Trinidad ready to return!
Photos by
David Greene
Three-time world champion Felix "Tito" Trinidad (41-1, 34 KOs),
from Puerto Rico, will face former World Boxing Association and
World Boxing Council welterweight champion Ricardo "El Matador"
Maryorga (27-4-1, 23 KOs) for the WBA North American and North
American Boxing Council middleweight titles in the main event of
a Don King Productions-promoted card at Madison Square Garden to
be shown on HBO Pay-Per-View at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Saturday,
Oct. 2.
Why
are you coming back?
Felix Trinidad: I want
to be here and I want to be back in boxing for my people because
everybody kept asking me when I was coming back
Are
you ready for whatever Mayorga is going to throw at you?
Felix Trinidad: Iím
ready for everything that Mayorga brings to the table, for
boxing, Iím ready for everything he brings to the table for
boxing.
If Tito wins this fight will he be looking for a rematch with
Bernard Hopkins?
Felix Trinidad: At this moment I will not be able to answer
that because I am so focused on this fight, weíre going to wait
for the result of this fight first then after this fight then we
will speak about my future and everything.
What
can we expect from you after this fight?
Felix Trinidad: No, its
not like Iím coming back for the Mayorga fight then Iím out.
Iím coming back to beat Mayorga then Iím going to see what other
fight that could be for me in the future. I donít know how many
fights I want to do, but there are some fights that we might
have a chance to do.
Do
you think your layoff will effect you?
Felix Trinidad: No, I
always been a guy who has lived a healthy life and a good life,
I always tell people that it may effect some boxers but it
doesnít effect others if you have the right style of life, if
you take care of yourself and basically weíre training hard like
I always used to thatís the key for being back and in good
shape.
Papa: Each time you got
to training its hard, training is hard for everybody, weíve been
training so very very hard in order to get Tito into better
condition to show what Tito was in the ring, but even better.
Why
Ricardo Mayorga?
Felix Trinidad: Like I
said before, we never choose fighters, itís a challenge, and
fight a tough guy out there to show people who is the best. And
like I said we selected Mayorga to show the people that Tito
Trinidad is still the best fighter in the world.
What
does it mean to you to fight at MSG in front of all the Puerto
Rican fans?
Felix Trinidad: I know
Madison Square Garden will be very full, and full my fans
chanting my name ìTito,î ìTitoî and that energy that they show
me is the energy that I take and help me a lot to get more
energy.
How
does Tito plan to knock out Mayorga if he drops his hands and
allows a free shot?
Felix Trinidad: In the
ring you can expect a lot of things from fighters, if they bring
that to that night in there and I can hit him weíll see if he
really can take my punches, anyway Iíll bring big power in my
hands and I will be ready to take him out either way.
How
long do you think this fight is going to go?
Felix Trinidad: The
fight is supposed to go 12 rounds. I know I have a lot on my
hands, I come here very well trained and if that is true that
the fight is over very early then that could happen but itís a
12 round fight so lets see whatís going to happen in the ring.
What
have you been doing in your training?
Felix Trinidad: Iíve
been training so hard for this fight, I have another couple of
days of training but I feel ok, Iím ready for the fight. And
thatís why Iím so calm and confident in my victory and even when
we know that fights are tough, I have my mind set for victory.
What
did you miss the most about boxing?
Felix Trinidad: Well,
you can miss a lot of things about boxing, especially walking to
the ring from the dressing room people cheering for you, people
out there. So basically thatís why Iím back in boxing anything I
do is for the love of boxing and the people.
What
have you been doing for the past two years?
Felix Trinidad: Iíve
been doing a lot of things, but especially Iíve been taking care
of myself and living well, living the right way. When I say
living well I mean living the right way.
Did
he go to a lot fights in his time off?
Felix Trinidad: During
that time I just went to two or three boxing matches.
What
did he think when saw Jones flat out on the ring and possibly
very seriously hurt?
Felix Trinidad: When I
saw that the referee wasnít counting and he wasnít waking up my
first thought was, wow second time in a row he got knocked out.
When
you see the great fighters of your generation lose by knock out
how do you feel?
 Felix
Trinidad: Well I donít know a lot
about that because first of all I donít know how the train for
big fights. I know how I train, and how I do my things I never
got a bad feeling for a second about my fight, Iím very
positive. I came here to win and Iím going to win, and thatís
how I feel right now. Their defeats have nothing to do with my
fight.
How
do you feel about your timing after taking a long lay-off?
Felix Trinidad: Yes,
itís true that you lose a little but of reaction in the ring but
itís a question of time and training, and weíre training so all
those things will come back to you. If you keep training and
training and training things begin to get more sharp,
conditioning you get in great shape and you know then I get like
I used to be.
Papa: Like Tito was
saying, this is just a matter of time. Weíve been training for
this fight for six months and each month that has passes he has
been better and better and the results you will see when he
fights.
What
was your daily routine when you were retired?
Felix Trinidad: Iíve
been doing a lot of things, Iíve been visiting schools, and I
think education is important so Iíve been visiting schools. Iíve
been visiting sick people in hospitals, I like cock fights a lot
so I go there, and I have a new baby that just came and I share
a lot of things with my friends and family that I couldnít in
the past because of my training condition. Iíve been taking care
of my family and friends and share with people and help the.
Basically thatís been my life. Also since I didnít have to get
up at 4 in the morning to run I sleep more, and I got to eat
anything I wanted. And now I have more time to be with my mom,
and the rest of my family. I also like horses, I have some and
while I was on vacation I would go and ride them free, because I
had no worries. So Iíve been doing a lot of things that wanted
to, and that was basically my lifestyle during my vacation.
Honestly, that fire is inside of me is burning and that is why I
am back, if that wasnít there I wouldnít be back in boxing.
Does
Mayorgaís behavior bother you at all?
Felix Trinidad: Heís
been talking too much but it doesnít bother me at all because to
be honest with you I like boxers like that because when I go
into the ring Iím going to hit him hard. I feel ok, I feel good
because I know Iím meeting a guy who has been talking too much,
so he monkeys with me but heís helping me to hit him harder. Iím
not losing focus or timing, but I feel well when I hit him hard
because I know heís been talking too much.
How
would you explain your sonís popularity, and does it surprise
you?
Papa: I think there was
a couple of weeks of spite, but heís still popular and people
still love him. The Latino people that have been with him,
watching his career see his championship. People know he never
quits and they know that he accepts all challenges in his
career, he fights the right people, the tough people to she that
he is the best. Out of boxing he has been a good human being,
giving back. He felt the love that the people gave him and he
gave it back when he signs autographs, and poses for pictures
and I think his popularity that he gained right now is with his
behavior out of the ring and that is the reason why people are
still calling him a champion when they see him. Itís for what he
did for boxing and for the people.
Are
you looking for a big name fight?
Felix Trinidad: Well at
this moment my mind is set up just for Mayorga and thatís the
only fight Iím looking for right now, and after the fight I know
those big names are out there but I donít want to talk about
anyone right now I just want to focus on the Mayorga fight.
At
any moment did Don King Productions tell you this fight now
happen because of Mayorgaís behavior?
Felix Trinidad: At one
point I thought myself with this guyís type of behavior I might
want to fight somebody else, but now that heís calm and heís
here the fight will happen.
Does
Tito think Mayorga is a dangerous opponent and does he respect
him?
Papa: Iíve been
watching Mayorgaís other fights and I know he likes to brawl,
heís coming to fight, to punch him and everything. Yes I have
respect for Mayorga but itís not the respect that when you feel
afraid of him. Respect that he is another boxer coming to fight,
that kind of respect.
Can
you tell me something about Mayorga coming up to fight 160?
Felix Trinidad: Well
Mayorga is a fighter that is coming up from 147, he already did
a fight at 156 and itís a fight a fight that heís coming up to
160. Yes its something that is going to affect him but the
reason why is because itís going to be Tito in the other corner.
Do
you think this fight is going to be tough for you in the ring?
Felix Trinidad: I feel
in my past couple of fights the fighter has been aggressive with
me and I have taken advantage of that aggressiveness from them
and I feel that if Mayorga comes in that way I will take
advantage of that too.
What
do you feel about the defeat of Oscar?
Felix Trinidad: Well he
has another defeat.
Have
you studied Mayorgaís fights with Spinks and Forrest?
Felix Trinidad: Those
were two different types of fights. You have one who is a tall
fighter and one who is a smaller one, you have a right hander,
and one was a southpaw. But I have been watching those fights
and I have been preparing myself for whatever he brings into the
ring, I ready.
Do
you feel any pressure being an icon, is there any concern about
disappointing your fans.
Felix Trinidad: To be
honest, I feel very well when I see people that support my
career and my self, and when people know who I am and know my
name it feels very well. I donít feel afraid of disappointing
anybody, Iím coming back to New York and it feels good but I
donít feel any kind of pressure.
In
case things donít go the way youíre planning do you recommend
that Tito retire?
Papa: Weíre just a
couple of days away from this fight and we just want to focus on
this fight. Lets wait to see this fight and after we will assess
everything and we will make a decision on what to do. But at
this moment there is not a negative thought in my mind about it,
Iím very confident that Tito will beat Mayorga and walk out of
the ring a winner.
How
many fights would you want to see Tito fight in 2005?
Papa: Itís going to be
all that we can show on tv for the people.
What
pace does his father want to keep him at?
Papa: Well at this
moment Tito already made a great career out of boxing, at this
moment itís going to be step by step. This is the first fight,
after this fight we will analyze and each time he goes back to
the ring after the fight then we analyze what is going to be the
next step and move and thatís what will determine what will be
the time frame for each fight.
What
were your thoughts when Tito told you he wanted to come back and
fight?
Papa: That is the thing
where I didnít recommend that Tito go out of boxing and go
forward and retire, since that moment I knew that things like
that would happen because Tito did not leave boxing because he
was hurt or anything like that but because of the situation and
the time, that specific time in his career that we wouldnít
recommend he leave boxing. So when he came back to me I took him
and my advice for him was take the support of his family and he
has that kind of support then we are back.
Why
are you fighting for this kind of title?
Felix Trinidad: The
reason why were are fighting for this kind of belt is because
the belt of the organization are all held by one fighter and you
know who it is so they wanted a 12 round fight.
Felix Trinidad: No I
feel that I have a big following with the press over there, and
with the people so I feel that from the second I win there will
be a great celebration with my people and I am very grateful and
I always say that I am very grateful for what Puerto Rico has
given to me also the people of Puerto Rico are very grateful for
what I have done for them and my country.
Did
you think your first fight back would be a tune up fight instead
of fighting Mayorga?
Felix Trinidad: No I
never thought about tune up fights, we prefer always going right
to the big fights. I think Iím going to win, weíre prepared to
win by knockout or by decision if the knockout comes it will be
best but Iím prepared to win most importantly.
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ìBack with a Vengeanceî is being presented by Don
King Productions in association with Madison Square Garden and
will be produced and distributed domestically by HBO
Pay-Per-View and broadcast internationally and on closed circuit
by KingVision.
Tickets, priced at $1,000, $700, $400, $250, $150 and $75, are
on sale at the Garden box office and all TicketMaster locations
or by calling TicketMaster at 212-307-7171, 201-507-8900,
631-888-9000, or 914-454-3388. TicketMaster purchases are
subject to convenience charges.
The
Trinidad-Mayorga showdown is the main event of mega-fight Don
King event which also includes WBO welterweight champion Zab
"Super" Judah versus Wayne "Wawatae" Martell amd undefeated WBA
super welterweight champion "Tremendous" Travis Simms versus
former WBO champion Bronco McKart. Several more fantastic
fights will be featured as part of this ìBack with a Vengeanceî
fight extravaganza.
Click on the ìBack with a Vengeanceî
advertisement for more info.
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