"If everybody thought before they spoke, the silence would be deafening"... George Barzan

 

Félix "Tito" Trinidad,  el gran campeón is now being unofficially accused of cheating by way of illegal hand wrapping. Bernard Hopkins' camp planted the seed of doubt and three of Trinidad's victims have watered it and watched it spread. The forums, boxing's underground, are reeking of it, and once again, the anti-Trinidad faction has come out of the woodwork in a shameless attempt to demean the Trinidads character and the achievements of Cupey Alto's favorite son.

The question has been raised as to "how legitimate are Trinidad's accomplishments in light of the recent findings?" What findings?, I ask, because what we are dealing with here are accusations, assumptions and innuendo. Let us evaluate the real findings. The findings point to Al Mitchell, David Reid's head trainer at the time of his encounter with Trinidad, who stated that he saw nothing wrong with the way Tito's hands were wrapped. The findings point to a statement offered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission vouching for the legality of Tito's wraps in all of his fights under their jurisdiction. The findings point to José Peñagarícano, President of the Puerto Rican Boxing Commission, who publicly acknowledged that Trinidad Sr. has always bandaged his son's hands in the same legal manner, and that in actuality the excess gauze acts as a cushion, used solely to protect the fighter's hands.

The findings also point to Oscar de la Hoya, to Pernell Whitaker, to Hector Camacho Sr., to Jake Rodriguez and to Valentín Ocasio, all of which were still standing at the end of their close ups with Trinidad -all losers to him- but all on their feet. Are we to assume that the so called illegal wrapping works on certain fighters and not on others? Or is it effective on certain days and not on others? Or maybe in certain venues and not in others? How ridiculously insulting is this concept? Furthermore, since don Félix has acknowledged that he tapes all his fighters' hands in the same identical fashion, shouldn't Fres Oquendo, Daniel Seda, Nelson Dieppa, Félix Flores and all his other charges be KO artists, undefeated and totally dominant fighters in their respective weight categories?

David Reid, Fernando Vargas and William Joppy have chosen to demean their own handlers' abilities and intelligence in an attempt to disrepute Félix and his father. Do Reid, Vargas and Joppy really believe that their men, those who -supposedly and contractually- have had their best interest at heart, are so uneducated, so callous, so inept, so unprofessional and so ignorant of the rules? To take the word of an outside camp and use it to negate the knowledge and integrity of one's own is a low blow to boxing and all its people, including the fans. Has James Fisher, (Hopkins' advisor),  become the "smartest" and most boxing savvy individual in all of boxing, by virtue of accusations that not only tarnish the Trinidads but also every boxing commission they have ever fought under? If that is the implication, the sport is really in trouble.

I suppose if I were William Joppy I would be jumping at the opportunity of blaming the "supernatural" or the "unproven" for the obscene fashion in which he was disposed of by Tito Trinidad. I have never seen a fighter, a champion least of all, fall so readily and look so discombobulated in doing so, as Joppy did against Trinidad.  If I were Fernando Vargas, I suppose I too, would be anxious to blame someone or something for the sustained beating that Tito put on him. By the way, check Wilfredo Rivera's hand wraps because Fernando assumed the position for him as well.

William Joppy claims Hasim Rahman warned him to check Tito's wraps and Vargas offers a cloak and dagger story about a man he doesn't know, (but he does know the man is Puerto Rican and boxing affiliated; in what capacity? he doesn't know that either), who stated that he didn't like the Trinidads and warned Fernando about the way Trinidad wraps his son's hands. When Vargas was asked who was checking Trinidad's wraps when they met on December 2nd, 2001, he declined to mention name(s). If this were a court of law, the judge would have sent everybody packing long ago; hearsay, credibility issues, and to put it simply, if it doesn't make sense, it simply is not true.

I realize that sensationalism sells, and isn't it coincidental by the way that this article came about at a time when the cyber publication that saw fit to print it is trying to break ground by selling subscriptions over the internet? Let's face it people, Bernard Hopkins was the better man on September 29th, 2001; he defeated a great champion in Félix Trinidad.

Let's also face the fact that up until that night, Félix Trinidad had beaten every fighter put in front of him, and his devastating power cannot and should not be denied, least of all by those who felt it and experienced it up close and very personal.

THE FANS RESPOND:

Sara, your articles have always been very interesting, informative and a pleasure to read. This one, IMO, is the Tops. The sequence of facts, details and the logic in this article, I believe, will convince any individual with an open mind t hat there is no credibility to this illegal hand wrapping issue. Like you said, if it doesn't make sense, it's not true.
You mentioned quite a few facts, I'm sure many have overlooked while discussing the hand wrap topic. Your analysis on Tito's fights against some of the top opponents got my attention. Made a lot of sense to me. Tito's illegal hand wrap all throughout his boxing career only worked on certain fighters or certain days.. Good one, Sara!
Thanks for your well-informed articles!
ALoveleePR

Sara: I believe in what your message has to say to both fighters and fans. Tito Trinidad is a great fighter among the greats. He has proven to be tough in and out of the ring. He has lots of power in his jab, and he definitely doesn't have to wear supposedly "fixed wrapped gloves" to prove this fact. Bernard just happened to be the one "out of many fighters who couldn't get the winning fight," to defeat Félix. So, I think that we obviously have some "sore" losers out there!
Sag

The case of the questionable "Tito" hand wrappings almost caught me by surprise when first hearing of it ... but then I realized that anything sensational - whether real or imagined or contrived - catches fire like a camp fire in a wooded area during a drought.
Sara, I must applaud you for the superb bit of journalism you penned in response and defense of your favorite fighter.
I find it - to use a Mike Tyson favorite - ludicrous to attack a fighter, such as Félix Trinidad, that has proven to be a throwback to boxing's heyday ... a time prior to the advent of the magic lantern and its TV and then cable coverage, that brought into the fight perimeter people that haven't a clue to what boxing is all about.
The today commentators, or more than a few of them, couldn't differentiate between a combination (of punches) from a flurry (of punches) ... and people such as Kellerman's sidekick Brian Kenney actual expose their credibility when getting all warm over two unskilled prelim boys teeing off on one another ... and describing the performance as a "great" one.
But it is where we are at ... if not ESPN it is HBO ... they buy into a fighter via the tale of the tape instead of any visible boxing skills ... but I could go on and on and it would change nothing.
Sad tho', to see a no-nonsense, no dissing, and class act like Trinidad being ganged up on by a collection of fakers for the flimsiest of accusations ... State Commissions have had one of its commissioners overseeing wraps for some years now ... and as I recall, the tape and gauze has always been equally issued to both camps.
When first hearing the nonsense I had assumed it was where tape had been used over the knuckles ... but excessive wrappings? Pray tell, just where is the edge there anyway?
David Reid, Fraudulent Fernando and Willie Joppy out of the closet with these charges? May as well have come from Curly, Larry and Moe as to credibility.
Didn't mean to ramble on Sara ... but permit me to applaud you for the gem you are posting in defense of a Hall of Famer fighter who has ducked nobody and carries himself with class and dignity.
As for the hot-dogs that the today media is so enamored over ... let them gather for reunions at Nathan's on the Coney Island Boardwalk and vote for the annual poster boy of their choice.
You da gal, sweetheart!
Geo Elsasser

Once again I applaud you for your article.
Oh! By the way, I love your sarcasm, about how it only works sometimes, and only against certain fighters.
Niev

 

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