By Mark Vester
Felix "Tito" Trinidad has officially made a decision to turn down a potential fight with former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. Promoters Don King and Lou DiBella have been talking on and off for the last few weeks in an effort to make the fight. King met with Trinidad's father, Felix Trinidad Sr, several weeks ago in Puerto Rico and presented him with a deal for the fight. The Trinidad tried to land a rematch with Bernard Hopkins after he lost to Joe Calzaghe last Saturday. Hopkins turned them down, so they decided to mull the possibility of meeting Taylor and promised the decision to come down by the end of the week.
Felix Sr sent a letter to King, stating that a fight with Taylor does give Tito enough motivation to return to the ring and train hard.
"At this time, Jermain Taylor does not represent an option that motivates Trinidad to continue in boxing," Felix Sr said to Primera Hora. "Tito needs to feel motivated at this time and Taylor does no give him that. The reason Tito returned to boxing was boxing King brought him Roy Jones Jr, a legend. That was motivation for Tito. We are not looking to restart his career, we are looking for the big fights. Because of the weight difference, we can't do a fight with (Kelly) Pavlik. Tito has no interest in fighting at 160-pounds."
There are still two people on Tito's radar, and the same two people he's been chasing for the last few years, Bernard Hopkins and Oscar De La Hoya. Both fighters recently ruled out rematches with Trinidad. Hopkins is not interested and De La Hoya is not willing to fight him above 154-pounds (Trinidad says he can't even make 160).
"I know how Tito feels and I have no doubt that Puerto Rico will support a rematch with Hopkins. He needs fights that motivate him. Against Roy Jones, Tito was motivated to return to the gym. It wasn't easy since he was coming back from a near three-year layoff. At the same time, the money he was getting was adequate for someone like Tito. If Oscar De La Hoya is willing to move up to 165-pounds, I have no doubt that Tito would return. That is the type of fight that would motivate Tito," Felix Sr said.
Felix "Tito" Trinidad has officially made a decision to turn down a potential fight with former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. Promoters Don King and Lou DiBella have been talking on and off for the last few weeks in an effort to make the fight. King met with Trinidad's father, Felix Trinidad Sr, several weeks ago in Puerto Rico and presented him with a deal for the fight. The Trinidad tried to land a rematch with Bernard Hopkins after he lost to Joe Calzaghe last Saturday. Hopkins turned them down, so they decided to mull the possibility of meeting Taylor and promised the decision to come down by the end of the week.
Felix Sr sent a letter to King, stating that a fight with Taylor does give Tito enough motivation to return to the ring and train hard.
"At this time, Jermain Taylor does not represent an option that motivates Trinidad to continue in boxing," Felix Sr said to Primera Hora. "Tito needs to feel motivated at this time and Taylor does no give him that. The reason Tito returned to boxing was boxing King brought him Roy Jones Jr, a legend. That was motivation for Tito. We are not looking to restart his career, we are looking for the big fights. Because of the weight difference, we can't do a fight with (Kelly) Pavlik. Tito has no interest in fighting at 160-pounds."
There are still two people on Tito's radar, and the same two people he's been chasing for the last few years, Bernard Hopkins and Oscar De La Hoya. Both fighters recently ruled out rematches with Trinidad. Hopkins is not interested and De La Hoya is not willing to fight him above 154-pounds (Trinidad says he can't even make 160).
"I know how Tito feels and I have no doubt that Puerto Rico will support a rematch with Hopkins. He needs fights that motivate him. Against Roy Jones, Tito was motivated to return to the gym. It wasn't easy since he was coming back from a near three-year layoff. At the same time, the money he was getting was adequate for someone like Tito. If Oscar De La Hoya is willing to move up to 165-pounds, I have no doubt that Tito would return. That is the type of fight that would motivate Tito," Felix Sr said.
