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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 champion who is also the most financially successful non-heavyweight of modern times, having been involved many of the best fights of the last twenty years. I usually find such statements at least a little dubious, not the least because it is often the job of a columnist to stir the pot by making a debatable statement. Also, it usually appears that the higher a person rises, the more some folk will attempt to reject what he has accomplished. However , the writers who make this claim are as familiar with the details of de la Hoya's career as i am , so I'll not take the journey of reviewing de la Hoya's past opponents. No one denigrates'Tito' by pronouncing he never faced and defeated a great fighter in his prime, so we'll take some instruction from his career.

The beginning

Felix Trinidad caught his first welterweight international title in 1993, by knocking out Maurice Blocker in 2 rounds. However , Blocker himself could hardly 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 paying attention to fighters like Trinidad when he is not dominating his bread and butter, the heavyweight division. Campas would not win a world title until he moved up to 154lbs, at that time a weak 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.
by that time, Whittaker was extraordinarily far past his game. He fought only once again, losing by knockout to an unknown in 2001.

The Mega-Fight : Oscar de la Hoya

The gigantic Sep 1999 confrontation with Oscar de la Hoya remains arguable to this day, with many commentators who are definitely not de la Hoya partisans claiming that'the Golden Boy' was robbedAs for de la Hoya'running,' it was'Tito' who came out of the fight with a busted up face and blood-stained trunks. Other writers simply say the fight was close and tough to score, which is fine, but then it hardly makes for a defining statement in Trinidad's career. 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 12 th and last round in an explosive bout. Prior to Trinidad, his 2 opponents of note were fringe contenders Laurent Bouduani and Keith Mullings. After Trinidad, he never got his career back on course and stood down 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 champion William Joppy in his first fight at 160lbs, knocking out Joppy at Madison Square Garden in five rounds. Out boxed and roughed up,'Tito' lost by twelve th round knockout.

Wright moved up to 160lbs, and fought Trinidad in May 2005 for the legal right to challenge for the WBC middleweight title.
Nobody argues 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 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