Party time
Police estimate crowd at 100,000 at Trinidad rally
Posted: Tuesday September 21, 1999 10:07 PM
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Running joke: Felix Trinidad humored the crowd at the rally, saying De La Hoya's style of boxing was to run "a lot." AP |
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- They chanted his name while salsa songs written in his honor blared from giant speakers. Revelers jammed highways, hoping to get a glimpse of him.
Felix Trinidad, a conquering hero come home, was back in Puerto Rico on Monday, welcomed by thousands amid a frenzy of adulation and national pride.
At an airport news conference, Trinidad joked about his victory over Oscar De La Hoya on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
"He had a different style of boxing," Trinidad said. "He ran a lot."
Trinidad's plane landed in San Juan amid roars of "Tito! Tito!" Fans waved the U.S. territory's lone-star flag and placards declaring "Gallito castao!" -- Spanish for "Top-class fighting cock!"
Gov. Pedro Rossello, who praised Trinidad for "glorifying the name of Puerto Rico," was among the dignitaries on hand.
"I promised you this victory and I did it," Trinidad said. "This triumph is for all of Puerto Rico. There is no doubt now that the best boxers are in Puerto Rico -- pound for pound they have the most heart. I feel super content."
Police tried to close one lane to make way for a victory cavalcade, but delirious motorists ignored the officers and zipped by. Others abandoned their cars in an airport logjam and walked the last mile.
"Tito No. 1," was the message scrawled in lipstick across the bare midriffs of a group of teenage girls.
This had been the most anticipated welterweight bout in years, pitting two unbeaten 26-year-olds known for knockout power -- De La Hoya with his left hand, Trinidad with his right.
De La Hoya, the 'golden boy' from California, seemed assured victory after connecting with his jab early on. But in the last few rounds, he turned complacent and Trinidad's tenacity paid off as he scored with his punishing right.
De La Hoya was befuddled by the majority decision. He was sure he had won. Trinidad dismissed such opinion.
Name game: Gov. Pedro Rossello praised Trinidad for glorifying the name of Puerto Rico. |
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"The person who deserved this win was Tito Trinidad and the judges agreed," he said.
Felix Trinidad Sr., the boxer's father, trainer and manager, said any rematch would have to be on his son's terms. The Puerto Ricans were unhappy Trinidad received only $10.5 million. While that sum was many millions more than any previous payday for him, it was half of De La Hoya's take.
The boxer's father suggested a rematch for Puerto Rico or New York, where there is a large Puerto Rican population. He would not say how much his son would demand.
"Tito has a huge value in boxing and that has no price," he said.
An alternative would be a fight with Jim Page, the WBC champion in his 147-pound category, or a move up to the 154-pound category.
Trinidad used the occasion to bring attention to Vieques, an outlying island that Puerto Ricans want the U.S. Navy to stop using as a live bombing range. The bombing was suspended after an April accident killed a civilian Puerto Rican guard there. The U.S. Congress is to hold hearings on the issue this week.
"Peace for Vieques!" Trinidad declared. The night of the fight, he entered the ring in front of a map of the island demanding: "Navy get out of Vieques!"
The controversy, like Trinidad's victory, has brought a nationalistic outpouring on the island, where patriotic feelings are deep despite meager support for the independence movement. The 4 million islanders are U.S. citizens who serve in the military and receive federal funds though they do not pay federal taxes and cannot vote for president or the Congress.
At the airport, Mabel Roubert waited with two sons, Marcus, 14, and Braulio, 8, whom she had taken out of school.
"School is important," she said. "But they have to learn that when something like this is going on, when the people of Puerto Rico are behind something, you have to go out and participate."
Angry tourists tried to catch flights by walking up to two miles from hotels to the airport. Guillermo Flores Molina of Mexico spent 90 minutes walking to the airport in the scorching sun with his daughter, wife and luggage.
"This is a disaster," he said. "Who's going to pay for this flight that I'm going to miss?"
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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