After Weight Loss, Trinidad Pounds Out Impressive Win

And now there are none.

Felix Trinidad, fighting off the effects of a drastic, 11th-hour weight loss and through the strong defensive tactics of Pernell Whitaker, eliminated the last major fighter standing between himself and Oscar De La Hoya Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Trinidad floored Whitaker in the second round, broke his jaw in the sixth round, opened a cut over his right eye in the 10th round and won a unanimous decision in front of 13,822 to successfully defend the International Boxing Federation welterweight title he has held since 1993.

“I’m prepared for Oscar. If he comes, bring him on,” said the Puerto Rican-born Trinidad (34-0, 28 knockouts) through an interpreter.

It was thought that Trinidad, who had only gone past the fourth round in two of his previous nine fights, might have trouble if Saturday’s fight went the distance. Especially since he was forced to take off the final three pounds to get down to the maximum allowed, 147, by running through the streets of Manhattan Friday while the weigh-in was going on.

But after flooring Whitaker (40-3-1, 17 knockouts) with a straight right hand in the second round, Trinidad won at least four of the last five rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.

Judges Robert Exton of Richmond, Va., and Melvina Lathan of Ardsley, N.Y., scored it 118-109 for Trinidad. Judge Samuel Conde, a countryman of Trinidad’s from Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, had it a bit closer at 117-110. The Times scored it 116-112 in favor of Trinidad.

Trinidad certainly had no doubt about the verdict.

“I had control of the whole fight,” Trinidad said. “That was obvious from the judges’ scorecards.”

While Trinidad had the weight loss to worry about and hadn’t fought in nearly 11 months, Whitaker came into the ring with handicaps of his own. He hadn’t fought in 16 months and spent part of last year in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center after testing positive for cocaine.

But both men fought in their trademark style, neither appearing to be effected by their problems.

Trinidad used his strong right hand to constantly slow and sting Whitaker. Whitaker used his dizzying defensive moves to make Trinidad miss a lot.

But not often enough.

Before he left for a nearby hospital for treatment, Whitaker put up a brave front.

“He didn’t do anything well,” Whitaker said. “Hell yeah I think I won. I had a good time. I’ll be back. . . . It was close but I’m not going to whine.”

Whitaker, who lost a close decision to De La Hoya in April of 1997, was asked to compare the fighters.

“[Trinidad] was much better than De La Hoya,” Whitaker said.

Trinidad and De La Hoya are expected to face tune-up opponents, De La Hoya fighting Oba Carr with Trinidad meeting Vincent Pettway.

Of bigger concern is a contract that requires Don King, Trinidad’s promoter, to put his fighters on Showtime this year, while De La Hoya is tied to TVKO, an arm of HBO. That could delay the fight until next year.

But it was King who was yelling the loudest for De La Hoya after Saturday’s fight.

Matters of money and weight class must also be resolved.

Will Trinidad-De La Hoya happen? After Saturday, the only question seems to be when, not if.

Vince Phillips was another fighter who suffered from a drastic weight loss Saturday night, one more drastic even than that of Trinidad.

Phillips lost 47 pounds in just under seven weeks, according to sources close to his camp, to reach the 140-pound limit required for him to defend his IBF junior welterweight title.

But Phillips (39-4, 28 knockouts) seemed shaky from the very beginning of Saturday night’s fight against challenger Terronn Millett (21-1-1, 16 knockouts).

Phillips was knocked down at the end of the third round, went down again in the fourth and was finally stopped by Millett at 1:58 of the fifth round.

Also Saturday night, Julio Cesar Green (24-3, 17 knockouts) won the World Boxing Assn., interim middleweight championship by knocking down Darren Obah (16-3, 10 knockouts) twice and finally stopping him 41 seconds into the ninth round.

The interim title was created while WBA middleweight champion William Joppy recovers from an auto accident. Green is next supposed to fight Joppy in order to crown a recognized champion.