The greatness filter
De La Hoya-Trinidad a career-defining bout
Posted: Monday September 20, 1999 03:41 PM
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The next great ones? Many fans feel that Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad must beat each other to be considered great fighters. AP |
By Nick Charles, CNN/SI
LAS VEGAS -- The two fighters have a true disdain for each other. The two promoters harbor a ferocious dislike for each other. But with egos on the line and dollar signs dancing in their eyes, they all agree that Saturday night could be the classic battle that defines the winner's career.
"He can't be beat," said promoter Bob Arum of his fighter. "Oscar De La Hoya is the rare athlete and there are some in sport, that refuse to lose."
Felix Trinidad's promoter, Don King, doesn't think so.
"Oscar De La Hoya, I thank you," King said. "Felix Trinidad thanks you. Don Felix thanks you. We all thank you for giving us the opportunity to beat you."
Two undefeated champions in their prime is tantalizing. But we would be rushing it to label either Oscar De La Hoya or Felix Trinidad the second coming of Sugar Ray Robinson, or, for that matter, Sugar Ray Leonard, who offered his opinion.
"Sometimes people -- they tag greatness too prematurely without it being truly deserved," the former champion said.
"You want to develop somebody to be the greatest thing that ever lived," said professional boxing trainer Tommy Gallagher. "You did the same thing with Tyson. Now he couldn't even win a fight in a bar."
Both De La Hoya and Trinidad are tremendous talents, but there's a difference between star power and greatness. Sweeping appeal is one thing. Eminence and renown is something else, and so in boxing, the fascinating question keeps presenting itself with every new heavily-hyped superstar -- exactly what defines greatness?
"To come back, whether you're behind on points, whether you've been knocked down and persevered -- and regained control only to become victorious by a knockout -- that defines greatness," Leonard said.
Greatness is finding ways to win even when you're losing as Leonard did in his first fight against Tommy Hearns. He was the whole package in his welterweight prime. Flash and skill, plus heart when he fought Hearns and got his revenge against Duran, and later, when as a middleweight, he shocked Marvin Hagler.
Greatness is consistent dominance. Homicide Henry Armstrong simultaneously held three world titles in an era when there were only eight, and won 151 fights in his career.
"In the old days, there was a lot of tremendous almost-great fighters for them to ply their skills with," said professional boxing trainer Teddy Atlas. "For them to compete with and that they can do it for 15 years against that kind of competition, then I think they earned the tag, 'Great.' "
"Those guys were so mentally strong," Gallagher said. "They had no insecurities that they let out. They had pride. 'You're not gonna beat me no matter what.' That kind of toughness I don't know if the De La Hoyas of the world can compete with that."
Felix Trinidad may be the best unbeaten fighter nobody but boxing purists have heard of. Yet that hardly qualifies him as great.
He's been IBF welterweight champion since 1993. But in six years, Trinidad's fought only 13 times, feasting on a menu of fighters who never were and others such as Pernell Whittaker in February who had become shadows of what they were in their prime.
As for De La Hoya...
"Let me put it this way here," said professional boxing trainer Lou Duva. "They've done a good job of promoting him and he's done an excellent job of promoting himself."
But De La Hoya has taken the correct early steps towards greatness -- fighting the best around -- and ducking no one while capturing titles in three different divisions.
"For all the talk about him being the golden boy and sometimes it's a knock, he's a fighter," Atlas said. "He showed that when he won his first title with Molina -- he won ugly against a pretty good champion at 130 pounds."
De La Hoya then blew away the once-beaten Rafael Ruelas, handed Genaro Hernandez his first career loss. He beat a legend -- albeit a nearly used-up one in Julio Caesar Chavez to win the junior welterweight title in 1996 -- and made Micguel Angel Gonzalez taste defeat for the first time as well as Whitaker, whom he narrowly beat.
But this year De La Hoya took a giant step towards true brilliance when he got off the floor and shook the rafters with a spectacular finish against Ike Quartey that saved his championship.
"I think Oscar has the quality that can carry a fighter to greatness and that is taking chances, crossing the threshold when you're afraid to do it," said Wallace Matthews of the New York Post.
"He's always had a way of pulling out a big punch in a big fight when he's had to," Atlas said. "That's a skill. That's an ability. That's not just luck."
"When you are in the exchanges, you don't feel the punches," De La Hoya said. "The adrenalin is just pumping so fast. You don't feel nothing. You don't feel no pain or the punches coming at you."
The golden boy with the heart of an assassin has beaten everybody in his path.
Conquering Felix Trinidad would give him another championship and add to a perfect record.
But the bigger picture is what this is ultimately about, and a dynamic performance Saturday night could elevate Oscar De La Hoya to lofty status as one of the great welterweights of all time.
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