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tito is above mosley, but dlh is below them both
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i dont know where i would rank them or in which order as overall fighters. but at welterweight no doubt about it that trinidad is above mosley and oscar. im a big fan of all 3 but at 147pds trinidads resume is the most impressive and even tho i believe delahoya should have got the nod truth is trinidad never lost at welterweight. and fact is oscar has lost to both mosley and trinidad at 147 and his overall record against them is 0-3 with 2 of them losses coming at 147. mosley one of my favorites of all time also but tho he has impressive wins at welterweight(delahoya-collazo-margarito)mosley really never dominated the division like he did at 135pds. oscar and trinidad have a string of title defenses at 147 oppose to mosley who lifts the title from oscar makes 3 defenses of it against(diaz-taylor-stone)and lost it to vernon forrest. so at welterweight i would ranked them in this order: trinidad-delahoya-mosley.
Trinidad, at the young age of 17, turned professional on March 10, 1990. He was determined to establish himself as a knockout artist and made good on his goal by knocking out his first five opponents and nine of his first 10. Trinidad's 29 knockouts in 33 outings gave the young boxer one of the highest knockout percentages (90%) of any boxer in history.
Trinidad constant desire to face the best fighters was clear in his early career as he faced some stiff competition as a pro. On December 6, 1991, he faced a more experienced Jake Rodriguez. In the second round, Trinidad injured his right hand, followed by an injury to the left hand in the fourth round. Even though he suffered great pain, he failed to become impatient or frustrated and went on to score a 10-round unanimous decision. Because of the injuries to his hands, Félix took a five-month layoff.
Questions of whether Trinidad could take a punch appeared when he went up against world championship caliber opponents like Alberto Cortes of Argentina. On October 3, 1992, in Paris, the veteran Cortes entered the bout with a record of 51-3. One of Cortes' losses came at the hands of the great Julio Cesar Chavez. Trinidad got sloppy in the second round and Cortes made him pay by knocking him down twice. It was the first time Trinidad had been knocked down in a fight. When Cortes came out to finish him off in the third round, Trinidad caught fire and returned the favor by tattooing Cortes with a barrage of punches. Cortes was helpless and unable to defend himself, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
In his first world title bout on June 19, 1993, Trinidad took on two-time world champion Maurice Blocker for the IBF welterweight crown. Trinidad took control of the bout from the opening bell, rocking Blocker with powerful shots with both hands. Trinidad finished Blocker off at 1:59 of the second round with a knockout that left Blocker on the canvas for several minutes, solidifying Trinidad's status as a devastating puncher with power in both hands.
Trinidad's first defense of the IBF welterweight title was against No. 1 contender Luis Garcia in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, on August 6, 1993. Trinidad stunned Garcia with a crushing overhand right in the first round and never let up. He knocked Garcia to the mat four times in the first round before the bout was halted.
Trinidad successfully defended his title for the second time on October 23, 1993, against Anthony Stephens. He survived a second-round knockdown and stopped Stephens in the 10th.
On January 29, 1994, Trinidad scored a unanimous decision over Hector "Macho" Camacho. Trinidad dominated the fight against the flamboyant "Macho Man." It was fight that vaulted Trinidad to the elite of the boxing world.
Following what was then the longest layoff of his career (eight months), Trinidad was matched up against Luis Ramon "Yory Boy" Campas, whom many were calling the next Chavez. Campas carried with him a remarkable 56-0 record with 50 knockouts. The fight took place on September 17, 1994 as part of the Mexican Independence celebration. Campas, who had the crowd behind him, sent Trinidad to the canvas with a quick, short left hook in the second round. Though the punch seemed to stun Trinidad rather than hurt him, the frenzied crowd sensed Campas would finish him off. But the young Puerto Rican sensation showed why he's champion, as he roared back in the fourth round and landed a dozen unanswered blows to the head of Campas. Referee Richard Steele had no choice but to stop the punishment and fight shortly thereafter.
On December 10, 1994, in Monterrey, Mexico, Trinidad faced the most formidable challenger of his career, then undefeated Oba "Motor City" Carr. After an uneventful first round, a straight right hand in round two not only sent Trinidad to the canvas, but also woke up the champion. For the next five rounds, Trinidad controlled the fight, and in the eighth round, Trinidad floored Carr twice. After getting up for the second time, Trinidad unleashed four unanswered blows to Carr's head, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
After several defenses in '95, Trinidad started gaining headline status for his fight on February 10, 1996, Trinidad took advantage of the limelight. In what was becoming typical of his fights, Trinidad stopped Rodney Moore by TKO in the fourth round. A body blow sent Moore down at one point and after returning to his stool, Moore relayed to everyone that he had suffered enough and refused to come out to begin the fifth round.
On May 18, 1996, Trinidad faced former world champion Freddie Pendleton. Pendleton was determined and had the experience, but became victim No. 29 when Trinidad used a left hook to the body to stop the challenger in his tracks. The fight ended in the fifth, when Pendleton failed to rise before the count of 10.
Nashville, Tennessee was the sight of Trinidad's first fight in 1997. He faced the unheralded Kevin Lueshing. But in what had become a bad habit for Trinidad, his lackluster attitude towards his opponent turned into a shock of reality when Lueshing tagged the champion with a right-left combination, sending him to the canvas in the second round. But, like the others, the knockdown only awakened Trinidad and he stormed back in the next round to down Lueshing and register his 31st win with 27 kayos.
Trinidad was scheduled to meet Terry Norris during the summer of 1997, but Norris backed out of the promotional agreement and No. 1 super welterweight contender Troy Waters became the Puerto Rican's opponent. Fighting for the right to challenge Norris, the two met at Madison Square Garden on August 23 in front of more than 10,000 Puerto Ricans in attendance. Showing no ill-effects from the move up in weight, Trinidad called on his powerful right hand to knock Waters down late in the first round. Waters bounced back up before the count of 10, but Trinidad, could smell the kill and went back to work, swarming his opponent with countless unanswered blows. Waters went down again and this time he could not rise before being counted out.
In a homecoming of sorts, Trinidad returned to Bayamon, Puerto Rico on April 3, 1998 to defend his welterweight crown against No. 1 contender Mahenge Zulu.
More than 12,000 Puerto Rican fans welcomed their native son home with a wild, electrified reception at the Coliseo de Ruben Rodriguez. Zulu had studied Trinidad and knew that his best opportunity would come early. He silenced the deafening roar of the island crowd by landing some crisp shots against Trinidad in the first couple of rounds. But it didn't last long. Trinidad began to score with precise blows and picked apart the challenger from Zaire. The frenzied crowd sang and chanted as Trinidad increased the pace. He staggered Zulu and sent him to the mat twice before the mismatch was mercifully stopped at 2:20 of the fourth round.
Trinidad went on to defend the IBF welterweight title 16 times against many quality opponents. Trinidad, now feeling that he solidified the welterweight division, set his goals on earning another title. He continued his choice of quality opponent and faced undefeated WBC welterweight champion "The Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya. In a highly publicized match, Félix Trinidad out-dueled, De La Hoya in a unanimous 12-round decision to retain his IBF title while taking De La Hoya's WBC title.Comment
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