Snooze Flash: Jones outpoints Trinidad

At least a fight broke out on fight night. That's among the few good things that can be said about this foregone conclusion of a matchup between Roy Jones, Jr. and Felix "Tito" Trinidad. Trinidad reminded me of why I always considered him a dirty fighter with no ability to adapt and Jones reminded me of why he was almost unwatchable, even at his peak. Watching them come out at the bell prompts wonder at what might have been had they fought six years ago...but then again, not only would the result have been identical, but it still would have been the boxing equivalent of a tree falling in the woods.

Once they warmed up after round one, Trinidad tested Jones below the beltline and finding referee Arthur Mercante, Jr. a weak mark, proceeded to hammer Jones low for the next five rounds until Mercante finally actually warned him (beyond the absurdly ineffectual "keep 'em up, Tito!"). Meanwhile, Jones seemed completely unfazed by Tito's fouling and put on the earmuffs so much that you'd have thought it was snowing in the ring. Through five, Jones clearly understood his advantage in speed and while Tito bounced low blows off Jones' beltline, he was countered with clean punches. Because Trinidad held his own at first, he offered a fool's hope that he could match up effectively in the long haul and Jones' tentativeness lost him rounds 2 and 3, but on my card Jones never dropped another round and in fact, dropped Tito twice.

In round 7, a clean right hand to the temple of Trinidad put him down. He stood with wobbly legs and way too much time left in the round, but Jones refused to endanger himself to finish the job. Instead of jumping in and destroying the clearly shaky Trinidad in the first 10 seconds after the knockdown, he picked his shots and while he threw decisively...he didn't try to finish him. Trinidad got his bearings after 20 seconds or so and the opportunity passed as Tito tried to prove he was unhurt by throwing back. Jones threw up his guard and the promise of the knockout was gone. Tito went down again in the tenth, but wasn't in nearly as much danger. Fatigue and a lapse in footwork played at least as much a part in the knockdown as Jones' punch. Trinidad appeared game to the end, but only when contrasted with Jones' pick-your-punch counterpunching earmuff style. Those who tuned in got to see a bit of Jones' trademark hip-shifting taunting swagger and mugging here and there, but only once he felt he was out of danger. It smacked of an oldies concert, the crowd roars it's approval when they hear the opening notes of the old standard they came to hear performed live. Meanwhile, for his part Trinidad spent much of the latter half of the fight ineffectually bouncing punches off Jones' guard, seeming not to grok that repeating the same actions with the same result is the hallmark of insanity.

This reminded me of the Jones of old: willing to win on the cards. While at his peak, his otherwordly speed gave him such an advantage that he could afford to do rely on the cards, his lack of a finisher's style slowed his ascent to superstardom until he was in his mid-thirties before he could enjoy it. His fall from grace was so sudden that it caused us all to wonder if we'd been deceived. Max Kellerman of HBO offered the mildly plausible explanation that apparently Jones himself has offered for his three dramatic knockout losses: that muscling up to fight heavyweight John Ruiz, then coming back down to 175 cost him physically and that he fought too quickly afterward to try to regain ground (irrevocably) lost. I don't buy it. His speed was phenomenal. He was way too fast for everyone he fought and he nurtured crowd-pleasing bad boxing habits. Then he got old. And in against good fighters, he got caught and dropped.

He had no worries against Trinidad, though. This Trinidad came in pudgy, but prepared to fight. He gave a good effort for what was an inevitable losing cause. Looking at the two at a prefight press conference when they stood nose to nose, it was interesting that they are in fact virtually the same height. It lead me to ask myself, then why did Trinidad fight most successfully at 154 while Jones was always at 175? A look at their unadorned torsos tells the story. Jones looks like a bodybuilder with muscled shoulders, neck and arms and six-pack abs while Tito...well...he's slight shouldered, long necked and (for this fight at the catchweight of 170) soft in the middle. The way Tito prepared for this fight (apparently unconcerned about making weight...he missed it, but Jones said let's fight anyway) there was no other conclusion. Tito didn't muscle up, he just got his wind back. He was presentable, nothing more. What did we expect? Tito to put in more effort than that? He woudn't be Tito if he had.

Announcer Kellerman proposed at about round 9 (since the fight wasn't a blowout...which is not exactly an endorsement) that if the fight was well-recieved and financially successful, that the winner might face Joe Calzaghe. By that point, Jones was well in control and it was clear he wasn't taking any chances...so Calzaghe v. Jones? For Jones' sake, let's hope not. I'd actually tune that one in, but Calzaghe's work rate would absolutely stun Jones. Jones, like Peter Manfredo, wouldn't have time to think about his counterpunching, let alone execute it. And while Calzaghe may too age right before our eyes, that's probably a year or two away, even if he ages at the same time Jones did. Even in that case, Calzaghe's game is different from Jones. He's far more technically sound and conventional, if a lesser puncher. He doesn't leave gaps where his chin is completely unguarded, relying on his reflexes to avoid punches without the use of his gloves a la Jones. He doesn't drop his hands to his sides and rely on angles of retreat and mongoose tactics to defend. If that fight happens, Calzaghe wears down Jones and puts him away late or decisions him rather soundly, little question. Jones has never exhibited a willingness to stand and throw, leaving caution to the wind in an effort to assert his dominance. He won't develop that at this stage and certainly not against Calzaghe. Even if he did, it probably wouldn't do him any good. At this stage, he has the speed to outdistance a ring-rusty Trinidad but not to get in with the late prime Calzaghe. Not anymore. Not even close.

One last note on the voiced opinion that Trinidad v. DeLa Hoya will eventually happen, when both fighters have exhausted all other options. I think that unless Trinidad agrees soon, Oscar should tell him to go pound sand. Trinidad has shot his stock in the game now and he's been exposed. In fact, Oscar is the one who exposed him, even if it was in a tacitly losing cause. While it's common knowledge that this is the fight that Oscar has long wanted more than any other, Tito's cowardice in refusing the huge money it would offer in order to hold that tainted decision over his head, while blowing the equity of his formerly hall of fame career so stupidly ought be rewarded with naught. I would watch it now because Oscar would blow him out...and Tito knows it. That's why it'll never happen.

As for this main event, I didn't buy it, as promised. I waited for the replay. I have no idea if it was a financial success, but I imagine it didn't do too badly because on fight night, even I was mildly tempted. It's easy to be drawn in by the promise on fight night. But with a fight like this one...if I buy it, I always get PPV buyer's remorse even before the fight begins because I know the outcome already...but I lie to myself to get to see it happen live. I want Don King to be telling the truth. Now...if you don't check yourself when that's the case, then there's no help for you. I did and having viewed it after-the-fact, I'm glad I did. While I'll admit that a fight broke out, it was never more than the foregone conclusion I knew it would be. 118-107 Jones on my card.