Trinidad has some options

Fighting Hopkins would be next logical step, but a matchup vs. De La Hoya would yield bigger payday

BY ROBERT CASSIDY | SPECIAL TO NEWSDAY

October 4, 2004

Before Felix Trinidad climbed into the ring Saturday night to face Ricardo Mayorga, the biggest question facing his comeback was whether his selection of Mayorga as an opponent was too difficult.

Now just one question remains: Who's next?

Against Mayorga, Trinidad demonstrated that he indeed is back in top form. He survived a few awkward moments early, including a third-round knockdown, then overwhelmed Mayorga with crisp combinations and an array of power punches. Trinidad sent him to the canvas three times in the eighth round for a TKO at Madison Square Garden.

After such an impressive victory, it would seem the obvious choice for Trinidad's next fight would be against undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. But nothing in boxing is obvious. Even though Hopkins is responsible for Trinidad's only defeat, no one on Team Trinidad was committing to that fight.

"I have to wait until we meet with [promoter] Don King," Trinidad said. "There are other fights out there."

King, who has promoted all of Trinidad's major fights, said Hopkins priced himself out of a rematch in 2001 and anticipated he will do the same now. Although Hopkins has defeated Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya, King described him as a man "with the winning lottery ticket but he doesn't know how to cash it."

King was noncommittal regarding Hopkins, but he suggested that more money could be made for Trinidad in a rematch with De La Hoya.

"I'm not going to stand in the way of Tito knocking out Hopkins," he said. "But should Tito take $20 million to fight De La Hoya or take $12 million to fight Hopkins?"

Trinidad decisioned De La Hoya in 1999 and - with 1.4 million purchases - generated the most lucrative non-heavyweight pay-per-view show in history.

No matter whom Trinidad selects, it won't diminish the fact that he and Mayorga engaged in what could be the fight of the year.

Trinidad (42-1, 35 KOs) was coming off more than two years of inactivity and Mayorga attempted to exploit that immediately. He opened the fight aggressively, crowding Trinidad and launching overhand rights. Several landed, but Trinidad weathered the storm.

That did nothing to discourage Mayorga. Later in that first round, he dropped his hands and dared Trinidad to hit him. Trinidad obliged, landing three rapid left hooks. Mayorga shrugged off the punches, but it seemed to be a crucial mistake.

Up to that point, Trinidad was moving cautiously, pushing his punches rather than letting them flow naturally. After he landed those left hooks, Trinidad found his confidence and his rhythm.

Mayorga (26-5-1, 22 KOs) showed resolve against one of the most prolific punchers of this era. A former welterweight champion, Mayorga skipped the junior middleweight division to face Trinidad at middleweight. He rarely took a backward step in the fight. Even with blood dripping down his left cheek and his left eye closing shut, he pursued Trinidad with abandon.

In Round 8, a devastating left hook to the body dropped Mayorga. It was the first time he had been knocked down in his pro career. Mayorga finally had been broken, and Trinidad knew it. He stalked his wounded opponent from corner to corner, dropping him twice more before referee Steve Smoger stopped the bout with 21 seconds left in the round.

"Before this fight, there was a lot of discussion as to whether I was willing to fight this kind of fight again," Trinidad said. "Well, I did."