Power of Caring
  presented by CIGNA

Ready to rock

De La Hoya training hard for Trinidad match

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Tuesday September 14, 1999 12:39 AM

Oscar De La Hoya started training for his fight against Felix Trinidad earlier than for any other opponent in his career. CNN/SI

By Tom Rinaldi, CNN/SI

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. -- The handwrap. The Maruichi music. The megawatt smile. When Oscar De La Hoya holds media day at his training camp, it's tough to tell where the celebrity stops and the competitor starts.

At least, until the combinations fly.

De La Hoya has started training for his fight this Saturday against Felix Trinidad earlier than for any other opponent in his career. It's the surest sign he understands how difficult this fight will be.

"People are wanting to see a tougher and tougher opponent for me," says De La Hoya. "So it's a never-ending story for me, where my next opponent is the one to beat me, or Felix Trinidad is the one to beat me. So I expect a tough fight."

De La Hoya's expectations are justified.

Felix Trinidad is 35-0 with 30 knockouts, featuring a brutal body assault on Hugo Pineda in his last bout. Immediately afterward, he pointed toward De La Hoya and a world welterweight unification title match.

"I can assure you that Felix Trinidad has never been hit the way I can hit him with a strong punch, a strong left hook or a strong right hand," predicts De La Hoya. "Fighters with less power have dropped him so it can be an opening for me."

De La Hoya's biggest problem lately, by his own description, has been a big part of his success: his desire for knockouts. Rather than sticking to his trainer's strategy and advice, De La Hoya was focusing on the big punch, not the fight's big picture. Patience as much as power is now a priority.

"Now he's thinking round by round, says trainer Robert Alcazar. "When the bell sounds, we want to worry about the first round and forget about the second, [or] the rest of the rounds."

De La Hoya says he'll be ready.

"I'm a determined fighter. I'll train hard and be ready for a fight. But when I do my own thing, things start to get difficult for me in that ring. So I'll definitely pay more attention to my trainer."

Despite his ability to punch for power, De La Hoya's training camp in Northern California has been more about him becoming a boxer again, about style and strategy more than slugging. The same could be said for De La Hoya when he talks about facing Felix Trinidad. De La Hoya doesn't focus on ending the fight with a single punch.

"I'm not looking for a knockout in this fight," he says. "I just want to go out there and win. I want to box, stay on my toes, and if the knockout comes, it'll come."

Just what will come of a more patient Oscar De La Hoya? Come September 18, Felix Trinidad's body will find firsthand.

 

Related information
Stories
Trinidad to battle De La Hoya Sept. 18 in Vegas
Multimedia
De La Hoya knows that he has to listen to his corner men.   • Start(1.04 M .MOV) De La Hoya knows that he has more power than any of Felix Trinidad's previous opponents. (105 K) With each fight the expectations get higher for De La Hoya. (159 K) Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.