Former world champion Felix Trinidad will be returning to the ring on October 2nd, when he faces former welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga. Trinidad returns to the ring after 2 years off. The fight will take in place in New York City at Madison Square Garden as part of HBO pay per view and Don King Productions. At Trinidad's conference call it was announced that Ricardo Mayorga had left Florida and arrived in New York. He and his team arrived wearing specially printed T-shirts that read, "October 2, 2004, Tito's retirement celebration, time to hang them up!"

Trinidad talked to the media through a translator on Monday, and here's what he had to say.

QUESTION:  Can you give us a sense of why you're coming back?

TITO TRINIDAD: I want to be here. I want to be back in Boxing, and do goods things for Boxing and for my people. People have asked me to come back, and my promoter Don King had a lot to do with this too.

QUESTION:  Are you ready for the fight?

TITO TRINIDAD: I'm ready for everything that Mayorga brings to the table.

QUESTION:  If you win this fight, are you looking at getting a rematch with Bernard Hopkins?

TITO TRINIDAD: I want to hold back my answer, because I'm just focusing on this fight. We will wait to the result of this fight first, and after this fight we will begin to speak about my future.

QUESTION:  After you shocked the world by retiring after the Hassine Cherifi fight, what can we expect from you after this fight?

TITO TRINIDAD: I'm here to beat Mayorga. I don't know how many more fights after this.

QUESTION:  Miguel Cotto has been built as Puerto Rico's next star, has he been an influence on you coming back?

TITO TRINIDAD: No, it's not like that. I am back in Boxing, because I feel that I have potential, and I can do a lot of good for Boxing. It has nothing to do with Miguel Cotto, and I wish the best to him.

QUESTION:  What kind of effect will the long layoff have on you? and what's been the hardest thing about coming back after being away for two years?

TITO TRINIDAD: I've always been a guy who lives a healthy life. I am coming back to prove to people that in some Boxers the long layoff may have an effect. But, it doesn't if you have the right style of Boxing to take care of yourself. I have been training hard, and I'm in good shape. The difficult part I guess, is going back to training hard.

TRINIDAD Sr. responds: Training is hard for everybody. We have been training so very hard so Tito can come back even better.

QUESTION:  Why fight Ricardo Mayorga first, after a 2 1/2 year layoff?

TITO TRINIDAD: Like I said before, we never choose fighters who are weak. We go after a challenge, to show people who is the best. To show the world that Tito Trinidad is still the best fighter.

QUESTION:  What does it mean to fight in front of a lot of your fans at Madison Square Garden?

TITO TRINIDAD: I know Madison Square Garden will be very full, and full of my fans chanting my name “Tito,” “Tito” and that energy that they show me is the energy that I take and helps me a lot to get more energy.

QUESTION:  Ricardo Mayorga has said that he will drop his hands and let Tito hit him with his best shot, does Tito plan to knock him out if he does that in this fight?

TITO TRINIDAD: If he brings that to that night, and I can hit him, let's see if he really can withstand my punches. I would be ready to take him out.

BRC asks: There was a recent media poll which stated 87% of the media felt this fight would not go the distance. How far do you think this fight will go?

TITO TRINIDAD: The fight is for twelve rounds, I know I have a lot in my hands. I come here very well trained, and I can take him out early. But it's a twelve round fight, so let's see what happens.

QUESTION:  What things have you been doing in preparation for the fight and how do you feel?

TITO TRINIDAD: I am ready for victory. Even though it could be tough, I have my mind set for victory.

QUESTION:  What did you miss the most during your layoff, and was there a moment when you said I'm ready to come back now?

TITO TRINIDAD: You can miss a lot of things, especially things like the ring, the dressing room, the people around it. Just Boxing in general.

QUESTION:  What have you been doing for these two years you have had off?

TITO TRINIDAD: I've been taking care of myself the right way, living the right way.

QUESTION:  Did you attend many fights during your layoff?

TITO TRINIDAD: Like 2 or 3 cards.

QUESTION:  What did you think when you saw Jones flat out on the ring and possibly very seriously hurt?

TITO TRINIDAD: When I saw that the referee wasn’t counting and he wasn’t waking up my first thought was... Wow, second time in a row he got knocked out.

QUESTION:  What did you think about seeing Roy Jones Jr. and Oscar de la Hoya losing by knockout, and does this bring you any concern in your fight?

TITO TRINIDAD: I don't want to say a lot about that, because I don't how they trained for their specific fight. I know how I train, and I never had any negative thoughts. Their defeats have nothing to do with my fights. I feel very positive and ready to go.

QUESTION:  After two years off do you expect to lose timing?

TITO TRINIDAD: You lose a little timing during time off, but as you train you begin to get back where you want to be. Right now I feel like I did in my last fight.

TRINIDAD Sr. responds: We have been training for this fight for six months. He's gotten better and better. You're going to see the result of this when he fights.

QUESTION:  Can you talk about your daily routine when you were retired and away from Boxing?

TITO TRINIDAD: I’ve been doing a lot of things, I’ve been visiting schools, and I think education is important so I’ve been visiting schools. I’ve been visiting sick people in hospitals, I like cock fights a lot so I go there, and I have a new baby that just came and I share a lot of things with my friends and family that I couldn’t in the past because of my training condition. I’ve been taking care of my family and friends and share with people and help the. Basically that’s been my life. Also since I didn’t have to get up at 4 in the morning to run I sleep more, and I got to eat anything I wanted. And now I have more time to be with my mom, and the rest of my family. I also like horses, I have some and while I was on vacation I would go and ride them free, because I had no worries. So I’ve been doing a lot of things that wanted to, and that was basically my lifestyle during my vacation. Honestly, that fire is inside of me is burning and that is why I am back, if that wasn’t there I wouldn’t be back in boxing.

QUESTION:  Does Ricardo Mayorga's trash talking motivate you even more?

TITO TRINIDAD: He’s been talking too much but it doesn’t bother me at all because to be honest with you I like boxers like that because when I go into the ring I’m going to hit him hard. I feel ok, I feel good because I know I’m meeting a guy who has been talking too much, so he monkeys with me but he’s helping me to hit him harder. I’m not losing focus or timing, but I feel well when I hit him hard because I know he’s been talking too much.

QUESTION: How would you explain your son’s popularity, and does it surprise you?
 

TRINIDAD Sr. responds: I think there was a couple of weeks of spite, but he’s still popular and people still love him.  The Latino people that have been with him, watching his career see his championship. People know he never quits and they know that he accepts all challenges in his career, he fights the right people, the tough people to she that he is the best. Out of boxing he has been a good human being, giving back. He felt the love that the people gave him and he gave it back when he signs autographs, and poses for pictures and I think his popularity that he gained right now is with his behavior out of the ring and that is the reason why people are still calling him a champion when they see him. Its for what he did for boxing and for the people.

QUESTION: Have you studied Mayorga’s fights with Spinks and Forrest?

TITO TRINIDAD: Those were two different types of fights. You have one who is a tall fighter and one who is a smaller one, you have a right hander, and one was a southpaw. But I have been watching those fights and I have been preparing myself for whatever he brings into the ring, I'm ready.

QUESTION: Do you feel any pressure being an icon, is there any concern about
disappointing your fans?

TITO TRINIDAD: To be honest, I feel very good when I see people that support my career and myself, and when people know who I am and know my name it feels very well. I don’t feel afraid of disappointing anybody, I’m coming back to New York and it feels good but I don’t feel any kind of pressure.

 

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