TRINIDAD-MAYORGA POST-FIGHT ANALYSIS

October 3, 2004 - by Bert Sugar

Fight? It was no fight. Instead it was a war, a coming-out party and an old-fashioned one-sided ass-whuppin' all rolled into one. It was the night Felix "Tito" Trinidad came back after a 29-month layoff to take his place on that sparsely-populated island of elite fighters in front of a riotous Madison Square Garden assemblage of his fans by practicing unspeakable acts of destruction on the theretofore Gibraltar-like Ricardo Mayorga.

Trinidad, who had retired after finding a rematch with his conqueror, Bernard Hopkins, unforthcoming, had continued to be the busiest memory in boxing, his hundreds of thousands of fans and the world of boxing at large hoping for--nay, calling for--his return. And so it was that, missing the roar of the crowd, Felix answered the call and decided to make his comeback. Not just any comeback, mind you, where the combacking boxer seeks out the stiffs of which dreams are made, but instead one against the ever-dangerous and unpredictable Mayorga.

With 17,000-plus ardent Trinidad supporters sounding like youngsters with green-apple colic screaming "Ti-To...Ti-To...Ti-To..." their voices rising and falling as if some choirmaster were waving them off, Trinidad made his way down the Garden aisle to the rind for the first time since he knocked out the deservedly unknown Hacine Cherifi some 29 months ago. Taking off his hooded satin robe, Trinidad's physical appearance was hardly that of the normal comebacking fighter who look as if they had spent their spare time leaning against the dining columns of the local newspaper. Instead, he was a lean and trim 157 3/4 pounds. More "Ti-To's" greeted him as he pounded his chest. Over in the other corner, all Mayorga had to offer was a carrot-topped head of hair, especially dyed for the fight.

FIGHTERS	Trinidad	Mayorga
TOTAL PUNCHES
Thrown	460	564
Connected	290	141
%	63%	25%
JABS
Thrown	131	173
Connected	72	13
%	55%	8%
POWER PUNCHES
Thrown	329	391
Connected	218	128
%	66%	33%
JUDGES SCORECARDS
Jutras	68	64
Ucci	68	64
Weisfeld	67	64

At the bell the two came out cautiously. And for the first two minutes it was Mayorga who carried the fight to Trinidad. Suddenly, Trinidad whipped over a left hook, catching Mayorga on the jaw. In an act of machismo, one he had exhibited in the Vernon Forest fight, Mayorga stuck out his chin, almost as if saying, "Hit me here again, I dare you!" And Trinidad obliged him, staggering him with a right. It was to be the last time Mayorga dared pull that act.

By the second round, it was evident that Trinidad had his "ring legs" as he continued to nail Mayorga with pinpoint-accurate punches, almost as if his gloves were heat-seeking missiles.

Only in the third when Mayorga, who was winging punches from the third row and beyond, connected to the top of Trinidad's head, forcing him to hold himself up with his gloves for aslongasittakestoreadthis for a split-second knockdown, did Mayorga connect with any meaningful punch. The rest of the time he was reaching for Trinidad like a proverbial boarding house roomer.

By the fourth Trinidad, with a porterhouse look in his eyes, was skewering Mayorga with combinations, turning his face red and his hair white. Throughout the next three rounds Trinidad continued to rake Mayorga with a dismal monotony and startling variety, raising welts under his eyes and causing him to founder like a beached craft.

By the eighth, with Mayorga's chances so dead you could wrap crepe around them, Trinidad began testing his opponent's caving knee quotient, rocking him with unanswered combinations. Finally, a left hook to Mayorga's midsection deposited him on the canvas for the first time in his career. Sloooowly rising he was met with another flurry of punches and once again polished the canvas with the backside of his trunks while Trinidad, instead of merely going to a neutral corner, scaled the turnbuckle to wave to his "Ti-To" cheering fans in celebration. However, it was not over. Not yet anyway. For Mayorga, not wanting to show his white feather, rose again, only to be knocked down for the third and last time. And this time, even if Mayorga hadn't had enough, referee Steve Smoger had, waving the bout over at 2:39 of the eighth round.

Make no mistakes about it: Felix Trinidad is back. Big time. And off his performance against Ricardo Mayorga is once again a major player in the world of boxing, his genius to be served, not argued with.

How long before he meets Bernard Hopkins in a rematch? Well, as Hopkins himself said, "This is the perfect time to promote Tito and Hopkins."