King: "Mayorga will be back in 2005"

Promoter extraordinaire Don King says former WBC and WBA welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga will indeed be back in action in the New Year despite the fact the Nicaraguan wildman announced his retirement in the immediate aftermath of his eighth round knockout to Felix 'Tito' Trinidad in New York in October (pictured by Neil Abramson). "Mayorga will be back, baby," King told SecondsOut. "He'll be back in 2005 bigger and better than ever before, coming off that magnificent performance against Tito Trinidad in October. He'll be back and he'll return as a superstar like never before thanks to his brave effort against Trinidad." King intimated that Mayorga's 'retirement' owed more to the crushing disappointment of losing to bitter rival Tito coupled with the worry of that impending rape trial in his native land. In the late summer, 'El Matador' was accused of sexually assaulting a women in a hotel in Nicaragua but was found not guilty at the subsequent trial two weeks ago. "That whole legal thing has vindicated Mayorga and he's now ready to return," enthused King. "If ever a man proved himself a gallant, never-say-day warrior in a fight he lost it is Ricardo Mayorga at Madison Square Garden, October 2, 2004. He took a heck of a beating from Tito but just kept on giving until he had nothing left to give - and then he gave some more! The fans cannot help but respect that kind of commitment to the fight and bravery of spirit and they cannot wait to see what this warrior will do next." Although he has no concrete plans, King said he believes Mayorga will return at junior middleweight, having looked too small v Trinidad at full-blown junior middleweight. "There's no reason he can't win more titles, baby!" King said.