A look at six pivotal fights in Felix Trinidad's career:
Pro Fight No. 23
Opponent: Hector Camacho (43-2)
Date: Jan. 19, 1994 -- Las Vegas
Result: Trinidad by decision in 12
Why it matters: Trinidad was 22-0 with 19 knockouts, and he'd won the IBF welterweight title six months earlier by knocking out Maurice Blocker. Still, many fans still hadn't seen what Tito was about. Camacho, a former three-division champ at lower weights, would be Trinidad's first name-brand opponent in the U.S. Camacho was a fellow Puerto Rican, so they'd be fighting to see who was top dog from the sunny island. But an aging Camacho, 31, didn't let Trinidad look good. He danced and ducked and spent much of the bout's second half wrapping both arms around the taller Trinidad. Trinidad did everything he could to make an impact -- punching low and high, even fouling Camacho with rabbit punches and stepping on his foot. Trinidad won handily, but Camacho, who'd never been down or stopped, took Trinidad 12 rounds for his first time. A torch had passed, but it wasn't at full blaze.
Pro Fight No. 25
Opponent: Luis Ramon Campas (56-0)
Date: Sept. 17, 1994 -- Las Vegas
Result: Trinidad by TKO in 4
Why it matters: "Yori Boy" Campas was a quiet legend, 56-0 with 50 knockouts, most of which were scored in Mexico. He quickly proved his record was legit. In Round 2, as the fighters banged just inches apart, Campas snapped off an incredibly tight left hook that caught Trinidad flush on the face and sent him down onto his seat. It was the sort of flash knockdown that victimized Trinidad throughout his career, revealing a vulnerable chin. But Campas' uppercuts couldn't do further damage, and by Round 3 Trinidad seized control. He pounded Campas with a big left hook and right to the head. The tattooing continued in the fourth. Trinidad blasted Campas to the ropes with a hard left hook, then uncorked a frightening right that rocked back the head of the defenseless Mexican with 21 seconds left. Referee Richard Steele had to stop it. Trinidad, who is at his best against sluggers, had passed his biggest test with flying colors.
Pro Fight No. 34
Opponent: Pernell Whitaker (40-2-1)
Date: Feb. 20, 1999 -- New York
Result: Trinidad by decision in 12
Why it matters: After a few years of easy defenses and less mainstream recognition than he deserved, Trinidad finally got his coming out party at Madison Square Garden, at age 26, against a future Hall of Famer. But -- in shades of Camacho -- defensive specialist Whitaker, nearing his final bow at 35, fought to survive and made it hard for Trinidad to glow. Trinidad floored Whitaker with a straight right to the face in Round 2 but couldn't finish him off. He pursued the smaller Whitaker all night and muscled him around. He threw in forearms for good measure. It was either a punch or a Trinidad elbow in the fifth or sixth that broke Whitaker's jaw. But Sweet Pea hung on. As the beatdown continued and rounds went deep, Whitaker even lowered himself to the canvas twice to avoid punishment. Trinidad had learned enough to look better against speed, but he had to settle for a decision win.
Pro Fight No. 36
Opponent: Oscar De La Hoya (31-0)
Date: Sept. 18, 1999 -- Las Vegas
Result: Trinidad by majority decision in 12
Why it matters: The "Fight of the Millennium" matched undefeated superstars in their prime and became the highest-grossing non-heavyweight affair ever. In the ring, the action was gripping, though hardly jaw-dropping. It showed a Trinidad who, while still vulnerable to tactical speed, had figured out how to overcome it. From the start, De La Hoya abandoned his usual flat-footed stance and became mobile, bouncing on his toes, circling left and right, maintaining an optimal distance and occasionally swarming with flurries or hit-and-duck right-hand leads. Trinidad was in continual pursuit, landing some left hooks and rights but looking less effective than De La Hoya. De La Hoya led on all judges' cards after eight rounds, but only narrowly. Then Oscar began to give ground, Trinidad closed the distance, and his pursuit evolved into a stalking. As Oscar faded, his circling turned into running and he put his back against the ropes more, where Trinidad pounded. After 10 it was even -- and Trinidad surged to take the championship rounds, like a true champion.
Pro Fight No. 37
Opponent: David Reid (14-0)
Date: March 3, 2000 -- Las Vegas
Result: Trinidad by decision in 12
Why it matters: Trinidad moved up to challenge for Reid's WBA 154-pound title, with the chance to defeat his third U.S. Olympic gold medalist (after Whitaker and De La Hoya). Reid, who had just 14 pro fights at the time, seemed tentative at first. But in Round 3, Reid landed a sudden, hard straight right that floored Trinidad. An energized Reid outboxed Trinidad into Round 7, and suddenly Trinidad's decision to move up in weight seemed questionable. Then as Round 7 neared its final seconds, Trinidad caught Reid with a picture-perfect left hook to the chin that put him down, and the tide turned. Only the bell saved Reid from doom. Reid's legs seemed shot and it was all Trinidad needed from there. He knocked Reid down three times in Round 11. Once again he had recovered from an early knockdown to turn the tables. In a post-fight interview, he spoke of moving up in weight further, maybe even fighting Roy Jones.
Pro Fight No. 41
Opponent: Bernard Hopkins (39-2-1)
Date: Sept. 29, 2001 -- New York
Result: Hopkins by TKO in 12
Why it matters: Trinidad's destruction of William Joppy to start the middleweight title unification tournament of 2001 seemed to prove he belonged at 160 pounds. But Hopkins, who had been studying Trinidad for years, drew a different conclusion. Hopkins totally neutralized Trinidad's power. He circled, feinted, set traps and made Trinidad wade into his gunning range. Trinidad walked forward only to eat jabs and uppercuts. Hopkins landed more shots than Trinidad in every round of the fight. Just when it looked as if Hopkins was sitting on his big lead in Round 12, he threw a huge right to the jaw that spelled good night -- and he shoved Trinidad to the ground just to make sure. It was the first and only time Trinidad didn't get up from a knockdown. Trinidad would badly lose again in a 2005 comeback fight against Winky Wright, apparently still vulnerable to speed and wile. That's something to be concerned about, even against a 39-year-old Jones.
Don Steinberg, a winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America's award for best column in 2005, covers boxing for The Philadelphia Inquirer.