Marquee matchup
Chance to make history excites De La Hoya and Trinidad
Posted: Saturday September 18, 1999 12:49 PM
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Trinidad (right) weighed in Friday evening before 3,000 screaming fans at the Events Center. AP |
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad were 8 years old when Sugar Ray Leonard stopped Thomas Hearns in the 14th round of a welterweight title showdown Sept. 16, 1981.
On Saturday night, De La Hoya and Trinidad, unbeaten welterweight champions, meet in what promoters and fans hope will be a '90s version of that classic from the closed-circuit television age.
The pay-per-view fight before a sellout crowd of 12,000 at Mandalay Bay figures to be explosive. De La Hoya and Trinidad have combined for 55 knockouts in 66 fights, but De La Hoya has been down three times and Trinidad has been down six times. This time, one of them might not get up.
The bout is similar to Leonard-Hearns in terms of anticipation, hype, sales and purses as well as personalities and world-class boxing talent.
De La Hoya has the star quality of a Leonard, whose glow radiates beyond boxing. Trinidad is like Hearns in that he is seemingly irked by De La Hoya's popularity and angered because he feels he has not been given his due -- at least not outside his native Puerto Rico.
De La Hoya, born and raised in East Los Angeles, is a media darling who conducts interviews in English and Spanish. Trinidad speaks only Spanish, a distinct disadvantage in dealing with the English-speaking media.
Something always seems to get lost in translation, but not always.
"I know he will have the majority of fans with him that night, but it doesn't matter because we will be alone in the ring and I will show him who I am," Trinidad said.
The IBF champion thinks father knows best. Father-trainer Felix Sr. has predicted a sixth-round KO for his son.
"If I box well and win a decision, I'll make myself happy," De La Hoya said. "When I fight, I'm always in a no-win situation. If I get a one-round knockout it's because he had a weight problem and no chin. If I win a 12-round decision, people will say I wouldn't stand in front of him, that I was afraid of him."
Like Leonard, De La Hoya heightened his appeal through endorsements and TV talk shows. He's even taking singing lessons and has signed a deal with EMI Latin Records. During a promotional appearance with Trinidad in Mexico City in June, De La Hoya burst into singing "El Rey," a mariachi drinking song.
It's not song that worries some of De La Hoya's followers. It's the wine and women.
De La Hoya has been known to be a good drinker when not in training and his matinee-idol looks have been a magnet to women, a big reason for his pay-per-view success. He remains unmarried, but he has a son and daughter with two women.
The WBC champion admits he was not focused for some fights despite a 31-0 record, with 25 knockouts.
"I was worried more about the future in other areas than fighting," De La Hoya said. "It's a matter of motivation. This is a big fight, and I'm hungry again. This fight is making me refocus."
Trinidad (35-0, 30 KOs) has something to prove. At least he feels he has something to prove -- and that's sufficient motivation.
"My opponents, they rise to the occasion," De La Hoya said. "They lift themselves to the sky, to the moon."
Each fighter officially weighed in Friday evening at the class limit of 147 pounds before about 3,000 screaming fans at the Events Center.
Trinidad showed up early weighed himself wearing blue shorts and socks. When he officially weighed-in he was wearing only brief. De La Hoya before weighing in.
Trinidad's style is to attack, and that could play into the hands of De La Hoya, who is an excellent counter puncher.
Critics think De La Hoya could be hurt by counting too much on a stiff left jab and an explosive left hook. He bruised his left hand in the first round of his 11th-round win over Oba Carr in his last fight May 22, but he says it's 100 percent for this fight.
"My left hand, I guess, is the key to my victory in this fight," De La Hoya said. "My right, I don't even think about it, it's just there."
Trainer Robert Alcazar, however, said, "He's been working well with the right hand."
The telecast begins at 9 p.m. EDT, with the main even expected to start between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. Mark Taffet of TVKO said it will be highest grossing pay-per-view fight outside the heavyweight division and one of the top five pay-per-view events ever.
Bob Arum, De La Hoya's promoter, said De La Hoya's purse is $15 million and that he will get another $6 million in television revenues. Arum said Don King, Trinidad's promoter, is getting $10 million and $8.5 million of that will go to Trinidad.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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