Trinidad Needs to Carry the Fight to Mosley

Once Felix Trinidad Sr.’s course is set, no one seems able to sway him.

Not his son, Felix Jr., considered by many the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Not promoter Don King, who has been known to sway the powerful, both in and out of boxing.

Not promoter Bob Arum, nor Oscar De La Hoya, nor HBO officials.

Not even the promise of tens of millions of dollars.

So what chance do Jack and Shane Mosley have of swaying Felix Sr., his son’s manager/trainer/guru?

None.

But this time, Felix Sr. is wrong. This time, he should sway, make a U-turn and do the best thing for his son.

He always has in the past.

Felix Sr., took on King, when the promoter was largely ignoring Felix Jr., and wound up with a four-year, $42.9-million contract.

Felix Sr., ignored those who questioned whether his son could beat De La Hoya and signed for a fight his son won, though narrowly by a questionable majority decision.

But then, with De La Hoya publicly pleading for a rematch, with Arum, then De La Hoya’s promoter, ready to negotiate, with King eager to strike a deal, Felix Sr., set off on a curious course, turning his back on perhaps a $15-million purse for the rematch and announcing instead that his son would go from 147 pounds to 154, then to 160, eventually climaxing his career at 168 in a dream match against Roy Jones.

Felix Jr., has proven his effectiveness at 154, knocking out David Reid and Fernando Vargas.

And now, with his father sticking to his course, Trinidad is poised to enter the 160-pound middleweight division where he is tentatively set to face William Joppy on May 12 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Should Trinidad win--no sure thing--he would fight the winner of April’s Bernard Hopkins-Keith Holmes match, presumably Hopkins, culminating a middleweight tournament put together by King.

And then would come Jones.

Sounds like a plan, but is it a good one?

Trinidad can’t make big money fighting Joppy or Hopkins, neither of whom are big names.

Yes, Jones-Trinidad would be a pay-per-view blockbuster, but would it ever happen? The most talked about Jones fights are those that never seem to occur. The undisputed light heavyweight champion is always threatening to move up to heavyweight and take on Evander Holyfield or Buster Douglas, or to move down to super-middleweight to fight Trinidad.

Instead, Jones winds up in meaningless fights against forgettable opponents, such as tonight’s match against someone named Derrick Harmon.

Want to get to sleep early? Stretch out on the couch and tune in Jones-Harmon on HBO.

Trinidad could spend years at 168 waiting fruitlessly for Jones.

The alternative is a lot better.

Mosley & Mosley, another father-son team, is campaigning loudly for Trinidad.

“It makes sense to do it right now,” said Jack from the Big Bear training headquarters where his son, the World Boxing Council welterweight champion, is preparing to defend his title Shannan Taylor on March 10 at Caesars Palace. “They should fight now when they are both at their best. If one goes one way and the other the other way, the fight will be gone, forgotten and we’ll never know who was the best pound-for-pound.

“I don’t see how this would mess anything up. If big bad Felix beats Shane, he can still get on with the tournament. Unless, of course, he’s afraid of Shane.”

Jack, of course, is just doing his job as his son’s manager, trying to bait Trinidad into a big-money fight.

But even if Trinidad is not interested, for reasons that are hard to fathom, why wouldn’t Felix Sr., want his son to hang around at 154 for two other lucrative fights?

De La Hoya has announced that, after his March 24 match against Arturo Gatti, he’s moving up from 147 to 154 and would love to fight Trinidad again. That could mean $15-$20 million for each man, more than Trinidad can make against anyone else.

And, of course, Trinidad could pick up big money by fighting a rematch against Vargas that Felix Jr., would almost surely win.

All of which makes a lot more sense than going up to 160.

But try telling that to Felix Sr.

INCHING TOWARD A SHOWDOWN?

As World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation champion Lennox Lewis prepares to face Hasim Rahman on April 21 in South Africa and Mike Tyson’s handlers negotiate for a May match against David Izon, behind the scenes, the two cable networks--HBO and Showtime--are attempting to resolve the deadlock that is keeping Lewis and Tyson from facing each other.

Lewis is contractually tied to HBO, Tyson to Showtime.

The latest offer from the Lewis side is for a 50-50 split with Tyson paying off Showtime out of his purse. Showtime’s Jay Larkin labeled that proposal “ridiculous.”

The most likely scenario is that the money will be found to pay off Showtime and the fight will happen in September or October on TVKO, the pay-per-view arm of HBO.

AUDIENCE BUILDING

Harmon, whose HBO fight against Jones (43-1, 35 knockouts) tonight will be held at The Ice Palace in Tampa, Fla., was a doorman in a Chicago high-rise seven years ago.

With the door to a title having swung open for the little-known Harmon (20-1, 10), the residents of his old building haven’t forgotten the man who opened doors for them.

HBO has received 52 new orders from the building since the fight was announced.

QUICK JABS

Staples Center officials, having lost in a bid to get the April 7 Prince Naseem Hamed-Marco Antonio Barrera match, are hoping to land a June fight. Arum, who staged De La Hoya-Mosley at Staples Center last June, is interested in holding another fight there. . . . Arum is attempting to sign 154-pound contender Ike Quartey.