OnThEGRiND BoXiNG

Monday April, 27th, 2009
by Jack Johnson Presscot

September 21, 2001 was a date I’ll not soon forget. It was the final fight of Don “Only in America” King’s Middleweight Unification Tournament. Bernard Hopkins had earlier on secured the WBC Championship from Keith Holmes and unified it with his IBF Title. Tito Trinidad of course, had climbed to 160 pounds and obliterated poor William Joppy for the WBA Strap. Then it was Superfight time, and Bernard Hopkins had the audacity in Puerto Rico nonetheless, to snatch Tito’s little flag and toss it on the ground. For that act of disrespect, he was literally chased by an angry mob of Puerto Ricans back to the safety of nearby onlooking Police Officers. He had laid down the gauntlet, and unfortunately for Trinidad and his legions of fans, Bernard Hopkins was able to back up his mouth. Over 12 rounds, Bernard systematically took apart Tito Trinidad, and won every round. He did taste the left hook, but the left hook of a blown up welterweight was not enough to stop a legitimate middleweight.

By the 11th the Tito haters and Oscar fans were celebrating, as they wanted to see Tito go down, and in the 12th their wishes were granted.
Tito finally went down… and arose on unsteady legs, but it was too late. Papa Trinidad threw in the towel. Bernard Hopkins had managed to capture an undisputed Middleweight Championship, and the RING Title. A rematch was talked about but never came to fruition, and Tito retired after KOing something called Hasine Cherifi. Bernard Hopkins went on to win a few more fights before running into Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor.

But there remained much unfinished business between the two fighters. Bernard Hopkins, as evidenced in his fights against Joppy and Howard Eastman, on his own, could not sell many tickets to anyone outside of a few crickets. Without an Oscar de la Hoya, fans just weren’t that interested in him. He came back after his losses to Taylor with a win over a weight drained Antonio Tarver, and also beat Winky Wright in what was possibly the most boring fight in Ring History. After Joe Calzaghe gave him a boxing lesson, he re-emerged against an outsized Kelly Pavlik, and wisely turned down a challenge from “Bad” Chad Dawson.

Tito on the other hand fought in January of 2008, against a man who Bernard refused to rematch, Roy Jones Jr. Tito won the first three rounds, until Roy found his groove and took things over. He dropped Tito twice on his way to victory, but was unable and unwilling to “go in for the kill,” probably because he didn’t want to taste the left hook.

Now, at last fans are about to be treated to a rematch between two men that truly have unfinished business.

Oscar de la Hoya refused a rematch with Tito Trinidad back in 1999, and while many still speculate over the reasons, as I rewatch rounds 9-12, I know why Oscar didn’t want to step into the ring with Tito Trinidad. Any of you doubters can e-mail Fernando Vargas or William Joppy and ask them about that left hook.

It has been over 8 years since their initial encounter, and according to articles circulating they would meet at a catchweight of 168lbs. Both men have won and lost since they first met. Tito looked great against Roy Jones Jr. in losing, while Bernard looked average against Joe Calzaghe in losing.

If Tito is to have any kind of a shot or a chance at revenge he will need to start running marathons again, as cardiovascular conditioning will be key in this fight. As will defense, and keeping as busy as he did against RJJ for the initial 3 rounds. He will need to train to fight hard for 12 full rounds. He cannot afford to allow Bernard Hopkins to be the bully in this fight. He must do what Calzaghe did to Hopkins, and man handle him. Tito must throw a lot of punches per round, and he can not afford to allow the old man to attempt his intimidation tactics. I’d love to see Tito hire a Floyd Mayweather Sr. for this fight, and spar against both Chad Dawson, and Jermain Taylor to win.

As for Bernard, this is his last chance at being a real PPV draw, and he knows it……………JP