Trinidad ‘convinced’ he’ll battle past Vargas

Dean Juipe

Monday, Nov. 27, 2000 | 10:52 a.m.

Felix Trinidad's credentials make it easy to forget he's still a relatively young man.

Just 27 years old, Trinidad has been a boxing world champion for more than seven years. And when he steps into the ring Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center to face fellow champion Fernando Vargas, it will be his 20th world title fight.

Trinidad has fought and defeated the best at 147 and 154 pounds and he does not expect Vargas to interrupt his title reign.

"For the public, this is going to be the fight of the year," Trinidad, a native of Cupey Alto, Puerto Rico, said through an interpreter. "This will be a big fight and I know Vargas is a good fighter.

"But I am convinced I'm going to win."

No one -- including Maurice Blocker, Hector Camacho, Yory Boy Campas, Oba Carr, Pernell Whitaker, Oscar De La Hoya and David Reid -- has beaten him yet. Trinidad is 38-0 with 31 knockouts and carries the distinction of having defeated three Olympic gold medalists in the last two years.

He's looking to add Vargas' name to his impressive list of victories and he's a minus 180 betting favorite to do just that. Vargas, 23 next week, is 20-0 with 18 KOs but is a plus 140 underdog.

"I am a big champion and I have been a big champion for seven years," Trinidad can boast. "I plan on being a champion for a long time to come.

"Nobody can stop me.

"I can beat anyone."

But there is a chink in Trinidad's armor and it's his lack of a strong chin. For instance, he has not only been knocked down in title fights with Campas, Carr and Reid, he was also put on the mat by the unsung Kevin Lueshing.

Tellingly, however, Trinidad bounced up from each of those knockdowns to dominate his opponent. He knocked out Campas in the fourth round, Carr in the eighth, Lueshing in the third and had Reid down four times in taking a decision victory last March.

This ability to quickly recover from adversity has served Trinidad well and has made him the type of all-action fighter that appeals to fans. They invariably list him among the sport's best performers despite his questionable chin and his cursory understanding of English, which limits stories about him to a precious few quotes.

Trinidad is currently the World Boxing Association junior middleweight champ. His father and trainer, Felix Sr., says his son will end the fight with Vargas "within eight rounds."

The unification fight has Vargas defending his International Boxing Federation junior middleweight title for the sixth time.

"The only difference is that he is younger than the other fighters I have fought," Trinidad said when asked what separates Vargas from the men he previously conquered. "I think it might even be an easy fight. I prepare to make each fight easier than the last one."

Trinidad disposed of Mamadou Thiam in three rounds in his most recent outing, last July.

Should he win, Trinidad is already looking ahead to moving up another division and taking on WBA middleweight champ William Joppy. He adds that "there will be no rematch with Vargas" regardless of the fight's outcome.

The rematch topic came up because Trinidad was once hopeful of facing De La Hoya for a second time. He handed the Golden Boy his first professional loss when he took a split decision from him 14 months ago at Mandalay Bay, but De La Hoya has since lost a second fight -- to Shane Mosley -- and his boxing career has stalled.

"I think in reality he wants a rematch with Mosley and not me," Trinidad said of De La Hoya. "I don't think a rematch with him is going to happen."