Makijs
28-09-2004, 15:01
Na De La Hoya, Hopkins, Jones en Johnson zijn dit weekend Trinidad en Mayorga aan de beurt.
http://www.hboppv.com/events/trinidad_mayorga/
Felix: I won't be next to go down
In back-to-back weeks, Oscar De La Hoya and Roy Jones Jr., two of the top boxers in the sport, have been knocked out in the ninth round. Felix Trinidad watched both matches from the comfort of his couch.
It is Trinidad's turn to step into the ring this week. He will end a self-imposed two-year retirement to take on Ricardo Mayorga, a free-swinging knockout artist, at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Trinidad does not believe that those kinds of knockouts come in threes.
"I'm not concerned about that," Trinidad said during a telephone conference call from his hotel suite in lower Manhattan. "I don't know how they trained for their fights. I know how hard I trained. I have never been concerned for one second about my fight. I'm very confident about my fight."
Though he hasn't been knocked out cold like Jones, Trinidad has been on dizzy street before. Bernard Hopkins pummeled him and stopped him in the 12th round for the undisputed middleweight championship at the Garden three years ago. Trinidad came back for one more fight - stopping Hacine Cherifi on a seventh-round TKO in San Juan - before retiring in July 2002.
Trinidad, 31, has put time and distance between himself and that KO loss to Hopkins. It is not fresh in his mind. But one clean shot from Mayorga, who has great power but little accuracy, could bring it all back. And he is doing it in a big arena in front of an audience on HBO pay-per-view.
That is the risk that Trinidad (41-1, 34 KOs) is taking, because he said he didn't want to do a tuneup before getting back into the ring. Trinidad doesn't think the layoff will hurt him that much. He said he has been training for six months.
"It's true that you lose a little reaction (time) in the ring," he said. "It's a question of timing. You work and daily those things come back to you. Right now I feel like things have come back to me. I feel like I used to feel."
Felix Sr., Tito's father and trainer, said it didn't take long for his son to convince him to return to his corner.
"When I recommended that Tito retire, I knew something like this (a comeback) would happen," Felix Sr. said. "I told him to make sure he had the support of those who were close to him. If he had that support, then move forward. Here we are."
With De La Hoya and Jones both having slipped from the top rung of the boxing ladder, Trinidad has a chance to join Hopkins as one of the best pound-for-pound in the sport. But he will have to dust off Mayorga in spectacular fashion.
"I'm very confident Tito will win and walk out of the ring a winner," his father said.
http://www.hboppv.com/events/trinidad_mayorga/
Felix: I won't be next to go down
In back-to-back weeks, Oscar De La Hoya and Roy Jones Jr., two of the top boxers in the sport, have been knocked out in the ninth round. Felix Trinidad watched both matches from the comfort of his couch.
It is Trinidad's turn to step into the ring this week. He will end a self-imposed two-year retirement to take on Ricardo Mayorga, a free-swinging knockout artist, at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Trinidad does not believe that those kinds of knockouts come in threes.
"I'm not concerned about that," Trinidad said during a telephone conference call from his hotel suite in lower Manhattan. "I don't know how they trained for their fights. I know how hard I trained. I have never been concerned for one second about my fight. I'm very confident about my fight."
Though he hasn't been knocked out cold like Jones, Trinidad has been on dizzy street before. Bernard Hopkins pummeled him and stopped him in the 12th round for the undisputed middleweight championship at the Garden three years ago. Trinidad came back for one more fight - stopping Hacine Cherifi on a seventh-round TKO in San Juan - before retiring in July 2002.
Trinidad, 31, has put time and distance between himself and that KO loss to Hopkins. It is not fresh in his mind. But one clean shot from Mayorga, who has great power but little accuracy, could bring it all back. And he is doing it in a big arena in front of an audience on HBO pay-per-view.
That is the risk that Trinidad (41-1, 34 KOs) is taking, because he said he didn't want to do a tuneup before getting back into the ring. Trinidad doesn't think the layoff will hurt him that much. He said he has been training for six months.
"It's true that you lose a little reaction (time) in the ring," he said. "It's a question of timing. You work and daily those things come back to you. Right now I feel like things have come back to me. I feel like I used to feel."
Felix Sr., Tito's father and trainer, said it didn't take long for his son to convince him to return to his corner.
"When I recommended that Tito retire, I knew something like this (a comeback) would happen," Felix Sr. said. "I told him to make sure he had the support of those who were close to him. If he had that support, then move forward. Here we are."
With De La Hoya and Jones both having slipped from the top rung of the boxing ladder, Trinidad has a chance to join Hopkins as one of the best pound-for-pound in the sport. But he will have to dust off Mayorga in spectacular fashion.
"I'm very confident Tito will win and walk out of the ring a winner," his father said.