Roy Jones Jr. Easily Defeats Felix Trinidad In 12-Round Decision
Published: Sunday - January 20, 2008
Words by Miles Bennett
Roy Jones Jr. dodges a sweeping right from Felix Trinidad at Saturday's long-awaited fight (Photo: Reuters)
Roy Jones Jr., at 39 years old, was just too fast for Felix "Tito" Trinidad during Saturday's (January 19) bout at New York's Madison Square Garden, taking a unanimous decision over Trinidad in a fight that may be one of the boxing legends' last fights.
Jones won very easily over the former Puerto Rican boxer, dancing around the ring, seemingly breezing through the fight without incident and winning nearly every round, bringing his record to 52-4 -- and earning his first real win in four years.
Despite winning, Jones was surprised his opponent lasted the entire fight. He did however, knock Trinidad down twice -- first in the seven, then again in the 10th round. The seventh round knock down was the result of a right hook to the side of the head, while the 10th rounder came from a quick left jab that knocked Trinidad off balance.
"I can't believe he stayed in there 12 rounds with me. It was a great fight," Jones said, following his victory.
"He was slipping some really good punches," he continued. "I was missing knocking him out by about an inch on some of those shots."
The bout was called by Judge Julie Lederman at 117-109 for Jones, while Nelson Vasquez and Tom Kaczmarek both scored it 116-110.
While accepting the loss, Trinidad, however, felt that -- without the knock downs -- he may have had a shot at winning.
"I take nothing away from Roy, but if I could have avoided the knockdowns, I think I could have won the fight," said Trinidad. "Roy was very fast and strong. He threw great punches. I have no excuses. He demonstrated speed and took my body."
Jones connected on 36% of his punches, while Trinidad connected at only 29%. But the big difference was power punches, where Jones led by a landslide, connecting on 147 power hits over Trinidad's 101.
Following the, Trinidad wasn't sure when asked if he'd fight again, but Jones seems willing. Jones said he's set his sights on 168-pound champion Joe Calzaghe for his next opponent, but that will depend on if Calzaghe beats Hopkins in their expected meeting in April.
If the fight does happen, Jones even said he'd travel to Europe for the bout, something he's been reluctant to do throughout his career.
Saturday's match however was an attempt at two greats, way past their prime, trying to regain and/or redeem their last embarrassing losses.
Jones and Trinidad were expected to fight seven years ago, but after Bernard Hopkins annihilated Trinidad, the potential match-up was halted.
Then, beginning in 2005, both fights took blows in their careers -- Trinidad came out of retirement to face Winky Wright, who picked apart the former champ, while Jones was knocked out in two different fights.
Once being considered the pound-for-pound best, Jones suffered three consecutive losses from 2004-05, including knockouts by Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver, then yet another loss to Tarver in a decision.
While many believe both fighters should leave their careers as they are and retire from the ring all together, only the future will tell where these former greats’ careers in boxing will go in the future.
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