One on One With Felix Trinidad Sr.

By Phillip Gonzalez

17/05/2005

One on One With Felix Trinidad Sr.

Q: Don Felix, why have you decided to retire? "Well, first of all this was not the first time I talked with my son about this. I had noticed that I am not the same trainer and manager I used to be. During the courses of previous fights I have not been able to break down planned the opponents plans like I used to. Inside the ring during a fight, 75% of it is the boxer and the other 25% are is the trainer. I do not feel I am giving my son the best advice in the corner and therefore I decide to stop training-managing my son. Tito's decisions was made because he does not want to fight if I do not train him, therefore he is retiring also.

Q: What do you think went wrong during this fight?

Don Felix: "I really don't know. We did everything.  We trained and sparred. We sparred for around 260 rounds and all sparring partners were southpaw like Winky. We knew Winky was coming to throw a lot of jabs, and we trained for it. All we can say is that Winky was a better man last saturday and that he has an excellent jab. He proved to be in boxing's elite and I take my hat off his excellent performance."

Q: Does Don King knows about the decision to retire?

Don Felix: "Not yet. We have not talk to him about it. But he probably knows because of the media. We will talk to him on future days and explain about our decision."

Q: Tito couldn't get away from the jab, Why did you did not gave him any advice about that?

A: "As I said, we trained for that, so in all honesty we can't be here looking for excuses on what went wrong. Lets give the fighter credit. Winky deserve all the credit. He is a great boxer, and had the opportunity to show that he is a great fighter against a great fighter like my son. He won clean and there was nothing we could do with his jab. It was outstanding.

Q:Since you say, the retirement decision was primarily your choice. Do you think Tito still can box and still prove he is one of boxing's elite?

Don Felix: "Tito is a great fighter. He has power and he is a veteran in the sport. I have no doubt my son can beat any top fighters today. As you may know, my son was beaten by a tactician and that does not mean other good fighters will be able to execute it like Winky did.

Q:Do you think Tito will ever box again?

Don Felix: "This is a serious decision, so I strongly doubt it. And its been made clear by him, that he will not box.

Q: Don't you think the decisions were made too quickly after the fight when there's a lot of passion and emotion? Maybe you guys could have waited to analyze the fight and then decide.

Don Felix: "Nope, as I said, I had already talked before with Tito about my fading skills as a trainer. He just do not want to fight with any others trainers and therefore he is retiring."

Q:Since you think Tito can be a P4P fighter, Who of the actual managers and trainers today that you think are capable of handling Tito properly?

Don Felix: "First of all, I do not think we need to go to the US to pick a manager. It is not that we do not like them, but Tito main language is spanish and he would not be able to fully understand the trainer. I personally think that there are a lot of excellent trainers in Puerto Rico that are highly skilled to be able and train Tito. We still have not gone through any of that since Tito's decision is final.

Q: Who do you think would win a fight Winky-Hopkins?

Don Felix: "Can't pick. Both are excellent fighters that beat my son. I think Winky is in Hopkins class since he clearly dominated Tito. I believe if they fight it will be a great fight of tacticians and definetly the one who is the better man that night will come out as the winner."

Q: Why aren't you going to execute the rematch clause?

Don Felix: "Simple, we never request for a rematch clause contract. Our own contract does not have a clause. It was Don King who personally chose that option. We never request such things from our opponents. We respect champions and fighters like Winky Wright."

Q: Do you want to say anything in closing?

Don Felix: "First thanks for all fans throughout the years. Thanks for all the support it has been given to us and I wish Winky the best in his future."