WHILE the Sinulog beat overwhelms your senses today, two aging legends of the fight game will engage in a different kind of beating and possibly send the other into retirement. The Roy Jones Jr. vs. Felix Trinidad match-up is a much maligned fight simply because it should have happened as early as seven or eight years ago.
But hey, I say better late than never. Here?s how they stack up:
ROY JONES JR., 51-4 (38 KOs)
STRENGTHS. Hand speed. Jones may have lost a step or two but he can still whack you in the head thrice before your pitifully slow reflexes are able to muster a counter-attack.
Experience. You name it he?s done it. Only the second man in a hundred years to have held the middleweight and heavyweight crowns. Along the way, his retinue of victims reads like a Hall of Fame inventory. Bernard Hopkins. James Toney. Vinny Pazienza. Montell Griffin. Virgil Hill. John Ruiz.
WEAKNESSES. Chin. For years, everybody suspected Jones to be chinny but nobody really got to confirm it simply because he was very difficult to hit with a clean shot. If anyone got lucky, nailing him with a good follow up seemed next to impossible. Antonio Tarver finally achieved the impossible?beating Superman and knocking him out with a single shot. But to some, his superiority over Jones will forever be tainted, as the latter was arguably never the same fighter again after his heavyweight experiment.
Age. A brittle jaw doesn?t improve with age. Nor will your other physical attributes. Whether he can keep away Trinidad with whatever he has left in his 39-year-old body will be determinative of the outcome.
FELIX ?TITO? TRINIDAD, 42-2 (35 KOs)
STRENGTHS. Power. Tito is a force of nature. His left hook is the stuff of legend and has leveled many great champions.
Experience. Tito has fought at the championship level for so long and is very comfortable facing a formidable opponent at the other end of the ring. From 1998 to 2001, he figured in an incredible 10-fight championship run and has beaten the likes of David Reid, Fernando Vargas, William Joppy and Oscar dela Hoya.
WEAKNESSES. Tito is slow of foot and likes to plod his way around the ring. Bernard called it ?herky jerky? and during the fight, repeatedly nailed Tito every time he set himself up to punch.
Chin. It?s not as porous as Jones? but he?s been down several times in his career. But incredibly, save for the Hopkins fight, he has gotten up every time to overcome his opponent.
INTANGIBLES. Jones will once again be dropping down in weight for this fight and how this will affect him seems crucial. Jones is once again flirting with disaster but he seems to get an extra kick out of fighting at a disadvantage.
Trinidad has fought only thrice in the last 6 years. The big question for him in this fight is how he responds to Jones? power at 170 pounds. Hopkins was stronger than him at 160 pounds and this will be the first time at this weight for him.
EXPECT THE FIGHT: To end in a knockout. Eventually one of those chins won?t hold up to the bombardment as both of them have the power to take the other man out. If Jones hurts Tito early, his confidence will soar and he will be eager to score his first stoppage win in six years.
A single left hook from Tito can change the complexion of this fight. If he hurts Jones, the latter will probably not survive a follow up onslaught, as his 39-year old legs will betray him.
PREDICTION. Jones by TKO in the 10th. If Winky Wright can outbox Trinidad, so will Roy Jones Jr. who is bigger, stronger and faster. The only thing that Jones should avoid is getting careless. Had Trinidad been a more active fighter, the outcome would probably be different. But Tito?s skills are also declining and it remains to be seen whether he has enough left for Roy Jones Jr.
THE LAST ROUND. It?s on Nonito Donaire Jr. who is in town for the Sinulog festivities. Pit Senor and cheers champ!
