BoxingScene Staff Predictions: Trinidad vs. Jones

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Rick Reeno - This coming Saturday, a dream bout between two fan favorites is taking place at New York's Madison Square Garden. Former three-division champion Felix "Tito" Trinidad (42-2, 35 KOs) will come out of retirement after a near thirty-two month layoff to challenge former four-division champion Roy Jones Jr. (51-4, 38 KOs) at a catch-weight of 170-pounds.

Trinidad has never fought above 160-pounds and the last time he was seen in the ring, back in May 05, he was dominated in all twelve of his one-sided rounds with Winky Wight. The last time we saw Jones being Jones, was probably back in 2003 when he outboxed John Ruiz to capture the WBA heavyweight title. Jones, no stranger to weight issues, has not fought below 175-pounds since 1996. On paper the fight appears to be closer than many expect, or at least closer than it would have been in 2002, but most experts are still predicting a blowout victory by Jones.

The event, televised by HBO pay-per-view, has been bludgeoned with sea of criticism from all corners of the boxing world. Many fans, and writers, are unhappy with the fight being sold as a $50 dollar pay-per-view and many eyebrows were raised over the unusually high ticket prices. Many of the articles published in major newspapers and credible boxing websites, pertaining to Trinidad-Jones, slammed the fight as a whole. [details]

[NachoMan]

Michael Katz, James Blears, and Paul Gallegos are idiots. I'm not terribly excited about this fight either, but if you're going to give your pick, then make a damn pick. I love these 'experts.'

[Briandl]

Here's my pick:

Jones Jr by decision. If he couldn't knock out the last two guys he fought, it's not likely he'll knock out Trinidad, but I agree with whoever said he'll try but if he feels Titos power, he'll try to out box him and win a decision.

I don't know that Tito can knock Jones Jr out, he seems to have put on fat rather than muscle to get to 170, maybe had he put on muscle.

A couple of other thoughts, Tarver Jones 1 did 304K buys, Tarver Jones 2 did 382 and Tarver Jones 3 did 405, while Trinidad Wright did 510.

Considering Roy Jones is getting money from the PPV he'll probably do well considering the past numbers between these two guys.

Lastly, I mentioned this in another thread, but the whole Grant gloves thing, Roy isn't scared, he doesn't want Trinidad to hit him with pillows, he's just always used Grant gloves (damn near always) and he's even been knocked out twice with them.

[jawsmafia]

RJJ by KO by 7

[crillz]

This is a post I made in another Forum about the fight, it's long so just go to where it says prediction towards the bottom unless you want to read the pros and cons I wrote for each fighter..

Roy Jones Jr
Pros:
it's pretty obvious to anyone who knows any basics on Boxing that the sure shot here is Roy, his speed can still confuse anyone, he can still work his way out of tough spots and can still block good, his foot movement will always be superior to guys like Trinidad who come either straight forward or straight back and doesn't really move his head a lot, Roy said he wants to go for the KO and he can very much get it if he applies accurate Boxing on Tito, see when you confuse Trinidad as proven against Hopkins and Wright Trinidad tends to fall back, he thinks more than he fights and when he throws it's more like meaningless punches that get easily countered, when he lets his hands go he's a PROBLEM but when he stations himself and falls into the wrath of a game plan he folds, it hurts me to say it because Trinidad is my favorite fighter but I'm a fan of Boxing, he gets no leniency..

Jones can very well Box circles around him and he could trade with him too, I wouldn't recommend doing so in the corners but if he does it in the middle of the ring where he can stick and move and not be open for those hard counter shots from Tito he's going to look like the Roy of old, he's going to wreck Trinidad, Roy has a natural ability of making himself hard to hit, true when he DOES get hit he inherits James Toneys nickname for about 10 seconds and then some but when he DOESN'T the dude is untouchable, he's been blessed with blinding speed and not in my eyes or yours but in the eyes of his opponents who have to see and try to block those low but quick and deadly punches while still trying to mount their own offense, that **** is hard to do, Roy will be a PROBLEM for Tito..

the layoff on Tito and the activity of Roy will show early on, Tito will have to adjust early on and find his rhythm and thats when Jones needs to land those significant blows to earn Tito's respect, so in those later rounds when the fight wears down on both guys Tito will keep in mind that Roy is dangerous, take advantage of his baby steps and go for the kill but still moving around and NOT getting hit, his objective here is to NOT get hit flush, do not get hit flush Roy and you good, Tito can put him to sleep again but with his stick and move style and quick combo's on top of his leg movements and respective power I CAN see Roy winning but I'm not so sure I actually have him winning..

Cons:
Roy always looks good when it comes to his hand speed, dude is a problem for anyone lacing up gloves.. one thing I noticed though about him is that when he ain't pop shotting his speed only comes out in spurts, he might land a SUPER fast 3 punch combo then move but a lot of times he sees himself getting hit on the borders of his arms and body, even his face too and this has been happening all too recently, he still looks good but it's about taking punches, he can dish it but can he take it? I have seen him get rocked to sleep, I have seen him lose Boxing matches to lesser skilled opponents due to hard shots landed as showed in Tarver-Jones III, his skills sometimes gets smothered up when he finds himself on the ropes, you can see him trying to create room on the inside to land some shots but for the most part he expends a lot of energy doing it, if you smother him and just mix your punches up on the ropes you can rock him..

Roy holds his hands low and for the most part a speedy Boxer much like Floyd Mayweather and Zab Judah do it too, he can jerk his hands up in time to defend but a lot of times they'll pull straight back and use their shoulders and arms to guard, against Trinidad that will be a failing plan because Tito is reckless, Tito throws bombs and 1 good punch can sit you down, Roy is knockout prone, 2 out of 2 times he went down he didn't get back up, a temple shot from Trinidad even at 170 will drop him for 3 out of 3, Roy has all the fundamental tools of Boxing over Tito but Tito has the power, sometimes you can be the better Boxer but not be able to endure a punch, what good is Roy's skills if he is on his back? that CAN happen if Trinidad lets his hands go and ESPECIALLY if Roy comes to fight like he said he would we going to see Roy in a position he doesn't need to be in, his mind should be on winning at this point and not putting on a show and FIGHTING Trinidad is not a wise move if he wants to win, BOXING him? yes, FIGHTING him? no..

Felix Trinidad
Pros:
Even though Trinidad been laid off for a long time homie can still ****, you gotta remember that he has knocked out like 8 out of 10 opponents, his ratio is amazing, he seems to get stronger as he goes up and it was proven in Middleweight where he knocked out everyone he didn't lose to, he had no decisions accept 1 to someone he lost to and a 12 round loss to a "old school" fighter who had him stopped not down for 10 both of whom were COMPLETELY the wrong style match ups for him, too defensive for someone who is used to explosive fights, everyone else he knocked out, looking at him now he looks stronger and more settled at 170, he seems to want to stay at 168 where there is A LOT of talent, I have seen Trinidad come back from a layoff and do good but I have yet to see Jones fall and get back up..

Trinidad's power is his key, his accurate body punching, his jab and his left hook to the body will take it's toll on Jones towards the later rounds, people think Jones can just run threw Trinidad and he certainly can't, the one with the power here is Trinidad, Jones hits hard as **** but his style is more about outboxing you, Boxing you out with shots that have the potential to knock you out but notice how even in the past guys like James Toney and Mike McCallum went the distance with Jones, how guys like Montell Griffin gave Jones a hard time, Jones hits hard but his natural instinct is to box and I think when he feels that Trinidad power and when Trinidad presses forward he will be forced to..

Trinidad in this fight has to let his hands go and just be as quick and accurate yet as deadly as possible, **** away once Jones is on those ropes and mix up his punches so Jones doesn't know what to expect, bring enough stamina which I'm sure he will due to his road work to wail off on Jones and make him ball up in them corners and hurt him a few times and steal some rounds just in case it goes the distance, do that enough and on points he might just have done enough to slide off with the win, his best chance is a KO here, Jones grew knockout prone, he's been tested but his chin hadn't so when guys like Tarver and Johnson landed flush they wrecked him, Trinidad has the power to do the same **** and I think he will..

Cons:
we all know Trinidad has a flawed defense, people mistake shaky legs for a glass chin when in reality Trinidad takes a BIG punch, if he moved his head a little more and stopped leaping straight back and straight fourth he wouldn't be so vulnerable to that straight right from Roy, a punch Roy can throw all night and sail to victory, Trinidad's chin may be good but his lack of defense and upper lateral movement will make him a slightly easy target for a fast Jones, add that to his reckless punching once he sees a opportunity and you have Jones ****ing him up, Jones is quick enough to beat Trinidad's eye to the punch..

the layoff may or may NOT have taken nothing away from Tito, we saw what he did to Mayorga when he came back 3 years ago, he let his hands go and there you had it, he fought against someone who was going to bring the fight to him and did his thing but Jones can BOX, Trinidad has a tendency to play mouse on the wheel and throw 1 punch at a time against Boxers the way he did with Winky, that will play against him against Jones if he falls into that same predicament.

Prediction:
I think the fight will be a good fight, an exciting one and I think nobody will be disappointed, Trinidad and Jones are both legends of their times so just to see these 2 face to face throwing punches against one another is a treat for any real Boxing fan, after all the years and rumors of them fighting it's finally here.. I think Trinidad will win the fight, Jones will be VERY dangerous but I think once he feels the power he will take less chances, I think Trinidad came straight at Jones because he sees something that we don't, he sees things that aren't made clear to us yet but I think that after 2-3 rounds where Trinidad finds his legs again and starts wailing away Jones will be hit with something he didn't expect from Trinidad, I know Roy is a professional and he never under estimates his opponents but in his heart I truly think he feels that Trinidad can't knock him out, I think he will be humbled..

We have to remember Trinidad doesn't have anything to lose here, Trinidad can just go back home if he falls again but Jones? he has more to lose, more pressure and I think it will all blow up in his face tomorrow night, if I had money I would bet on Trinidad, I just don't see Jones enduring flush shots from a puncher like Tito, he literally ruined Fernando Vargas's career in their fight and even David Reid's, a gold medalist in the Olympics, he has devastating punching power that I think Roy and most of the Boxing world is sleeping on but why come straight at Roy? why suddenly just call him out after 2 wins but hard earned? he's going to stand up come round 1 and if Trinidad stands up and lets his hands go Jones can box and bounce all he wants but once Trinidad gets to landing and Roy feels those punches it's over.. I got Trinidad and not as a fan but as someone who evaluated both sides of the book. 100

[jawsmafia]

thats good analysis crillz, i want to pick tito i just don't see it happening but perhaps i've been blinded by all the RJJ hype

[Briandl]

I'd agree with that if Trinidad put on ten pounds of muscle rather than ten pounds of churros, sopapias, or whatever sweets they eat in PR...

[crillz]

thats good analysis crillz, i want to pick tito i just don't see it happening but perhaps i've been blinded by all the RJJ hype

thanks bro, I just catch the feeling that Tito just sees something we don't, him and very few analysts are the only ones who give him a shot here and I think Trinidad will just walk away a winner.. I could be VERY wrong, in fact I know to A LOT on here I sound foolish but I can't help it, my gut is talking and I gotta listen. guess we'll see on fight night. 100

[Crazylegs77]

I'd agree with that if Trinidad put on ten pounds of muscle rather than ten pounds of churros, sopapias, or whatever sweets they eat in PR...

haha sopapias...

In PR they eat Flan and coconuts....or something

[cashdon]

haha sopapias...

In PR they eat Flan and coconuts....or something

who's the asian chick in your avi???? I like (Borat-style)