Sharkie’s ‘Week in Boxing’

By Frank Gonzalez

04.10.01 - It looks like Bernard Hopkins (39-2-1-28 KO’s) earned the right to brag all he likes. He did a great job of dismantling Felix Trinidad (40-0-0-33 KO’s) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

I was impressed with the way he fought such a calculated fight, he didn’t fight like the Hopkins I am used to seeing. He fought like someone else. Trinidad also fought like someone else. I didn’t recognize either fighter from the fight performances displayed Saturday. I kept waiting for Bernard to employ his infamous “dirty tactics,” and to my amazement, he fought a clean fight. I expected Trinidad to come on strong with body shots and hooks, but Tito seemed to forget what got him to the top of the Boxing world. Hopkins seemed to work the mind game to a fine science; he was able to take Trinidad completely out of his rhythm, and surprise everyone with his CLEAN Boxing skills. He sure fooled me. He showed up with a clever strategy, while Trinidad showed up with what looked like no strategy other than try to knock Hopkins out with a big punch. That big punch never came. Trinidad looked like Tyson might if he wer! e skinny, just throwing the same punches over and over, never making the necessary adjustments to out box and beat his opponent.

I gave only two rounds to Trinidad, and those two rounds could have gone either way, as Trinidad never was able to take control of the fight in any round. As much as I wanted Trinidad to win, the reality is that he lost, and he lost big. I have watched Trinidad for years, and his style is pretty basic, uncreative, and susceptible to failure. Obviously Hopkins did his homework on Trinidad and was prepared. The fact that Trinidad had won all of his fights with power punching and come-forward style made Trinidad a solid fighter to watch in previous fights. De La Hoya exposed Trinidad’s poor footwork and defense in a fight Trinidad won by questionable decision. After that fight, it seemed that Trinidad worked hard to improve his footwork, and he went on to beat quality opponents in David Reid, Mamadou Thiam, Fernando Vargas and then William Joppy.

When he fought Bernard Hopkins, Trinidad seemed to be preoccupied, removed from the task at hand. Hopkins’ mind games had paid dividends for him last Saturday. Trinidad fought in a way I never saw before; like a scared man who didn’t want to fight. Hopkins, who had apparently cultivated Trinidad’s mindset, took full advantage and whipped Tito’s ass…badly, embarrassingly. My hat is off to Hopkins, for a brilliant performance against a fighter who was recently considered by many to be the best pound for pound in the world.

What’s next for Trinidad, who knows? His body language seemed pathetic after the fight, practically in awe of Hopkins. Losing a fight is something new to Trinidad, and I doubt anyone ever knows how to do it very gracefully, especially someone with as much pride as Trinidad. I still think Trinidad can come back and do better if he LEARNS from the mistakes he made against Hopkins. If he’s smart, he will be a much-improved fighter in the future. I like Trinidad; he is a gentleman in and out of the ring. I hope he doesn’t crawl into a shell like others who have lost their first fight after so many victories. I believe that if Trinidad would have had better footwork, and not have been so predictable, he could’ve won this fight. But that w! asn’t the case last Saturday. Saturday belonged to Bernard Hopkins, who took a page out of the De La Hoya strategy book. He hit and moved, always moving out of range of Trinidad’s left hooks, constantly throwing the one-dimensional Trinidad’s timing off. Unlike De La Hoya, Hopkins never seemed to run out of gas in the later rounds.

As for Hopkins, I confess to never having been a fan of his. Watching many of his past fights, I was convinced he was a bully, who used dirty tactics and psychological pressure on opponents in an unsavory and often classless way. He was a guy I always hoped would get knocked out. Poetic justice. After what I saw Saturday night, my opinion of him is very open to change. Everyone deserves a chance, and sometimes even the villain becomes the hero. I liked what I saw style-wise in Hopkins fight with Trinidad. If he continues to use this cleaned up version of pugilistic prowess, which in fact makes him a superior fighter, (compared to his former style) I’m sure Hopkins will gain the respect of all who doubted him before.

I am wondering what reasons Roy Jones Jr. will find for NOT fighting Hopkins. Bernard will probably try to get a fight with either a game Fernando Vargas or for financial gain, Oscar De La Hoya, who I can’t imagine taking a fight with Hopkins, especially now. Maybe Hopkins will gain a few pounds and go fly to Europe to fight their Middle and Light Heavyweight Champions. I doubt Hopkins would object to making tons of money and gaining world wide recognition, unlike some of the more “tender” fighters, who are afraid to travel. They know who they are.

Too bad Mosley is only a Welterweight, cause I would love to see him fight Hopkins. Hopkins has proved that he is the best Middleweight out there. He has the ability to be a true ring Chameleon that can change styles according to his opponent, an ability Felix Trinidad obviously lacked.

As for Other Fights

I had the pleasure of catching Leonard “The Lion” Dorin (19-0-0-7 KO’s) fight Emanuel Burton (24-19-4-12 KO’s), who now calls himself Emanuel Burton Augustus after marrying his new bride (maybe he took on her last name?) Burton is a somewhat cocky, showboat type of well-seasoned fighter with good skills for a guy with the amount of losses as Dorin has wins. Dorin is a blue-collar fighter with the heart of a Lion. Dorin just kept coming and slugging on the inside (as his arms are too short to fight on the outside) and subdued Burton with his non-stop attack. Burton was so frustrated; he didn’t know what to do. All he could do was take a beating in front of his new bride and go home and hope she’d make everything all right. Dorin went! home a hero. Dorin is old though; I believe he is in his mid thirties. I would like to see him fight “better ranked” opposition. If he’s going to win anything, he better hurry up, his body clock is ticking.

Ratanaci Vorapin (39-5-0-28 KO’s) of Thailand took on Danny Romero (41-3-1-35 KO’s) in an interesting clash of styles at 122 pounds. Romero came on strong in the first couple of rounds, then after a head butt where Vorapin was cut, Romero went after the cut and got countered into a turn of the tide. It was a competitive fight, Romero always comes to fight, and Vorapin was totally game. Vorapin is the shorter of the two, stockier legs and good counter punching won him the fight. Romero made the mistake of slugging with a slugger instead of boxing a slugger. The fight went the distance, with Romero suffering the most from the three or four head butts that occurred. His left eye was badly cut, (from a head butt) which bled profusely throughout the last four rounds as Vorapin targeted t! he cut till the end. Vorapin got the decision from the judges after 10 rounds. I had the fight 97-94 in favor of Vorapin.

Veteran Junior Flyweight, Ricardo Lopez (49-0-1-36 KO’s) fought young African fighter Zolani Petelo (17-2-2-9 KO’s) in the 107-pound class. It was a fight dominated by Lopez, who knocked Petelo down in the second round, and battered him into the seventh round, when Petelo took a knee while being splattered with punches by Lopez flurries. He never got up from that knee, quitting at that point.

I also saw David Reid (16-1-0-7 KO’s) vs. Maurice Brantley (23-3-0-8 KO’s) on Sunday. Do you all remember when Reid first hit the scene? He was skinny and fast, and would shock fans with his Boxing skills. Now, he has what looks like a chiseled body, thicker and much more muscular than ever, but he is slow, plodding and seemingly uncomfortable in the ring.

I felt bad for Brantley, who out-hustled Reid the entire fight, but was sloppy and got knocked down in the third round, thereby sealing the victory for Reid. “Fair but firm” Joe Cortez never warned Brantley, who continuously threw illegal over the head punches and still couldn’t knock down Reid, who was on his way to winning an obvious decision. Reid was fairly dominant in the first five rounds, then looked like he took a few rounds off for lunch, then looked lethargic and aged in the later rounds. The fans booed as the later rounds were an ugly display of poor conditioning and questionable Boxing skills with Brantley sloppily hurling punches, and Reid basically staying out of the way. With his tired arms at his side, Reid used neither of! fense nor defense to close the fight, but just stayed out of harms way. Reid looked unimpressive and ready for a new career. His lazy left eye still looks lazy, even after many surgeries to improve it.

With less than 25 professional fights, Reid looks old. He even talks slow these days. During the post-fight interview, Reid was uninspiring, and seemingly embarrassed about being booed for his unexciting performance. He seems to have lost something, like the hunger of a young fighter. He’s fighting at 168 pounds now because he was having trouble making weight at 160. If ever I saw a fighter whose heart wasn’t in the sport anymore, it’s David Reid. Maybe he should retire before it’s too late, with his poor stamina and lack of enthusiasm, I can’t see him fighting major contenders anymore.

By the way, I hear Fernando Vargas is on his way to jail for his part in an assault charge from 1999. Looks like young Vargas is following in the footsteps of his buddy and co-stable mate Mike Tyson. But this is America, where lots of money can buy one out of most any legal problem, so I don’t expect Vargas to serve a full sentence, but who knows?

Until next time, enjoy all your favorite sports.