A fight that's about a decade too late takes place Saturday night at New York's Madison Square Garden as Felix Trinidad comes out of retirement (again) to fight Roy Jones Jr., with the latter a big -375 favorite on WagerWeb.com.
"This fight is as big as when (George Foreman) fought (Muhammad) Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle," promoter Don King says of what is being billed as "Bring on the Titans."
Not in 2008, it's not.
Trinidad (42-2-0, 35 KOs) is coming out of retirement for a second time. He was once an undefeated champion at 147 and 154 pounds, a fearsome puncher who knocked out almost everyone who stood in front of him and was the first to beat Oscar De La Hoya. But he has fought only twice in nearly six years, and in his last fight took a beating at the hands of Winky Wright in May 2005.
Trinidad lost to Wright by 11, 11 and 13 points on the judges' scorecards in what had to be an embarrassment.
Trinidad then retired for the second time in his illustrious career, which includes world titles in three weight classes.
So why come back?
"One of the reasons I came back 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. ... I am just waiting for the victory and the celebration that will follow with the people that I love."Jones, meanwhile, is 2-3 in his past five bouts (and was knocked out twice) and was the best fighter of his generation - in the 1990s. Yet at age 39, he says he is following "God's will" to continue in the ring.
"I am Superman, and I don't care about anybody else," said Jones (51-4-0, 38 KOs), who predicted a fourth-round knockout.
Trinidad, who turned 35 last week, expects to be competitive despite 32 months coming between his last appearance and this one.
"That's impossible because I'm going to knock him out in the second round," said Trinidad. "I have trained very hard for six months to make sure that the time I have had out of the ring will not affect me. I took all the rust out of me [by] training very hard. I feel like I am very young. I really don't care what they say about my age. I feel good and I know I'm good, and it really doesn't matter to me."
Jones, needless to say, disagrees.
"He is smaller than me, and it will be hard to not try to knock him out," Jones said. "Trust me, he is not going to go 12 rounds with me. I hear, 'If he does this or if he does that ... He may try to do all of that, but he is not going to go the distance with me."
This contest will be fought at 170 pounds, the highest Trinidad ever has weighed on fight night. Trinidad said he certainly will continue his career if he beats Jones. He would not say for sure what he'll do if he loses.
"My thinking is not just one more fight," Trinidad said. "I'm thinking we're going to win this fight and after this fight is over, we will see what's out there and what's best for me."
It would seem Jones is too big and that the long layoff would be too much to overcome for Trinidad in this fight. After all, Tito has never weighed more than 160 pounds for any of his 44 fights. The over/under at WagerWeb.com for this bout is 10.5 rounds, and it would be surprising if it lasts that long.
Bet on boxing at WagerWeb.com
No comments:
Post a Comment