Breaking It Down: Hopkins vs Trinidad Revisited

Welcome to The Boxing Bulletin's new feature series, Breaking It Down.

In this first edition, Michael Nelson revisits the 2001 middleweight title contest between Bernard Hopkins and Felix Trinidad, and takes a look at just how the masterful Hopkins made it look so easy.

My friend looked at me with a skeptical eye when I said that Bernard Hopkins was going to knock Oscar De La Hoya out. "You always pick against De La Hoya," he noted.

Can't say the man didn't have a point. I had been tabbing De La Hoya to lose in nearly all of his major fights since 1997.

After trying to convince him that I was picking Hopkins more because of his tactical brilliance than my personal biases, he asked me for evidence.

I went to the Hopkins DVD set I had accrued a few years prior. There were a number of fights I could have pulled out - the fourth round destruction of the quicker, but smaller Joe Lipsy. The relentless pounding of Glen Johnson. The revenge exacted on Robert Allen after a lackluster no contest (Bernard's 'Montel Griffin II' moment). The cunning performance against KO artist Antwun Echols.

But anything other than Hopkins' masterpiece against Felix Trinidad on September 29, 2001 wouldn't have sufficed. For one, Hopkins was the underdog against a known commodity, future hall of famer, and consensus top three pound-for-pounder. He was forced to be on his 'A' game.

Two, it was a rare fight where the ring intelligence displayed was so stunning, it was apparent to those who don't watch boxing on a regular basis. Far from just running around and pot-shotting, Hopkins would outmaneuver Tito from the outside and pick him apart with jabs one minute, then outmaneuver him on the inside and pick him apart with uppercuts the next.

Let's take a look at some of the nuances that helped make my friend see the light.

:58, Round 2 - Hopkins makes his presence felt for the first time in the fight. He lands a hard counter jab, circles Trinidad without moving out of range, and lands two more hard jabs within 6 seconds. In contrast to the skittish dance around the ring Oscar presented Tito with, there's little wasted movement. At the five second mark, Hopkins lands a strong right hand that definitively gives him the round.

2:45, Round 4 - Hopkins comes out moving forward in an aggressive stance. As a consequence, he eats a counter left hand that snaps his head back, perhaps Trinidad's best punch of the fight. Hopkins decides to step back and lure Tito into traps, rolling his shoulders and landing a few of his own counter punches.

2:25, Round 5 - Naazim Richardson is calling for the 36 year old to take "the young boy to school". Bernard promptly abides. Hopkins' feints are getting Trinidad all out of sorts this round; Tito gets stuck with a jab, then bites on a feint and gets cracked with a clubbing right hand.

1:03, Round 6 - With his back to the corner, Hopkins persuades Trinidad into delivering a left hook by throwing a left uppercut and giving the impression he was open to a counter. He blocks the hook and counters with a right cross. It's not a hard punch, but old man Hops notes that Tito took the bait.

:46, Round 7 - Hopkins does a move that he's done in previous fights when he feints with a right hand and catches Trinidad out of position with a hard blow to the ear. He drops another right as soon as Trinidad regains position and slides to the side. It's a sequence that requires footwork and balance not many fighters possess.

:12, Round 8 - George Foreman, while clearly biased towards Trinidad for most of the night, makes a good observation: "All night, Trinidad has been trying to lay on Hopkins' left hand, and Hopkins seems to get his left hand out of the trap and hold Trinidad. If he's able to just lay on Hopkins' left hand once, he's gonna get him with the overhand right." Catching opponents coming out of a clinch had been one of Tito's bread-and-butter moves throughout his career. Hopkins neutralized it by pinning Tito's arms and stepping out of range before Tito could respond with a right hand. The times Trinidad did manage to lay on Bernard's left hand, Hopkins made sure to duck down and get his left up quickly enough to at least partially block the overhand right.

Whether inside, mid-range, or outside, Trinidad had much difficulty making solid contact on Bernard.

2:16, Round 10 - Hopkins revisits the maneuver he pulled in the 6th round by baiting Trinidad with a left uppercut, blocking the counter left hook, and dropping a right cross. He still doesn't throw it with full force, but it lands solidly enough to elicit a reaction from the crowd.

2:03, Round 12 - Hopkins baits Trinidad with another left uppercut, and once again, Tito bites. This time he puts all his weight into the cross and deposits him on the canvas. Felix struggles up at the count of 9, but his father saves him from further punishment. Just as Hopkins predicted.

The old professor would go on to have a few more great performances as an underdog in his career, and he may have one or two more inside of him yet. But whenever I'm asked about the purest example of the sweet science I can think of, the Trinidad fight will not be far from my grasp.

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Mark's Top 40 at 40: (15-13)

Mark Lyons is back with the latest installment of his top 40 list. If you're not familiar with Mark's countdown, make sure to check out his previous entries: Intro, 40-36, 35-31, 30-26, 25-21, 20-16.

This week Mark counts down numbers 15, 14 and 13.

15. Rafael Marquez Career Record: 37-5 (33) Three Favorite Fights: Israel Vazquez III LSD12, Tim Austin TKO8, Mark Johnson II TKO8 Obviously, I could just put down all three of the fights from one of histories greatest trilogies, but i would be remiss if I failed to mention some of the other wars waged by arguably the preeminent action fighter of his era. Everything starts behind one of the most knifing and powerful jabs I have ever seen. From there, Marquez unleashes awe inspiring text book power combinations. The man is a precision punching bad ass that can rank with the very best Bantamweights of the last 30 years. Though former Flyweight great, Mark Johnson was far from his best at bantam, he still had plenty left for their 2 encounters, and Tim Austin is an under appreciated, long reigning champion. He's another one of thoses warriors that some people label "chinny", but I'll always take a fighter that's willing to trade bombs and get clipped a few times in the process, and more often than not, his opponent is the one sniffing smelling salts. All 3 fights with Izzy, especially the last one - which was right up there with Arguello/Pryor in terms of action and violence - had an intensity rarely seen in a prize ring. I have no idea how much is left in his tank after those 25 unforgettable rounds. But I do know for a fact that when the first bell sounds, Raffy will march out to beat the crap out of the man in front of him, more than willing to go out on his shield if that's where the fight takes him. What's not to like?

14. Wilfredo Gomez Career Record: 44-3-1 (42) Three Favorite Fights: Lupe Pintor TKO14, Carlos Zarate TKO5, Derrick Holmes TKO5 Bazooka had trouble getting fights at Bantam, but strapped the young Jr Featherweight division on his back and carried it like a champion. His fights were a staple on the networks since he always brought the pain. He ground guys to bits more than he destroyed them with single shots and he was more capable than great above 122, but it sure was a hell of a ride. One fight that I had to view years later because it wasn't televised was his demolition of the seemingly invincible Carlos Zarate. That was even more lopsided and destructive than what Salvador Sanchez did to him at Featherweight. The difference 4 lbs can make to such diminutive fighters is quite amazing. Many younger fans may not have seen the NBC Friday Night Fights debut against Derrick Holmes. It was a true grudge match in which Holmes was able to rock Bazooka on several occasions before taking an ungodly amount of punishment. He handled the tough Juan Laporte at 126, but fell short against all time greats Sanchez and Nelson. Who knows if the lures of beautiful Puerto Rico shortened his prime, or if that was just all he had to give. It was a lot though in a short period of time. In all honesty, his all time historical placing is probably a bit high, but I'll never forget watching those little fists flail away on one challenger after another. Wilfredo was exciting and I loved watching him.

13. Felix Trinidad Career Record: 42-3 (35) Three favorite Fights: Fernando Vargas TKO12, Maurice Blocker KO2, William Joppy TKO5 "TITO, TITO, TITO".... the atmosphere at his fights was off the charts. It was a celebration! Coming to the ring with a smile on his face that hid his lust to smash his opponent with his destructive fists. Felix had his flaws, and was a bit one dimensional, but oh what a dimension it was. He burst on to the scene with an absolutely horrific massacre of Maurice Blocker, and from there his stock rocketed. It wasn't the greatest list of victims for a Welterweight Champion, but the way he disposed of them was as memorable as anyone who came before or after him. One challenger after another finished with a brutality and flare that made him must see TV. "The Fight Of The Millennium" turned out to be a dud, though it wasn't Trinidad's fault. While I must admit that I scored the bout for Oscar, my wallet and my heart smiled when those tactics weren't rewarded with a victory. William Joppy is an underrated win. While I wouldn't call any of Joppy's title reigns significant, he was a tough and serviceable middleweight that nobody else was able to destroy with the ease and ferocity that Tito closed the show with. It took a fighter like Trinidad to clue the world into the brilliance that is Bernard Hopkins. There's no shame in losing to a legend, and he made Hopkins work his ass off in a fight that was more tense than it was close. Then after creating a new planet on the face of Hacine Cherifi, the magic was suddenly gone, although he still came back to shut the flapping gums of Ricardo Mayorga. Not sure what it is about modern Puerto Rican stars, but their flames seem to burn out as quickly as they blaze across the boxing landscape. While Tito has many critics these days, I will forever be a proud fan. The man always went for the kill. He sucked it up and got off to canvas only to continue the hunt for a knockout. And while the days of a prime Felix Trinidad are behind us, I will always have my memories and tapes whenever I feel like watching a master assassin at work. "TITO...TITO...TITO"

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