Felix Trinidad

At 51 years old, Felix Trinidad has this physical status:

Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008.

He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, and is considered one of the best boxers in Puerto Rico's history.After winning five national amateur championships in Puerto Rico, Trinidad debuted as a professional when he was seventeen, and won his first world championship by defeating Maurice Blocker to win the IBF welterweight title in 1993.

He currently holds the record for the second most welterweight title defenses (15), as well as the record for longest reign as welterweight champion, at 6 years, 8 months and 14 days. As his career continued, he defeated Oscar De La Hoya to win the WBC and lineal welterweight titles in 1999; Fernando Vargas to win the unified WBA and IBF light middleweight titles in 2000; and William Joppy to win the WBA middleweight title in 2001.

Trinidad's first professional loss was against Bernard Hopkins later in 2001, and following this he retired from boxing for the first time.

Trinidad made his ring return by defeating Ricardo Mayorga in 2004 and, after a losing effort against Winky Wright in 2005, retired for a second time.

In 2008 he returned once more and lost to Roy Jones Jr. Subsequently, Trinidad entered a hiatus without clarifying the status of his career. Trinidad is frequently mentioned among the best Puerto Rican boxers of all time by sports journalists and analysts, along with Juan Laporte, Esteban De Jesús, Wilfredo Vázquez, Miguel Cotto, Wilfred Benítez, Wilfredo Gómez, Héctor Camacho, and Carlos Ortíz.

In 2000, Trinidad was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

He is ranked number 30 on The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time and in 2002 named him the 51st greatest fighter of the past 80 years.

In 2014 Trinidad was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, thus becoming the tenth Puerto Rican to receive such an honor.

Personal life

Félix Trinidad was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, to a Puerto Rican family. During his childhood the family moved to Cupey Alto, a subdivision of San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he grew up. His future wife, Sharon Santiago, lived in Cupey and first met Trinidad in the home of her neighborhood friend, a classmate of Trinidad's. Trinidad pursued a relationship with Santiago, including an attempt to impress her with his red Ford Mustang. He continued to press for her affection and, with the help of Santiago's neighbor, Trinidad was able to win her over. Early on, Santiago's mother thought that Trinidad was related to her daughter's friend, but she realized the true situation when she visited the friend's house and he acted nervous in her presence. Santiago's father objected to the relationship because Trinidad was an athlete; at the time many athletes had a negative public image. Santiago became rebellious, but Trinidad eventually won her family's trust. The couple was married four years after they began dating and have had four daughters. Trinidad has a fifth daughter, named Alondra Nicole, from another relationship.

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Amateur career

Trinidad was champion in the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, and the World Boxing Council. He had a record of 42 victories and three losses, with 35 of them knocked out. His interest in this sport began at 12 years old, winning five awards at the amateur championships in his home country (100, 112, 126, and 132 pounds), according to his amateur sheet, his amateur record was 51–6.

Professional career

Trinidad debuted as a professional on March 10, 1990, when he was 17 years old. In a match that Trinidad defeated Trinidad by a knockout in the second round, the fight was against Angel Romero, another debuting boxer. He knocked out nine of his first ten opponents at the start of his career. He then competed against more experienced boxers like Jake Rodriguez, whom he defeated on December 6, 1991. Trinidad gained the fight by majority vote, but he sustained a right hand injury. He was then inactive for five months while recovering from the injury.

In Cayey, Puerto Rico, Raul Gonzalez defeated Felix Trinidad on May 3, 1992. This was the night's biggest fight. Both Gonzalez and Trinidad weighed in at 142 pounds. Gonzalez had a record of 8-2-3 with 5 KOs, while Trinidad had a record of 13–0 with ten KOs. Gonzalez went down three times, but Trinidad took the lead in round four by TKO. Trinidad will win by KO and will now finish 14-0 for 11 KOs.

Trinidad traveled to San Diego, California, where they defeated IBF welterweight champion Maurice Blocker in two rounds in a fight card that was televised on Showtime on June 19, 1993. Blocker's style was the subject of the first two minutes of the fight. One of Trinidad's punches in the first round had just 11 seconds left, and another had barely survived the round. In the second round, the champion's health improved, but a new Trinidad punch injured him in the first 30 seconds. Trinidad was accompanied by a team, with one of them scoring a knockout at 1:49 in the round as the referee called the game off. After, tournament promoter Don King's exclusive link to stage fights for the cable television network Showtime meant that Trinidad would be shown regularly on Showtime Championship Boxing.

Trinidad defended his position for the next three years against a variety of opponents. On January 29, 1994, Trinidad's first fight in Las Vegas was against Héctor Camacho. During the first rounds, he was cautious and got a cut across his left eye. He linked a solid lineup in the third round that helped Camacho shift to a defensive role. Trinidad was on the offensive throughout the game and came out in unanimous decision, the first decision since he had gained the world championship. The judges' scores were 117–109, 116–110, and 119–106.

Trinidad descended on the MGM Grand for the second straight fight against Yori Boy Campas, who had a record of 56–0. Campas was knocked down in the second round, the second time a Trinidadian has lost. Trinidad used a variety of techniques, including injuring Campas' face and breaking his nose. The referee called the match off in the fourth round, his first defeat in Campas' history.

On Estadio de Beisbol in Monte Rico, Mexico, Trinidad's fourth battle outside Puerto Rico or the United States took place. Trinidad was supposed to defend his position against Obeated Oba Carr. Carr scored a knockdown in the second round, which was the result of a quick right hand punch. Trinidad pressed the enemy, who maintained a fast pace throughout the war, and continued the war. Trinidad gave Carr a strong punch in the fourth round, and in the eighth he scored three consecutive knockdowns before the referee called the game to a halt due to a technical foulout.

Trinidad spent the next four years fighting his name against several other fighters in a brawl on Showtime. Among these wars was a fight against Mahenge Zulu, the number two challenger for Trinidad's championship. This combat was part of a card that took place in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, on April 3, 1998, marking the first time that Trinidad had been present in the island in five years. Trinidad commenced the first round by cautiously analyzing the opponent's style, but the round came to a conclusion in quick exchanges after Zulu took the lead in the offensive. Zulu was eagerly aiming for the champion in the second round, but he retreated after he had a good jab sequence. A series of jabs opened a wound on Zulu's mouth early in the third round, but the challenger's punches were not hitting their intended destination. Trinidad's head and body were firmly on lockout in the fourth round, with several combinations that angered the challenger, causing more punches in Zulu's head and body. Zulu was hit in the chest, he collapsed to the ground and attempted to stand, but the referee called the fight off before he could do so.

Trinidad defended the welterweight championship against Pernell Whitaker on February 20, 1999, winning the fight by unanimous vote in a contest that marked his thirteenth successful defense. Both boxers had aggressive designs that required heavy pushing off the ground, and the brawl ensued. Both boxers used their jabs most of the time, with Trinidad gaining a head start when Whitaker tried to attack inside, eventually resulting in a knockdown in round two. The fighters swapped combinations in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds. Both boxers collapsed to the ground in what was described as "accidental slips" later in the fight. Whitaker's seventh round angered more punches with Trinidad, but the champion maintained power in the tie's tempo through the eighth, ninth, and tenth rounds. Whitaker, with a swollen right eye, took a strictly defensive role throughout the round, leaving his opponent alone in the first round, although Trinidad continued on the offensive until the match ended. The judges gave the champion scoring of 117–111, 118–109, and 118–109.

Don King and Oscar De la Hoya's promoter, Bob Arum, and others decided to co-promote a mega-fight for the Lineal, WBC, and IBF welterweight championships in Las Vegas on September 18, 1999. De la Hoya used boxing to link combinations early in the war, while avoiding Trinidad's attacks. Both boxers exchanged punches in the second round, but De la Hoya returned to his old tactic, which he used in the third round. Trinidad put the ball into question, but De la Hoya attempted to prevent his punches by walking, and both boxers eventually exchanged punches. Trinidad continued in the fifth round of the competition, while De la Hoya attempted to remain on the outside of the rings, Trinidad's eye was swollen after a trade of punches, and his nose was also bleeding. Trinidad was having a lot of difficulties finding De La Hoya and couldn't get as flush as normal with his punches, even though he scored at times, Oscar's motion was not encouraging him to land in combination, and some believed it was a lackluster fight. The swelling in Trinidad's eye had exacerbated in the eighth round. Oscar was scoring on Trinidad, but De La Hoya disengaged halfway through the tenth. De La Hoya had gotten out and had toes for the remainder of the match, but Trinidad prevailed in the final two rounds. Trinidad's close, majority verdict was rendered by the judges, who scored 115–113, 114–114, and 114–114.

Trinidad quit the welterweight championships in 2000 and advanced to the junior middleweight division in order to face David Reid, the World Boxing Association's champion. Trinidad concentrated his punches on Reid's body early in the fight, referring to severe punches to his ribs and belly. Reid put a good punch to his opponent's jaw in the second round and received a knockdown in the third round. Trinidad maintained his jab in the fourth and fifth rounds, retaining control of the game's rhythm in the sixth round. The fight came close at the beginning of the seventh round, but Trinidad opened the second half of the game in the offensive, winning the fight's second round. The fight is being fought in the eighth, ninth, and tenth rounds, with the first cut to Reid's eye. Trinidad ruled the eleventh round, scoring three straight knockdowns. Reid attempted to bring the fight to a conclusion on the offensive, but his opponents boxed and countered him. The judges gave scores of 114–107, 114–106, and 115–106, all in favour of Trinidad.

He was set to face Fernando Vargas, the International Boxing Federation's junior middleweight champion, on December 2, 2000. Trinidad and Tonga formed a good combination that culminated in his opponent being knocked down. Vargas was able to recover, but another pair put him in danger for a second time and culminated in another loss. Trinidad was on the offensive early in the second round, but Vargas put together a good combination in the round's closing moments, which revealed a cut in Trinidad's right eye. Vargas' punches struck Trinidad's jaw, causing his eighth knockdown in his career. Vargas was in command of the fight's offensive in the fifth round, identifying combinations to Trinidad's body. Trinidad regained control of the fight's tempo that lasted throughout the game, punching Vargas' head and left jabs to the ribs. Vargas' eighth display of exhaustion showed signs of exhaustion, slowed his offensive, while Trinidad followed the team with changes to the body. Throughout the ninth, tenth, and eleventh rounds, the pattern remained. Vargas was on the offensive early in the final round, launching a solid left hook. Trinidad retaliated with a left hook that caused Vargas to crash; Vargas was able to stand up but was then knocked down for the second time. Vargas was hurt, Trinidad continued to mix combinations, and Vargas was unable to help Vargas until the referee finally did, making Trinidad the champion.

Trinidad lifted the weight after his fight with Vargas, and now is a member of Don King's middleweight unification tournament, featuring IBF champion Bernard Hopkins, WBA champion William Joppy, and WBC champion Keith Holmes. Trinidad was matched with Joppy, who was defeated by a technical knockout in the fifth round of a tournament that took place on May 12, 2001. Joppy opened the first round on the offensive, but Trinidad earned a knockdown with a sequence of punches that came close to throwing Joppy under the ropes. Trinidad subsequently suffered a knockdown in the fourth round of the tournament, proving that he was using a combination of left hooks and right punches to the head at this point in the tournament. Joppy tried to recover in the fifth round after being knocked down by the ropes, but the referee called the game off, but not before he was relying on the ropes to help him stand. Trinidad explained his tactic after the contest ended by saying: "I knew he wanted to force his will, his weight, and I wouldn't allow him to do it."

The middleweight unification match between Hopkins and Trinidad was originally scheduled for September 15, 2001, at the Madison Square Garden. Terrorists targeted the World Trade Center in the morning of September 11. Following this traumatic experience, the war was postponed indefinitely. Don King rescheduled the war for September 29 after receiving promises from Madison Square Garden officials and the City of New York. The fight in the early rounds was sluggish, with each boxer analyzing their opponent. Hopkins mixed some combinations in the second round, while Trinidad went on the offensive in the fourth round, where both boxers traded sequences of punches. In the fifth round, the pattern continued, with Trinidad's aggressive style guiding the Hopkins while Hopkins' reliance on jabs. Trinidad maintained an offensive attitude in the sixth round and secured the round after trading several combinations. In the eighth and ninth rounds, the two fighters continued to punch each other, with Hopkins striking three straight punches in a row. Hopkins' father was knocked out in the twelfth round, but before the game could continue, Trinidad's father was seated, resulting in the referee calling the match off by technical foulment.

Trinidad was then scheduled to face Hacine Cherifi in a match that was decided by a technical forfeiture in the fourth round. The demonstration was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was part of a card that took place on May 11, 2002. Trinidad's first-round tactics included using his jab, but Cherifi did not want to engage in the offensive right away. Trinidad's chin was disoriented in the last minute of the round, and he followed this with a combo and a knockdown. Trinidad exhibited more boxing and was on the offensive by using combinations of the head and ribs in the second round. Cherifi delivered more punches in the third round than in the previous two, but Trinidad relying on throwing left jabs was a failure. Cherifi was knocked by one of his punches, followed by a blow to the chest, causing Cherifi to fall to the ground. Cherifi was injured in the fourth in a series of combinations, and the pair was forced to the ground twice, ending the match on the second attempt. Trinidad has declared his retirement following this competition, leaving the sport with a record of 41 victories, one loss, and 34 wins by knockout.

Trinidad made a comeback on March 2, 2004. In Madison Square Garden on October 2, 2004, he defeated Ricardo Mayorga. Earlier in the round, Mayorga was on the offensive linking several combinations, but later in the round Trinidad tied some punches to his opponent's face. When lowering his defense, the mayor retaliated, but Trinidad's defense fought back to maintain the attack in the closing seconds. He continued to match combinations with Mayorga's nose, which caused him to bleed from his nose, and the round came to a conclusion with both fighters exchanging punches. Mayorga tried to avoid punches to the body in the third round, but to his opponent, he did not do significant harm, but one of these punches made Trinidad lose his balance and touch the floor with just one glove, which was dismissed as a knockdown by the referee later in the round. Both boxers traded difficult combinations in the fourth round. Trinidad demonstrated a full throttle in the fifth version, injuring Mayorga and opening a cut under one of his eyes. The cut on Mayorga's face began to swell in the sixth and seventh rounds, and the repeatance of this pattern continued in the sixth and seventh rounds. Trinidad had many knockdowns in the eight round, but lost by technical failure following a third knockdown.

Trinidad defeated Winky Wright on May 14, 2005, in a match in which the winner would be the World Boxing Council's number one challenger in the Middleweight division. Wright won by decision, receiving scores of 120–107 and 119–108 twice by the judges. Trinidad's fighting style seemed to be out of tune in the first round, while Wright took a defensive approach and relied on jabs. Wright was in the offensive scoring with jabs in the first three rounds. Trinidad formed a solid unit in the fourth round. Wright maintained his tactics in the previous rounds, although Trinidad employed a tactic of neutralizing his opponents' punches by standing in front of him. Trinidad attempted to take the contest's offensive in the later rounds, but his opponents were able to block the bulk of his punches while maintaining his previous tactic. Trinidad pursued Wright in the twelfth round of the tournament, but his opponent boxed him away from him until the round ended. Trinidad was briefly suspended as a result of the war after his father told him that he would not go forward in his corner.

Trinidad was forced to leave his second retirement after a match against former four-division champion Roy Jones Jr. on January 19, 2008. It was contestable at a catchweight of 170 lb (77 kg), and it was broadcast live on HBO pay-per-view. The card was issued at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Trinidad got off the track and won the first two rounds. Jones, who relied on the speed of his punches, prevailed in the third and fourth rounds. In the fifth and sixth rounds, this pattern remained. Jones was knocked down in the seventh round after playing with a right hand. Jones continued to use his speed after Trinidad pursued the assault in the tenth round, resulting in a second knockdown after landing a combination. Jones' victory was declared unanimously by the judges, with scores of 117–109 and 116–110 twice.

Trinidad was inactive for nearly two years before announcing on October 14, 2009 that he was "between 95 percent and 98 percent positive" not to do anything more than boxing. During this period, he appeared in sporadic public appearances, playing in boxing cards, and supporting public affairs, including at a ceremony in which Juan Manuel López and Iván Calderón received rings for five successful defenses of their world championships. Trinidad became affiliated with the World Wrestling Council in July 2009, where they appeared as a guest referee at their anniversary display. He was still included in a storyline three months after, three months later, with Orlando Colón also included him. Trinidad expressed an interest in purchasing the Changos de Naranjito in 2010.

Judge Anthony Cuevas Ramos signed a letter on September 12, 2018 stating that Banco Popular de Puerto Rico would pay Trinidad $2,000,000 dollars within 24 hours due to the bank's owing him interest money from his personal accounts.

Bouie Fisher, Hopkins' mentor, watched the tapping of Trinidad's hands in what is considered a normal boxing technique. Trinidad's hands were wrapped incorrectly, according to the Hopkins camp, and if the combat was not rewrapped properly, they would have to cancel it. Fisher also stated that the Chief Inspector of the NYSAC insisted that Trinidad's camp indeed needed to re-wrap his hands the right way, without touching the skin directly. According to the New York State Athletic Commission, the New York State Athletic Commission was established in 1982.

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