Bert Sugar's Pre-Fight Analysis: Trinidad vs. Wright

Bert Sugar's Pre-Fight Analysis: Trinidad vs. Wright Saturday, May 14. Live on Pay-Per-View from MGM Grand, Las Vegas. STRENGTHS: FELIX TRINIDAD: There are certain danger signs which must be as strictly observed as railroad crossings. And Felix Trinidad's dynamite-laden left hook is one of them. Trinidad is a great offensive fighter, one who can throw every punch in the book and uses that left hook from hell well, both to the head and the body - for references, see Fernando Vargas, who tasted the left hook before the opening bell's echo had died down and, split seconds later, was down himself. A tough, determined fighter, who possesses as big a heart as he does a punch, having come back from several knockdowns to reduce his opponents to one with the floor. Always well-conditioned, Trinidad puts relentless pressure on opponents, wearing them down as the fight goes on. WINKY WRIGHT: A smart defensive fighter who keeps his hands up high to his cheekbones, his chin tucked in behind them and his elbows close to his body in an almost impenetrable defensive wall, daring opponents to hit him. Possesses a loooooong right-hand jab, throwing it constantly, almost like someone continually touching the paint to see if it is dry, to set up his other punches. His southpaw slickness, while not quite on a par with Pernell Whitaker's, is enough to give rise to the olde saying, "All southpaws should be drowned at birth," giving trouble to any and all who try to get into a boxing match with him. Although not a devastating puncher, despite his 25 KO's, Wright uses that snappy right jab to set up a quick straight left and counterpunches well with counter hooks and uppercuts, which should work well on Trinidad, who more than sometimes leaves himself open on the inside. WEAKNESSES: TRINIDAD: Trinidad might be one of the best offensive fighters around today, but his defensive skills leave something to be desired - he doesn't back up well nor use the ring well. And he holds his hands too far apart on the inside, leaving himself open to short hooks and uppercuts. Make no mistake about it, Felix Trinidad is no Fred Astaire. He tends to shuffle his feet and take an extra step or two while moving in on opponents. This makes him slow to set up his punches and is why fighters who shift laterally (i.e. De La Hoya and Hopkins) give him problems, long gone before he can set his feet to punch. Also, unlike Ginger, he doesn't move well backwards. No matter what you saw versus Mayorga, one fight does not a comeback make. In his only fight in the past 34 months, Trinidad used the crude Mayorga, who stood right in front of him, in his wheelhouse, as a human punching bag, landing 55% of his power shots. Felix Trinidad Sr., his trainer, sees nothing different in the Wright fight and says the camp hasn't done anything different for this fight than they did for Mayorga. That sounds as optimistic as an accordion player with a pager, indicating they may not have learned anything from Trinidad's fights with De La Hoya and Hopkins, where opponents moved, and moved well, on him. WRIGHT: Wright sometimes adopts an oh-hell-let's-go-fishing attitude, doing only enough to win, something that cost him dearly in the Vargas fight when he went into a shell and lost a close decision after dominating at times. Wright sometimes relies on his ability to block and smother punches with his arms and gloves too much, allowing opponents to move in close to him. He also tends to make himself a stationary target by leaning his weight on his back foot, making it difficult to move out of his opponents' way. Wright seems to have been born at 154 pounds. Now moving up to 160 to take on Tito, who has won more fights at 160 than Wright has had at that weight, might prove to be a major factor in deciding the fight down the stretch. After all, Trinidad is no Shane Mosley moving up in weight, but Winky might be. WHAT EACH FIGHTER MUST DO TO WIN: TRINIDAD: Don't fight the Wright fight. That is, don't try to outcute or outsmart Winky. Trinidad must outwork and outpower him to win. Because Winky covers up well against straight punches, Trinidad must alter his attack, hitting and hurting Wright with hooks to the side and to the temples and sides of the head. Trinidad must start fast, win the early rounds, keep the pressure on and force Winky to open up later in the fight when he may fall behind. WRIGHT: Wright must use his jab often and be first with it, keeping Trinidad at the end of it at long range. Because Felix has difficulty handling movers, Wright has to keep shifting laterally, making Tito move left and right, which he doesn't do well. Wright must fight the right fight, not get drawn into a punching contest with the more powerful Trinidad, but keep jabbing, countering and moving laterally to his left or right, but never straight backwards.