Trinidad Returns, Scuppers Hatton - Mayweather?
Posted: 01 Jul 2007, 06:06
Here's a slice of Dan Rafael's weekend notebook.
I really think that if Hatton wants Mayweather, he needs to move fast and let himself take the thin end of the wedge.
Comments, chaps?
I really suspect that Mayweather would be tempted into a fight with Trinidad, which would do almost as much as his fight against Dela Hoya, given the huge, huge size difference, Trinidad's power, and the puerto Rican's popularity in the US and Madison Square Garden where the fight would be held.Coming out of retirement seems so fashionable.
Light heavyweight king Bernard Hopkins is ending his retirement to fight Winky Wright on July 21.
The retirement of pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. appears to have lasted all of six weeks (shocking!) now that talks are heating up for a fight with junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton.
And, don't look now, but guess who's about to join the party?
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, Tito 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 Tito."
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 Tito," Papa Trinidad told the Associated Press. "Jones is in a different [weight] category, but for Tito 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 Tito."
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] 'Tito, 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 hell of a New York celebration," King said. "He is working now, getting himself prepared. Tito is the man. It doesn't matter who he fights. He can come back with anyone and the Garden will be sold-out. Tito is the top honcho here. We're not concerned with who the opponent would be, but we would want a top, dangerous opponent. Tito 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 Tito."
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."
I really think that if Hatton wants Mayweather, he needs to move fast and let himself take the thin end of the wedge.
Comments, chaps?