Felix Tito Trinidad Fansite

Felix Trinidad

A phrase I read more frequently when fighting pundits discuss the career of Oscar de la Hoya is that'he has never defeated a great champ in his prime.' it's a debatable statement to direct at a 6 division champ who is also the most financially successful non-heavyweight of modern times, having been involved many of the best fights of the last 20 years. I always find such statements at least a little dubious, not the least as it is sometimes the job of a journalist to stir the pot by making a controversial statement. Also, it always seems the higher a person rises, the more some folk will try to deny what he has accomplished. However , the writers who make this claim are as acquainted with the important points of de la Hoya's career as i am , so I'll not take the route of reviewing de la Hoya's past opponents. Nobody denigrates'Tito' by saying he never faced and defeated a great fighter in his prime, so let's take some instruction from his career.

The beginning

Felix Trinidad captured his first welterweight international title in 1993, by knocking out Maurice Blocker in two rounds. He was only 20 years old. However , Blocker himself could barely be called a'great champion;' he fought only twice more after Trinidad against non-descript opposition and then retired.
Trinidad was signed with Don King, who has a habit of only listening to wrestlers like Trinidad when he's not dominating his bread and butter, the heavyweight division. Campas wouldn't win a world title until he moved up to 154lbs, at that time a feeble division. Trinidad even toyed with moving up to 154 himself in those days, fighting an eliminator for the WBC belt held by Terry Norris in 1997. In Feb 1999, Trinidad fought Pernell Whittaker, winning a lopsided decision victory against the slick defensive master. by that time, Whittaker was extremely far past his game. His close loss to de le Hoya had been almost two years before, and it had been more than a year since his tune-up fight with Andrei Pastraev. He fought only once more, losing by knockout to an unknown in 2001.

At best, he got away with a very close, disputed win over a great fighter in his prime.


He moved up to 154lbs, and took away the WBA title from former Olympian David Reid. He then met Fernando Vargas, knocking out'El Feroz' in the twelve th and final round in an explosive bout. However , was either Reid or Vargas truly good champions? Reid definitely was not. Before Trinidad, his 2 opponents of note were fringe contenders Laurent Bouduani and Keith Mullings. After Trinidad, he never got his career back on track and quit in obscurity.
Middleweight Waterloo

Don King then set up the unification series for the middleweight title, including Felix Trinidad. In May 2001, he challenged two-time WBA middleweight champ William Joppy in his first fight at 160lbs, knocking out Joppy at Madison Square Garden in five rounds. That set the scene for the showdown with long-reigning IBF middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. Out boxed and roughed up,'Tito' lost by 12 th round knockout.
When Felix Trinidad left the 154lbs division, the pieces were picked up by Ronald'Winky' Wright, who went on to become the unchallenged world champ at that weight. Wright moved up to 160lbs, and fought Trinidad in May 2005 for the legal right to challenge for the WBC middleweight title. The result was Trinidad's 2nd defeat, a shaming decision loss.
Felix Trinidad has enjoyed a famous career, and merits his reputation and legion of Puerto Rican fans. Nobody disagrees that when the day comes,'Tito' will deserve his place in the hall of fame. However , it is beyond question that the sole great fighter in his prime that Trinidad ever scored a win over was Oscar de la Hoya, and that win remains controversial and contested to this very day.

So what does this mean for Oscar de la Hoya, and all of the critics who say Oscar'never beat a great fighter in his prime?' Simply this : the more that you achieve, the more the critics try to tear you down.

For more information on the greates living boxer Felix Trinidad check out felixtrinidad.com