On the eve of the Félix Trinidad-William Joppy fight, and in the heart of midtown Manhattan, I had the privilege of interviewing the inimitable Félix Trinidad Sr. I had asked don Félix for five minutes of his time; we ended up talking for over an hour. He was very gracious in granting me this session, which ended up sounding more like a conversation between two boxing fans.

Make no mistakes about it, don Félix knows the fight game, and he knows it well. Like his son Tito, Trinidad Sr. is no fluke. He is the real deal, a straight shooter with little tolerance for what he perceives as injustices in our out of the ring. I sincerely hope that at the end of this read you will have gotten to know don Félix as I feel I did; as a warm, caring and proud individual who demands repect and makes no excuses for his values.

This is what we talked about....

BRC: It has been reported that you are a controlling father, someone who overshadows Tito at times. Would you respond to that and tell me what is your relationship with Tito like?

FT: What happens is that in this sport, like other industries, politics included, there is a lot of demagoguery. There are those who know the truth about things, but twist the truth anyway. Those people know that anyone who wants to control another's life, won't keep that person around long. Nobody wants to be controlled. It I were controlling of Tito, chances are our relationship would have ended some time ago.

Our relationship has lasted this long, and hopefully will last for as long as Tito remains a boxer, because I always give him the space that he deserves. He has space for his family life, for his personal life in between fights; I respect that. We have mutual respect, we are not the type to be joking with each other all the time, like some parents that go out witht their children to parties and the like, we are not like that. We have mutual respect, we don't play jokes on each other and although it might seem somewhat unusual, we don't talk to each other much, even when we are together. We don't have to talk much to understand each other, and no matter how little we speak to each other we always come to terms with one another.

I think this is why there are so many divorces today. The wife wants to control the husband, the husband wants to control the wife, and there is no tolerance. And this relationship is like a marriage, nobody is supposed to control anybody's life. For the mere fact that he is my boxer, and I am his manager-trainer, and because he is also my son, I don't have the right to control his life. I have to work with him the same way that I work with Oquendo, Flores, Gómez, Seda, Quintana and others, with the same respect. The same demands that I make of the other fighters, I make of him. I have a managerial contract with him, as well, because he is an adult. We also have a contractual relationship, like any other manager-trainer would have. He has every right to choose a trainer. Right now I am his trainer because he wants me to be his trainer. He is not obligated to have me as a trainer.

BRC: There are those who say that the fact that Tito doesn't speak English has been detrimental in his career. What do you say to that?

FT: It would be very important to be able to speak English in terms of marketing, but for Tito as a boxer, it does not take anything away from him. We have never allowed the matter of the English language to be included in any negotiations. We consider it a racist factor and we won't back down from that position. Languages have nothing to do with the sport. He who has the talent, has the talent and talent is the most important thing. Actually, without the benefit of the English language on his part or mine, we were able to negotiate a $49 million dollar contract, and we still don't speak English.

BRC: I saw Félix at the weigh-in today and he seemed calm and confident. As his father and handler, and being that you are with him all the time, is he in the least bit worried about William Joppy?

FT: No, because this is just another fight for Tito. He is not invincible but he prepares himself to not be defeated. With the knowledge we have of boxing we do not feel that Joppy is the person who can defeat Tito. I consider Tito superior to Joppy, let's see what happens tomorrow.

BRC: Assuming that Tito wins tomorrow, are you worried about Bernard Hopkins, considering his tactics and his reputation as a dirty fighter?

FT: Not in the least, even less than Joppy.

BRC: Will there be a Tito Trinidad-Roy Jones fight? Would you be interested in making that fight happen?

FT: Before I answer your question, I believe that I did not address my point about demagoguery completely. There are many media people who know a lot about boxing, and know how the boxing industry works. Whenever they see two people who have a close relationship, they don't want to see it succeed because secure relationships cannot be interfered with or destroyed. In my case, I am an independent person. But in order for me to take my fighters to the next level, to develop them properly, I need a promoter like Don King. He respects me and I need him for my fighters. But when I sit at the table to negotiate a contract for my fighters, although I do it in their absence, I don't need them to be there, I do it as if they were there, and often times I do bring them to the negotiations. With Tito, I almost always bring him to the negotiations because I don't want people to politic against me with Tito. Money cannot separate us, the father-son relationship is above the dollars. So to keep that from happening, since Tito is after all human, and young, and they could make him think badly of me, I prefer for Tito to be at the negotiating table also. That is what I refer to as the demagoguery. The media always wants me to look bad. I always talk to the press; the same way I am talking to you now, I talk to them, and I am never rude. It is very difficult to understand how they can say that Tito is an extraordinary human being, a humble person who never offends anyone and that his father is the other side of the coin.

BRC: Thank you for the clarification don Félix. Let's go back to Roy Jones. I must tell you that I have gone on record saying that Félix gives Roy Jones one hell of a fight, and I have been much criticized for that statement. What are your thoughts on Tito Trinidad-Roy Jones?

FT: If Tito fights Roy Jones, he beats him. Tito is more talented than Roy Jones. Let's put it this way, let's set talent aside because they are both very talented. Roy Jones is very talented but he doesn't give himself in the ring the way Tito does. Roy Jones doesn't have the potential that Tito has. In a fight between those two, and not because he is my son, Tito would be a more complete fighter. The problem with Roy is that at the level where he is now, he is more of a merchant than a boxer. That detracts from him as a boxing figure, and that mentality is not going to change now. Roy Jones is not going to change. His thing is to see which way he can get a dollar out of the fans without risking his physical well being, and he is not going to change now. That's why he picks and chooses his challengers. When the day comes that he meets a challenger like Tito, a guy that comes to fight, Roy Jones will have the most disastrous fight of his life. Because Jones is not going to give of himself in the ring; he is not going to get into a fight with a puncher like Tito. On that day, he is going to see if he can beat Tito the way he has beaten the rest of them. But when he realizes that it's not going to happen, and maybe I am taking market value away from the fight, you could be seeing one of the worst fights of recent times. He is going to run, he is going to be holding, those are the things that you can expect to see from Roy Jones if he ever meets Tito Trinidad.

During a recent teleconference you were told that Fernando Vargas had said that he wanted to fight Oscar de la Hoya as well as Félix Trinidad, but that he wanted Félix first. Your response was that if Fernando fought Félix first, there would be no fight against Oscar, because Tito would end his career. Based on your answer and Fernando's recent performance against Wilfredo Rivera, do you think that Tito has already "finished" Vargas' career?

FT: Unfortunately Tito hits very hard, and to keep from giving Tito his due respect, sometimes they ruin fighters, good fighters, because Vargas was a good fighter. They threw him at Tito, and they damaged him. They should have waited, although I would never allow Tito to fight if he wasn't in top shape. That is never going to happen, but they claim that they should have waited until Tito was on the downslide. The same way that I see the mistake they made, I would not have made the same mistake for Tito. But, let's suppose that they would have waited for that happen, for Tito to downslide; or they could have waited for Tito to retire and Vargas could have remained as the king of boxing. He could have fought other fighters that weren't of Tito's potential. But what happened is that they made Vargas believe that he was stronger than Tito, and that since Tito is older than him, that Tito was on the downslide. That's why every time they asked me what is it that bothers you the most about Vargas, I always said "his ignorance". Because ignorance is daring and when a person ignores that there are consequences, it can prove to be a mistake. For instance, one can walk through a mined field, not knowing that the field is mined. And one can get lucky and get across without being blown up. However, upon reaching the other side, someone says: listen, you just went through a mined field; then one has to say, how daring of me, I could have gotten blown up. But since Vargas didn't know the field was mined, he walked through it. Had they told him ahead of time, he wouldn't have entered the field.

BRC: Are you saying that he wouldn't have fought Tito?

FT: Had he known, truly known, who Tito Trinidad is, he would have never fought him. What happened is that he was ignorant of the facts. Whose fault is it then? It's his handler's fault because they were not ignorant of the situation. They did know about Tito's talent and strength. What happened is that, and I don't know why this is so, but there is a rejection, a refusal to give Tito what he has deserved for a long time. They don't want to accept that Tito is the figure that he is. They sacrificed an extraordinary fighter like Fernando Vargas, hoping that he could be the fighter that would beat Tito.

BRC: Why do you think that such resentment, such anti-sentiment exists against Tito?

FT: The problem is not with Tito Trinidad, the problem is with me; because I don't compromise my principles or my values. My principles and my values are not negotiable. I defend my fighters 100%. I am an independent manager and that type of management has no room in this field. I've been lucky to stay in business for such a long time but there is no room for managers like me. I don't want to change boxing. Boxing can continue as is; all I want is to be allowed to work the way I know how to work. I will continue to work the way I know how to, as long as I am allowed. But doing things my way has a price, and the price I pay is that I am not well received. Some people talk to me, but they are hypocritical about it. Where they see my feet they would like to see my head. It is because of this situation, which I know it's happening, that I must prepare my fighters, I prepare them sharp from head to toes. They always want to knock my fighters, so I prepare them well, physically and mentally. There is a lot of jealousy, but because of the way I work, my boxers always come to win.

I refuse to be Judah to my own boxers. I am not going to sell the defeat of one of my boxers, regardless of which one it is. I am not going to sell a defeat to benefit my interests. If you negotiate a loss in order to have an opportunity to have a title shot for another of your fighters, indirectly you are favoring the guy getting the title shot. But he isn't being favored really. It is your interests that you are looking out for. You are sacrificing one of your men to help another. What you are really doing is looking for the accolades that you have made another champion. You can be getting awards every year, but you won't be deserving of them. In my case, I can say that I earn mine. Yesterday I was awarded the Trainer of the Year award for the events of the year 2000, and I have to thank promoter Don King for giving me the opportunity to present my fighters in his programs. But, by the same token, I can also say we have earned it, based on our hard work and sacrifice. Don King has given us the forum; a brilliant, beautiful platform in which to showcase my men. To fight in one of Don King's cards is marvelous because he puts together the best fight cards in the world. But we have earned the opportunity, in this case because I have the best fighter in the world in Tito Trinidad. Maybe if I didn't have him, Don King wouldn't give me the opportunity to showcase my men, that is possible too. But things happen for a reason.

I have read articles in Puerto Rico where it has been said that if it weren't for Tito the boxing world would not know of me. Only those who don't know Tito's past say that, because when Tito fought amateur, people would ask: who is that kid fighting over there? He would call attention to himself because he was brilliant, and they would say that is Félix's son. Now when they see us walking together they say that is Félix, Tito's father. Back then I carried him, now he carries me. That is the way of boxing. You carry your fighter to a certain level, and then he has a moral obligation, assuming that one is still deserving, and continues to work hard. I believe that under those circumstances the fighter has the moral obligation to carry his handler. That's the way business should run. Some fighters forget who got them to the top. They perhaps feel that they would have less money to split up. They let money rule, and from that moment on they start digging their own graves. They fall in the hands of another person, who has no feelings or concerns, who will not be protective of them at all.

BRC: It wasn't long ago that the English speaking media had no interest in covering Tito's fights, since he only fought in Puerto Rico and was a non-English speaking fighter. Now, Tito is drawing all the media attention, has made this Tournament a reality. Do you ever think back to those times?

FT: Sure I do, and well, Tito still doesn't speak English. Everybody should have an interest in speaking English, because it is the universal language. But to be a boxer, to be an elite boxer, it is not necessary to speak English. One could be a mute boxer, and be the best boxer in the world. English is necessary for marketing. I need to speak English more than Tito, because I am his manager, and I still don't speak English. But we have all the tools, therefore we come here with translators that speak the language perfectly and who help us understand what is going on. We couldn't possibly sit with promoter Don King, for example, and pretend that things will be negotiated well if we didn't understand what was going on. We also need to make ourselves understood, so we bring translators. There is something that I wish the general public would understand. Granted that English is the universal language, but I wish they would respect the Spanish language more. I wish that when others need to talk to us, they would provide their own translators. Often times they come to talk to us, and they are the ones needing to talk to us, and they expect us to provide translators for them. They have no right to do that, a language is a language, and they need to treat us with the same respect that we treat them.

In Don King's case, I can tell you that he does provide his own translators. But we have run into many media people, some even come to Puerto Rico, and don't bring their translators, knowing that we don't speak the language. So, we have to find translators in order for these people to do their interviews. I am not saying this because of Don King, I am saying it because of media people. I believe that it's a matter of respect.

BRC: A lot has been said about Tito Trinidad having a "glass" chin. What are your thoughts on that?

Anybody who gets hit square in the chin by a puncher is going to go down. Tito is a guy who has made fans out of many of his peers. There are many boxers who are Tito fans. They know the caliber boxer he is. People in the boxing world know who Tito is. In the past, named fighters did not want to fight Tito. So, he had to fight up and coming fighters like himself, with potential but no marquee name. Like Oba Carr for instance, who had tremendous potential; Yory Boy Campas, the same. Alberto Cortés, who had over fifty fights. Not too well known, but talented, had even fought for the title. Cortés knocked Tito down. Anthony Stephens buckled his knees too. Every time Tito has had his knees buckled or has been knocked down, it has been because a true puncher has hit him. A guy with no punching power will never knock Tito down. I can honestly say that Tito is one of the most resilient and strongest fighters in boxing. He is very strong, he takes a punch and recovers very well. Want to know a boxer who can't take a punch? Lennox Lewis. The last time he fought he got hit, he went down, and couldn't recover. Tito has been hit hard. After all he is human, and so he has gone down. But he has tremendous recuperative powers. Tito has all the tools to be the best fighter in the world.

Let's take the fighter who this Tournament is named after, a man most respected all over the world, "Sugar" Ray Robinson. I would dare say, in a colloquial expression, that he seemed to have always had a banana peel under his boxing shoes. He went down in almost all his fights and that never detracted critics from considering him the best fighter of all times. Robinson would get knocked down, he'd get up and beat all his opponents. Today, the boxer that most resembles him in that respect is Tito Trinidad.

BRC: Do you consider Tito to be pound for pound number one?

FT: I consider Tito to be the best, without any reservations. He is the best in all catergories. Right now, pound for pound, the best fighter in the world is Tito Trinidad.

BRC: Would you like to say something to the fans about Tito Trinidad?

I would like to say to Tito Trinidad's fans that they are following a young man who is wholesome, clean cut, and who respects his fans one hundred percent. A guy who has tremendous professional pride and who has a team that feels and believes in the same principles. We are never going to let the fans down. If there ever came a time when Tito suffered a reversal in his career, and we pray to God that it never happens, it would be because he met someone better than himself. Or it could be because of some irregularity, and we do know that there have been some, which could result in a loss. In which case everybody would see it, and there would be some reaction. It will never be because he wasn't prepared. To beat Tito one on one, you have to be better than him. We are not going to get careless, we are not going to underestimate any fighters. Tito takes excellent care of himself, physically and mentally. We respect the fans because they are the key. They are the ones who pay at the box office; they make it possible for athletes to earn the money they are earning these days. We want to earn the love, the support of the fans. The monetary factor exists, so we demand top pay, but if it didn't exist, we would go in the ring with the same love and respect for the sport, and its fans, ready to give it our all.

BRC: Don Félix, on behalf of the readers of The Corner, I want to thank you very much for this interview. The best of luck to Team Trinidad tomorrow and always.