Tito retired from the fight game at a time when he was becoming a leading pay per  view draw. Having made millions from fights with the likes of De la Hoya, Vargas, and Hopkins, retirement seemed something that lay in the far horizon. It is every prizefighter’s dream to reach the echelon of talent that brings in ‘Hollywood’ money. In most divisions, that kind of money isn’t even available to the reigning champions, but when your feet are moving on the same canvas in the same ring with names like De la Hoya, and Hopkins, it is an accomplishment both sought after and deserved. Given the accomplishments of Tito, why quit? Tito had it all going for him. Big money, big fights, and a clean life style usually equate to a long career by boxing standards. Much like Tito’s left hook, his retirement came out of nowhere and put all of us face first on the ‘canvas’ of our living rooms as the news broke that he would be exiting the sport. Was his pride hurt by his first and only loss to Hopkins? Did he feel that he had nothing left to prove to the fight game or to himself? Was his family and father/trainer influencing him to quit , given that he had accomplished so much at such a young age? Only Felix Jr. and Sr. know the answers to those questions.

But a new question arises. What did Tito leave behind when he retired? Did he leave the world class puncher behind, that never stopped until there was a knockout involved? That would surely lead to him entering Saturday night as a man already beaten? Or did he leave all of his disappointment of defeat in the ring, allowing himself to enter a refreshed man? All over boxing websites and newspapers, questions are being tossed in the air. Is the old Tito going to enter the ring come Saturday? Will we see the Tito of old, that pressures his opponents with a seemingly never ending spring of stamina and strength. Unless you have been in the ring, with gloves on your hands, it is hard for some to understand the fatigue that sets in when you have a fighter in front of you that keeps coming. Like a nightmare that you can’t wake up from, he keeps coming and coming. You know that those punches are going to keep searching for you, and they will probably only get stronger as the later rounds pass. When you run marathons in your spare time away from boxing, as Tito does, you have a stamina that lasts until the last round. It is these attributes that have made Trinidad successful and feared in the sport.

Enter Mayorga, a tough and grimy brawler from Nicaragua. This is a nation that produced the boxing legend that is Alexis Arguello. Mayorga has an aggression within the ring that makes him an audience attraction come fight night. He is a fighter that would take three punches just to give you one. And he will even ask you for it nicely. See Mayorga v. Forrest II, a fight where Mayorga dropped his guard on two occasions to purposefully allow Vernon Forrest to hit him with a jab/straight right combination. Mayorga likes to fight. He also has a knack for ruffling the feathers of many in the boxing world. Whether it be his fearless, take no prisoners fighting style that troubles his opponents, or his usual beer and a smoke while Larry Merchant interviews him post fight, Mayorga fits the bill of someone who does it in Frank Sinatra style, ‘his way.’ Maybe he should steal Hopkins’ idea for a ring entrance song.

This fight has so many unknowns; it is a tough one to call. Tito has the advantage in punching power, but we have yet to see how Mayorga punches as a middleweight. Tito’s power went from talented to just plain frightening when he moved up into the junior middleweight and middleweight divisions. Expect Tito to have the advantage in that department. Fight record also favors Tito. He has fought more times in super fights, and has fought a roster of opponents that far outclass the adversaries of Mayorga. This will be an edge for a fighter coming off of a two year layoff. Mayorga has been the more active fighter in the past two years giving him a very favorable advantage. It could be enough to offset the previous two advantages that Tito has coming into the fight. Mayorga has the more solid chin of the two. This will not matter if the fight goes into the later rounds, see Trinidad v. Campas. Yory Boy had a chin of steel and an undefeated record to match as he entered against the young Tito. Campas ate many of Tito’s punches, blows that would have knocked out the average fighter. But in the later rounds, the accumulation would prove to be too much, allowing for a Tito KO. We might see similarities in this fight. It is very likely that this fight will end within the first five rounds.