquez was going to fight Pac instead but oh well it should be entertaining while it lasts.
you're right about the problem, but there are up and coming big names. Miguel Cotto heading the list. He sold out MSG and is being touted as the next Trinidad/Benitez. Still, the list is slim. Problem lies with USA Boxing.
The way I see it is boxing has two ongoing problems right now...ok, well three.
First, generally as the heavyweight division goes, so goes boxing. There are some awesome boxers in the lower weights obviously, but traditionally when there is a popular, undisputed heavyweight champ, it benefits everything from the top down. A rising tide lifts all boats, so to speak.
Two, boxing absolutely has to have more than 1-2 marquee fights per year. I'm talking about the kind that even the most casual of fans get to talking about because interest is that high. Promoters must do a better job of scheduling fights that will get the public's attention more often than is presently happening. Just as an example in 2002 we had Lennox Lewis/Mike Tyson, Vargas/de la Hoya, Shane Mosley/Vernon Forrest twice and Barrera/Morales to name a few.
Three, there's simply too many championship belts out there. The WBA, WBO, IBF, IBA, NBA, WBC, etc... Three per division is plenty. It's to the point now that it's hard to tell who isn't recognized by some organization these days as their 'champion'.
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