Extra: TRINIDAD RETIRES!

The brave Felix Trinidad retires … but blamed his dad.

Upon their arrival this Sunday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, "Papa" Trinidad made the announcement that he is retiring from working in boxing. Which was followed by Felix “Tito” Trinidad making his announcement, if his dad isn’t going to work his corner, he will retire too. What a cowardly thing! Talk tough, then run away from the sport and blame dad.

After the Wright fight, Trinidad said he had no plans to retire. Foolish me … I took him at his word. I thought perhaps he really did want to back up all that tough talk and fight … but I was duped. And here I was thinking about the fighters Felix Trinidad could still face.

If Felix Trinidad couldn’t beat a light-punching 154 pounder like “Winky” Wright, how could he step down in weight and convincingly avoid a rematch with de la Hoya?

Nope, Felix Trinidad is still running.

--The Mighty Moe

Recap: Trinidad vs. Wright

Ronald “Winky” Wright (49-3, 25 KOs) easily defeats Felix “Tito” Trinidad (42-2, 35 KOs) by pitching a near shutout against the Puerto Rican slugger. What’s even more surprising is that “Winky” Wright got the decision!

After learning that Jerry Roth, Duane Ford and Dave Moretti would score the bout, I was less suspicious about a dubious outcome. I’m glad the decision was a fair one.

Winky out-boxed Trinidad, but lacked the punching power to hurt Trinidad in any round or stop him. So, what’s next for Trinidad? I just can’t see Felix Trinidad wanting to fight a rematch against “Winky” Wright. If last night’s bout wasn’t even remotely close, where is the intrigue for fight fans? There needs to be a reason for a rematch … a sense of controversy or competitiveness, but this fight had neither. And, if Trinidad can’t get past the light punching Wright, why would anyone expect him to beat Hopkins? No, I think Trinidad needs to move down to 154 pounds and join the super welterweights.

I still think there are some entertaining bouts for Trinidad: Daniel Santos, Kassim Ouma, Travis Simms or Javier Castillejo for one of the many super welterweight titles, a rematch with the competitive Fernando Vargas, or a bout with Vernon Forrest. Tito Trinidad could also look towards even smaller men at 147: Antonio Margarito, Oscar de la Hoya and Shane Mosley at a catch-weight.

--The Mighty Moe

Winky Wright vs. Felix Trinidad

Pay-per-view? No thanks! I think I'll pass on this one. I wouldn't mind seeing this fight for free, but I don't want to shell out a nickel to see this one. Trinidad is a 9-5 favorite going into this bout.

I guess I still haven't forgiven Felix "Tito" Trinidad for the Oscar de la Hoya fight. I can't blame him for the terrible judges decision that robbed de la Hoya and awarded him the fight, but I am bothered that since then Tito has been pretending that he actually won. It's not just Tito's trash-talking and bragging that bothers me, it's the fact he kept bragging all the while he was running from de la Hoya to the junior middleweight division, then to middleweight, and then into retirement without giving Oscar a rematch.

That's not how a champion acts, and surely it's not the way someone acts when they believe they really won the fight. Oscar de la Hoya may have run from Trinidad for the last three rounds, but Trinidad has been running from de la Hoya for six years.

Since his whoopin' at the hands of Bernard Hopkins, the "great" Felix Trinidad has fought Hassine Cherifi, a 37 year-old fighter with 11 losses who is currently ranked 76 in the world, and Ricardo Mayorga, the smaller and wreckless welterweight making his middleweight debut. So much for competitive bouts!

Now, Felix Trinidad will fight Ronald "Winky" Wright. Why Wright you might ask? Because it's a low risk fight for Trinidad. Winky Wright didn't have the punching at 154 pounds, and he certainly isn't going to suddenly develop punching power as he steps into the middleweight division. And, Wright has a history of fading late in his fights.

There is no likelihood that Wright will KO Trinidad; he simply doesn't have the punching power. Then, there's the Don King factor. If Winky Wright does manage to out-box Trinidad over the distance of the fight, which is entirely possible, the question still remains, will Ronald "Winky" Wright get a fair decision? Just ask Oscar de la Hoya.

--The Mighty Moe

Recap: Corrales vs. Castillo

In a fight that can best described as the 2005 fight of the year, and arguably perhaps the most dramatic lightweight title fight ever … Diego Corrales defeated Mexican Jose Luis Castillo for Castillo’s WBC lightweight title in the tenth round with a TKO stoppage.

Fighting pain as much as fatigue, Diego Chico Corrales did the impossible. After being battered to the canvas twice by the heavy handed Mexican, Corrales slowly peeled his swollen and blood spattered body off the canvas to beat the count. In an ending that could only be described as pure Hollywood, Corrales somehow managed to find the strength and a burst of energy to corner the champion into the ropes, and let go a barrage of unanswered power punches that prompted referee Tony Weeks to put a halt to the action at 2:06 seconds of the tenth round. Bringing himself back from the oblivion of unconsciousness, Diego Corrales KOed a champion that had never been knocked down in 59 fights!

After both knockdowns, Corrales summoned the wherewithal to spit out his mouthpiece and buy some precious seconds to regain his composure. This cost him a point deduction, but after the two knock downs (a round that would have been scored 10-6 for Castillo), Corrales must have known that if the fight went to the judges he would most likely loose the fight. With his eye closing fast, it was an all-or-nothing gamble that paid off in silver dollars for Corrales! He had to buy time to compose himself, and he had to stop Castillo.

It’s unfortunate that referee Tony Weeks was forced to stop the fight when he did, but it was the right call. After Corrales’ brutal assault, Castillo’s hands dropped to his waist, his body sagged into the ropes and his eyes rolled up into his head. When Castillo stopped defending himself, Weeks had no other choice other than to stop the fight.

Fatigue and a loss of focus allowed Corrales to catch Castillo with his back against the ropes. When Corrales connected with his combinations, there was no place for Castillo to fall. Had Corrales connected his combinations in the middle of the ring … Castillo no doubt would have fallen … but he most likely would have been given an eight count instead of having the fight stopped. It was a tough break for Castillo… but not for fans.

Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo will go down as one of the very best lightweight championship bouts in the history of boxing.

--The Mighty Moe

Recap: Toney vs. Ruiz

On Saturday night (April 30, 2005), a very fat James Lights-Out Toney battered, bruised and out-hustled WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz to win by unanimous decision, 116-111, 116-111 and 115-112. James blamed his 233 pounds on his only having four and a half weeks to train.

Even with the extra pounds, Toney (69-4-2 with 43 KOs) has now entered the history books, joining Bob Fitzsimmons and Roy Jones Jr., as the only three men to have won the middleweight title and the heavyweight title (albeit a portion of the heavyweight title).

Ruiz, by contrast, has earned the distinction of becoming the only heavyweight to have lost his title twice to former middleweight champions.

Toney used beautiful counterpunching all night to slip Ruiz’s right hand and fire a right hand in return, bouncing the cleaner shots off the champion’s temple. A wicked body assault by Toney also left marks on Ruiz’s ribcage. The effects of Toney’s body shots prevented Ruiz from staging a late round rally. In the end, Toney appeared to be the fresher of the two.

In the seventh round Toney was credited with a knock-down when he landed a one-two combination. Upon viewing the replay, it was clear Toney stepped on Ruiz’s foot causing him to lose his balance.

What’s next for Toney? He said he’ll fight “anyone at anytime,” but the recognized heavyweight champion is Vitali Klitschko. James Toney will have to beat Vitali if he wants to be recognized as the legitimate heavyweight champion … and one of only two former middleweight champions to have won the legitimate heavyweight title.

--The Mighty Moe