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By William Dettloff
If the making of Roy Jones-Felix Trinidad surprises you, Trinidad’s return to the ring should not. Of all the fighters who have retired over the last decade and then struggled to stay retired, Trinidad was the least likely of any to succeed. Why? He retired too young.
When Trinidad announced his first retirement, which was rather oddly timed, as it came after a kayo win over balding middleweight dullard Hacine Cherifi, he was a mere 29 years old. For most athletes, that’s still close enough to their prime that they can perform at a world-class level. No, he wasn’t 24 or 25 anymore, but he still could hit and was still a draw and seemingly had a lot left.
Besides that, all of his contemporaries were still active: Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, Bernard Hopkins, et al. How could he leave the game when all the guys against whom he competed were still in there hearing the cheers and getting paid?
The second retirement, following that demoralizing loss to Winky Wright, seemed more likely to take. By that time Trinidad was 32, still young compared to many of the better guys doing business today, but old enough for a prizefighter to say, “I’ve had enough” and mean it. By the time most fighters are 32, they’re looking at the young kids in the gym and thinking, I remember when I could do that.
Apparently that one didn’t take either. For months there were rumors about a Trinidad-De La Hoya rematch, but instead it is Jones, who, even in his own apparently dilapidated state, is an odd choice given his advantages in size, strength, and speed. Trinidad and Don King must have seen something in Jones’ recent win over Anthony Hanshaw that convinced them that Trinidad could hit him on the chin and knock him out. I did not.
Still, I can understand Trinidad’s difficulty staying outside the ropes, even now, at 34. If he retires again after the Jones fight and if he lives to, say, 70 years old, that’s 36 years he’ll have to walk around Puerto Rico with everyone calling him “champ” and telling him how great he used to be. Yes, 36 years is a long time to hear that. But it beats the hell out of hearing it for 40 years.
Some miscellaneous observations from last week:
Speaking of hard retirements, I heard AC/DC’s adrenaline-pumping Thunder Struck while driving home from work and wondered how in the hell Arturo Gatti is supposed to stay retired so long as that song is still getting airtime. I wanted to pummel someone 30 seconds into it, and I never even had a weather-related nickname.
So: Michael Vick apparently is going to do jail time for brutalizing animals, with the giddy endorsement of a society that consumes them on a daily basis. God bless America.
The best indicators point to a fairly easy victory for Manny Pacquiao over Marco Antonio Barrera, but I have a hunch Barrera is going to make things very difficult for him. Disclaimer: I was one of relatively few to pick Barrera over Juan Manuel Marquez, so don’t go betting the kids’ college fund on my hunches.
Why does Emmanuel Lucero go through all the trouble of training and gloving up and everything if he’s just going to fall apart emotionally the moment he gets hit?
Is it me or were Robert Flores and Vernon Forrest having an “I can be duller than you” contest in the ESPN2 studio on Friday night?
Where has Cedric Kushner gone?
Just when Hopkins thinks he’s out from under the thumb of The Man, the Nevada State Athletic Commission hits him for $200,000 for pushing Wright. Don’t take it personally, Bernard; they’re just reminding you who’s in charge.
Line up a couple of nannies, Jin. Shane’s got a hell of a hard assignment coming up.
TheRing-Online.com
If the making of Roy Jones-Felix Trinidad surprises you, Trinidad’s return to the ring should not. Of all the fighters who have retired over the last decade and then struggled to stay retired, Trinidad was the least likely of any to succeed. Why? He retired too young.
When Trinidad announced his first retirement, which was rather oddly timed, as it came after a kayo win over balding middleweight dullard Hacine Cherifi, he was a mere 29 years old. For most athletes, that’s still close enough to their prime that they can perform at a world-class level. No, he wasn’t 24 or 25 anymore, but he still could hit and was still a draw and seemingly had a lot left.
Besides that, all of his contemporaries were still active: Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, Bernard Hopkins, et al. How could he leave the game when all the guys against whom he competed were still in there hearing the cheers and getting paid?
The second retirement, following that demoralizing loss to Winky Wright, seemed more likely to take. By that time Trinidad was 32, still young compared to many of the better guys doing business today, but old enough for a prizefighter to say, “I’ve had enough” and mean it. By the time most fighters are 32, they’re looking at the young kids in the gym and thinking, I remember when I could do that.
Apparently that one didn’t take either. For months there were rumors about a Trinidad-De La Hoya rematch, but instead it is Jones, who, even in his own apparently dilapidated state, is an odd choice given his advantages in size, strength, and speed. Trinidad and Don King must have seen something in Jones’ recent win over Anthony Hanshaw that convinced them that Trinidad could hit him on the chin and knock him out. I did not.
Still, I can understand Trinidad’s difficulty staying outside the ropes, even now, at 34. If he retires again after the Jones fight and if he lives to, say, 70 years old, that’s 36 years he’ll have to walk around Puerto Rico with everyone calling him “champ” and telling him how great he used to be. Yes, 36 years is a long time to hear that. But it beats the hell out of hearing it for 40 years.
Some miscellaneous observations from last week:
Speaking of hard retirements, I heard AC/DC’s adrenaline-pumping Thunder Struck while driving home from work and wondered how in the hell Arturo Gatti is supposed to stay retired so long as that song is still getting airtime. I wanted to pummel someone 30 seconds into it, and I never even had a weather-related nickname.
So: Michael Vick apparently is going to do jail time for brutalizing animals, with the giddy endorsement of a society that consumes them on a daily basis. God bless America.
The best indicators point to a fairly easy victory for Manny Pacquiao over Marco Antonio Barrera, but I have a hunch Barrera is going to make things very difficult for him. Disclaimer: I was one of relatively few to pick Barrera over Juan Manuel Marquez, so don’t go betting the kids’ college fund on my hunches.
Why does Emmanuel Lucero go through all the trouble of training and gloving up and everything if he’s just going to fall apart emotionally the moment he gets hit?
Is it me or were Robert Flores and Vernon Forrest having an “I can be duller than you” contest in the ESPN2 studio on Friday night?
Where has Cedric Kushner gone?
Just when Hopkins thinks he’s out from under the thumb of The Man, the Nevada State Athletic Commission hits him for $200,000 for pushing Wright. Don’t take it personally, Bernard; they’re just reminding you who’s in charge.
Line up a couple of nannies, Jin. Shane’s got a hell of a hard assignment coming up.
TheRing-Online.com
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