- 6 weeks ago
Felix Trinidad defends his WBA Super Welterweight Title against No 1. contender Mamadou Thiam on HBO Boxing
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00:00The following is a special presentation of HBO Sports, the network of champions.
00:19In the past 18 months, Rhetoric and Felix Trinidad has become an American gold medal slayer.
00:25Three times, he has faced past Olympic title holders. Three times, Trinidad has vanquished them.
00:31In February of last year, Trinidad met 1984 gold medalist Brunel Whitaker.
00:41Down goes Whitaker on a straight right hand.
00:47Brunel wobbled again.
00:49Seven months later, Trinidad faced 1992 Olympic gold medal winner Oscar De La Hoya.
01:02Got to be a tremendous scoring round for Oscar De La Hoya.
01:08Trinidad looked like anything but a winner after eight rounds, but then the fight changed.
01:13Felix Trinidad is going to have to do something dramatic and do it soon to turn this around.
01:20De La Hoya's big margin in the early rounds of the fight seems to be evaporating now.
01:27Oh!
01:29Trinidad!
01:32Four months ago, Felix Trinidad's Olympic tour brought him to a man with considerably less experience than De La Hoya,
01:391996 gold medalist David Reed.
01:43After that early knockdown by Reed, it was all Trinidad.
01:55Somewhere in Trinidad's near future looms Fernando Vargas.
01:59But before that, Tito will have to get by tonight's opponent, Mamadou Thiam.
02:04No gold medals in Thiam's past, but there's gold in any matchup with Felix Trinidad.
02:39Welcome back.
02:49HBO Sports Tonight comes to you from steamy Miami, Florida, where we have a special edition of HBO's World Championship Boxing.
02:57Felix Trinidad defending his 154-pound world title against mandatory challenger, potentially dangerous Frenchman, originally from Senegal, Mamadou Thiam.
03:08The American Airlines Arena in Miami packed in the cheap seats, though some of the expensive sections are less fully populated.
03:17And you can be sure almost everyone here has come to see Puerto Rican, born and raised Felix Trinidad fight.
03:23South Florida's Latino population hasn't seen Trinidad live in seven years.
03:27And they're expecting the most out of their Campeon del Mundo.
03:33Hello again, everybody. I'm Jim Lampley.
03:34We welcome you back to this special edition of HBO's World Championship Boxing.
03:39Special because it's a chance to see one of the most celebrated fighters in the world in what is really a showcase for him en route to bigger business down the road.
03:48If Felix Trinidad can get past this mandatory challenge against little-known Mamadou Thiam tonight,
03:53if later this summer Fernando Vargas can defeat Ross Thompson in a similar situation,
03:59then on December 2 in Las Vegas we may be seeing Felix Trinidad against Fernando Vargas in the next megafight to take place in the 147, 154-pound neighborhood
04:10where so much of the sports talent is concentrated.
04:14That's the focus for Trinidad tonight, to get past this hurdle and go on toward more multi-million dollar business.
04:20Working with me, as always, HBO Boxing Analyst Larry Merchant.
04:24Larry, we're here in another traditional-type arena as opposed to a casino environment.
04:28That's exciting. It's exciting to me that we don't know anything at all about Mamadou Thiam, and virtually nobody does.
04:35Off what we've seen, how would you compare him to another African fighter who was nurtured in Paris, Ike Quartet?
04:42Probably not as good, possibly stronger and tougher.
04:46Also with a legend on his side.
04:51Thiam, like the legendary battling Sikhi, came to Paris from Senegal at the age of 12.
04:59Both of them became fighters.
05:02But Sikhi, whose guardian was a French actress, would promenade on the Champs-Élysées with a leopard on a leash.
05:12And he famously took a fight with light heavyweight champion George Carpentier on the condition that he would throw the fight.
05:22And then he double-crossed the champion, knocked him out.
05:27That was 1922.
05:29Tonight, the challenger is supposed to lose on merit, the merit of the champion.
05:36But you've got to watch those treacherous Senegalese fighters, Jim.
05:40Tremendous story, Larry, and it's entirely appropriate, of course, that Mamadou Thiam comes out of the spiritual footsteps of battling Sikhi to seek battle with Felix Trinidad.
05:52And for a more straightforward look, let's turn to two-time world heavyweight champion George Foreman.
05:56And George, Felix Trinidad, at only age 27, goes into his 18th title defense tonight.
06:03That's a lot of time spent at the top plateau for a fighter that age.
06:06And, of course, in the past year, he's finally begun to get famous and rich as well.
06:11Do you see any indication, though, that his motivation will slip?
06:1527 is a lot of age for a fighter who's been in so many good fighters, Olympic champions.
06:20And he's gone the distance with most of them.
06:23So it's not like he's a young boy, but I haven't seen anywhere where this guy slipped.
06:28He's not happy anymore, but he sure is mean, as usual.
06:32Well, and one age that Trinidad has always been his life is about fighting and not much other than fighting.
06:38Felix Trinidad has had to work a long time to gain the kind of star power that other fighters in his weight class began their careers with.
06:45He found a formula.
06:47Get into the ring with the bigger stars and beat them.
06:50Face to face.
06:52This is a legitimate knockout puncher at 147 pounds.
06:57A year and a half ago, welterweight champion Felix Tito Trinidad walked into Madison Square Garden to finally bring his career out of the shadows.
07:07Despite 14 previous title defenses, it wasn't until February 1999 that Trinidad was first face to face with a marquee opponent.
07:15That's when Felix took on Olympic gold medalist and longtime pound-for-pound king, Pernell Whitaker.
07:22That was a difficult fight because of Pernell Whitaker's style.
07:28He does a lot of bending and moving around.
07:30That's one of his hallmarks.
07:31He's been having so much trouble with Whitaker, and yet he's maintained his poise.
07:39Down towards Whitaker.
07:40What a straight time hand.
07:42I did learn something, to take things more calmly, not to get frustrated in the ring.
07:49I like to go for the knockout, but I can't win by decision.
07:54The most important thing is not to make any rash decisions.
07:57The resounding victory gave Trinidad leverage to pressure a second Olympic gold medalist into the ring, Oscar De La Hoya.
08:06The long-anticipated superfight to superstardom was bigger than just unifying the welterweight division,
08:12and the pressure of this career-defining moment made Trinidad uneasy.
08:16The most anticipated non-heavyweight showdown of this decade.
08:22If you're nervous, it doesn't mean you're afraid.
08:26You're nervous because you don't want to disappoint the fans.
08:29You want to do well with all the attention you're getting.
08:33The lessons of patience Trinidad had learned from the Whitaker bout backfired here, and Oscar took advantage.
08:39Our class is too big a word for what's happening here, but it's bursting on that.
08:45Oscar De La Hoya always had his hands in front.
08:49My fight against him was harder because he moves around a lot.
08:53I was chasing him, and it was difficult because my hand almost couldn't reach.
08:58But then De La Hoya sat on his lead, and Trinidad desperately played catch-up.
09:04He's got to win round 12 to at least pull out a throw.
09:09Felix eked out an upset win, a disputed decision,
09:12while the lackluster fight frustrated all its massive expectations.
09:17Some people have said that maybe it wasn't the fight of the millennium,
09:21because it wasn't a good fight, but I don't agree.
09:23Maybe Oscar thinks that, but I was there to fight.
09:26With the victory, Tito was king of the welterweights,
09:29and a bigger hero than ever in Puerto Rico.
09:32When terms for a rematch with De La Hoya collapsed,
09:34Trinidad targeted yet another American Olympic gold medalist.
09:41Once he beat De La Hoya, we got the opportunity to go up in weight.
09:46The door was opened.
09:48That was David Reed.
09:49A lot of people thought this fight would stop Tito.
09:51Adjusting to an added seven pounds,
09:54combined with another slow start to create a near disaster.
09:59He was lucky.
10:00He hit me, and I went down.
10:01People said I was a little slow in the early rounds.
10:04I didn't see it that way.
10:06I tried to keep my rhythm.
10:08He landed a good hit, but it cost him in the end.
10:12For the second fight in a row,
10:14Trinidad needed a gutty second-half comeback to win.
10:18The new title further enhanced the Latino hero's delayed star status.
10:22Three gold medal!
10:23Three gold medal!
10:25I've had 37 fights, undefeated, 30 knockouts.
10:29I've beaten three gold medalists.
10:30I have fought against six mandatory number-one challengers during my career.
10:34I've beaten them all.
10:37Tito can be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
10:40Pernell Whitaker, Oscar De La Hoya, David Reed, they were great boxers.
10:45Beating them makes me very proud, for myself and also for Puerto Rico.
10:49When my career is done, it will be there, recorded in history.
10:52Tito Trinidad's road to glory opened up much later than he had planned.
10:58But by tarnishing three gold medalists in 13 months, he has carved out a spot on center stage
11:03and now looks to state his case as best pound-for-pound.
11:07Back in Miami, the theme continues in Trinidad's career.
11:13Victory tonight bolts him toward a possible matchup with Fernando Vargas.
11:16And though Vargas did not win a gold medal in Atlanta, he was there as a member of the American Olympic team.
11:24And that identity has helped to spur his early professional prominence.
11:28Hail to the tape now for Felix Tito Trinidad against Mamadou Tiam.
11:33And you can see that Tiam is one year older at 28, gives up two inches in height, two inches in reach.
11:39Tiam weighed in a pound and a half under the limit, has put on six and a half pounds since.
11:43Trinidad has added nine to bring a four-pound advantage into the ring tonight.
11:47Punched at numbers, Larry.
11:49A lot of numbers.
11:51What does it mean?
11:51Tiam's 93 punches a round were made against fighters that weren't household names anywhere except in their own households.
12:01If he can do half as well as this against Trinidad, we might have a fight.
12:07Both of them throw jabs, but mainly are known for their big punching power.
12:13Rules of the bout with our unofficial ringside scorer, Harold Letterman.
12:16The Felix Trinidad-Mamadou Tiam fight is scheduled for 12 rounds using the unified rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions.
12:24There is no standing eight count, no three-knockdown rule.
12:28Only the referee can stop the fight, and you cannot be saved by the bell in any round, including the 12th and final rounds.
12:35Jim.
12:36You know what this is.
12:37And Mamadou Tiam will enter the ring first, move from Senegal to France at age 12, as his family gradually brought all of its members over to France.
12:52And he began to get into neighborhood sports, including soccer, including bicycling.
12:58Boxing just one of the many that he picked up, and it's the one with which he stuck.
13:04And Jim, his friends call him Dudu for short.
13:10No comment.
13:11I'm sure all of us, given the name Mamadou, would prefer to be called Dudu, right?
13:16Well, maybe then Mama.
13:20Dudu is darling in French, you know.
13:22Well, and as a fighter, he has some lovability, particularly if you like punchers.
13:29Mamadou Tiam is not expected to be an elusive target for Felix Trinidad.
13:34He stands in front of his opponents and tries to blow them away.
13:42One Las Vegas odds maker, looking at the list of Tiam's previous opponents, almost all of them in France,
13:49installed Trinidad as a 30-to-1 favorite.
13:52But if you've watched Mamadou punch on film, you tend to give him a little better shot than that.
14:00Overall record for Tiam, 33 wins, only one loss early in his career, 30 KOs.
14:06But when Trinidad was fighting Brunel Whitaker, Tiam was fighting Alexander Parabosikov.
14:12When Trinidad was fighting Oscar De La Hoya, Tiam was fighting Valentino Manka.
14:18Draw your own conclusions.
14:19Has the appearance of a stakes horse against an allowance horse.
14:31This crowd seems to be overwhelmingly Puerto Rican in character.
14:42And that should mean a huge reception.
14:45That one, a portito.
14:46I have a feeling, Jim, that if they played the game of Survivor on the island of Puerto Rico,
15:08Felix Trinidad would be the last man standing there.
15:12In front of Trinidad is father, Don Felix.
15:24Another, so far, quite successful father-son relationship, not unlike that of Jack and Shane
15:31Moseley.
15:35And neither of their minds, Jim, seem to be cluttered by any kind of doubt.
15:42If you ask Trinidad whether he was straining to make Lothalweight, and that's why he moved up to junior middleweight, which is obviously the case, he denies it.
15:56Says he was always comfortable at Lothalweight.
15:58If you ask him whether he was really having trouble with De La Hoya in the first six or eight rounds, he denies it.
16:07Says it was all part of the master plan.
16:09But at the end of the day or the night, they always raise his hand.
16:15No importa el tirano de tirate con de la maldad, preciosa serás sin banderas, sin labros ni gloria, preciosa, preciosa, te llaman los hijos de la libertad.
16:38¡Gracias!
17:08¡Gracias!
17:09¡Gracias!
17:10¡Gracias!
17:11¡Gracias!
17:12¡Gracias!
17:13¡Gracias!
17:14¡Gracias!
17:15¡Gracias!
17:16¡Gracias!
17:17¡Gracias!
17:18¡Gracias!
17:19¡Gracias!
17:20¡Gracias!
17:21¡Gracias!
17:22¡Gracias!
17:23¡Gracias!
17:24¡Gracias!
17:25¡Gracias!
17:26¡Gracias!
17:27¡Gracias!
17:28¡Gracias!
17:29¡Gracias!
17:30¡Gracias!
17:31¡Gracias!
17:32¡Gracias!
17:33¡Gracias!
17:34¡Gracias!
17:35¡Gracias!
17:36¡Gracias!
17:37If you're watching the fight tonight, log on to HBO.com slash boxing,
17:40where you'll be able to check stats, read round-by-round commentary,
17:43score each round, and answer the question,
17:45who is the best 154-pound fighter?
17:48Choose from among Fernando Vargas and Felix Trinidad,
17:51both of them already at 154 pounds,
17:53Oscar Deloitte and Shane Mosley,
17:55both of whom are expected to be there sometime in the future,
17:58or simply none of the above.
18:00And after tonight's fight, you'll have a chance to chat live
18:03with 154-pound champion Fernando Vargas
18:06to see what he thinks of Trinidad's performance
18:09in anticipation of their possible meeting December 2 in Las Vegas.
18:13Now let's go up to ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr.
18:16Ladies and gentlemen, a very good evening to you,
18:19and we welcome you to the American Airlines Arena
18:22here in beautiful Miami, Florida,
18:25for the featured bout of the evening
18:27brought to you by Don King Productions,
18:30the American Airlines Arena,
18:32and HBO Sports in association with Wyndham Hotels and Resorts,
18:38Wyndham Way, the right way,
18:40and the undisputed king of beers, Budweiser.
18:45This world championship is a sanctioned
18:48by the World Boxing Association,
18:50President Herberto Mendoza,
18:52Supervisor Aurelio Fiengo.
18:54This is along with the Florida State Boxing Commission.
18:57The chairman is Alvin Enten,
18:59Vice Chairman Eduardo La Casa,
19:02Commissioners Alita Waldman, Jerry Wages,
19:04and Dr. Donald Perry,
19:06the executive director, Chris Meffert.
19:10Our three judges scoring this bout for Bringside
19:12from Montreal, Canada, Guy Jutras,
19:15from Miami, Florida, Bill Ray,
19:18and from Leesburg, Florida, Frank Skillbred,
19:21and the third man of the ring,
19:23the referee in charge of this bout,
19:24working in this, his 13th world title bout,
19:27Jorge Alonso.
19:31All right, fans, here we go.
19:3312 rounds of boxing
19:34for the WBA Super Welterweight Championship of the World.
19:40And now, ladies and gentlemen in attendance
19:42and boxing fans joining us around the world,
19:45live from Miami,
19:47it's time for the main event of the evening.
19:56Introducing to you first the challenger on my right,
19:59fighting out of the blue corner,
20:01entering the ring,
20:02wearing black trunks with gold trim,
20:05hailing from and representing Paris, France.
20:08He weighed in at a trim and ready,
20:11152 and one-half pounds.
20:14With a fine record of 33 wins,
20:16only one loss.
20:18He has 30 wins coming by way of knockout.
20:21Ladies and gentlemen,
20:22here is the European champion
20:24and the WBA number one ranked contender.
20:28Introducing the challenger,
20:30Mamadou.
20:32Dudu Tian.
20:34And his opponent across the ring
20:42is the defending world champion
20:44on my left of the red corner,
20:46truly one of boxing's great stars,
20:49entering the ring,
20:50wearing black trunks with gray trim,
20:53and fighting out of
20:54Cupe Alto,
20:56Puerto Rico.
20:58He weighed in at the super welterweight limit
21:02of 154 pounds.
21:04He is undefeated in his campaign to the ring
21:07with 37 wins,
21:09no losses,
21:1030 wins coming by way of knockout.
21:13Here is the former welterweight world champion
21:16and the current undefeated WBA
21:19super welterweight champion of the world.
21:22Aquí está el gran campeón
21:25puertorriqueño y mundial.
21:28Introducing Felix,
21:30Tito Trinidad.
21:34Once again,
21:51a referee in charge of the bout.
21:53Now to give instructions,
21:55Jorge Alonso.
22:00Really not.
22:01Mamadou.
22:02Mamadou.
22:04Mamadou, right here.
22:09Tito, acá.
22:14All right, fighters,
22:15I gave you instructions earlier
22:16in the dressing room today, all right?
22:18Remember my instructions.
22:20Compray my commands at all times
22:21and protect yourself at all times.
22:23Any questions from this corner?
22:25Any questions from this corner?
22:27No.
22:27At the belt, come out
22:28and give me a clean fight.
22:29Let's go.
22:30Touch him out.
22:31Touch him out.
22:31Give me that.
22:33Come here.
22:33Come here.
22:34Right here.
22:34Let's go.
22:35Let's go.
22:35Let's go.
22:35Let's go.
22:35Let's go.
22:35Let's go.
22:36Let's go.
22:36Let's go.
22:39Jim, it's axiomatic in boxing
22:41that a fighter as good and distinguished as Trinidad
22:45can only be beaten in his prime by himself
22:50if he hasn't taken care of business
22:53and preparation for a fighter of this caliber.
22:58Let's go.
22:58He's not that kind of fighter, or at least he hasn't been in the past, but Felix Trinidad
23:04is a notoriously slow starter.
23:06So, too, is Mamadou Thiam.
23:08It'll be interesting to see if one of the two tries to step up and take advantage of the
23:12other in that regard.
23:14And of course, as you know, Trinidad has been down in the early rounds of a half dozen fights
23:19in his career, including the last one against David Reed.
23:22Every time he got up to knock the man out in front of him.
23:27Tito's got no sweat on his body.
23:30Dry body.
23:32Mamadou as well.
23:34But he seems to be a little looser.
23:37You see the veins in his arms.
23:40He's done some shadow boxing in the dressing room.
23:43Should every fighter warm to a lather in the dressing room, George?
23:46The warmer you are, the better.
23:48You don't want to be out there cold and get hit on the chin.
23:51I mean, I was telling you, that's been a habit of Trinidad.
23:53He probably has not learned his part for warming up in the dressing room.
23:57Everybody's got their own.
24:00Great jab from Trinidad as he backs up.
24:03Mamadou has got to be careful and steady.
24:06If you knock him down, don't try to finish him.
24:09You've thrown 300 right hands in the gym.
24:11Don't try to throw 600 in the fight.
24:13Win every round.
24:14Knock him down every round.
24:16Don't try to finish him off.
24:18Trinidad, of course, use your jab.
24:20Stiff it.
24:21Keep it stiff.
24:22Go to the body to make certain this guy doesn't get his coordination going for throwing double
24:26lefts, double right.
24:29First round, Tantative.
24:31Both fighters seeming just to try to get their legs under them a little bit.
24:36Trinidad with the right hand leading now.
24:37A big left uppercut and left hook.
24:40First serious combination of the fight.
24:41And now Tiong's stunned by the left.
24:44He's never faced a fighter with Trinidad's punching power before.
24:48And Mamadou Tiong obviously taken back by Felix Trinidad's strength.
24:57Tiong still wobbling as Trinidad looks for a rare early knockout.
25:02And look at the right eye of Mamadou Tiong.
25:06That right eye is almost closed already.
25:10You know you got to hold.
25:13No one's taught this guy how to grab.
25:15Clinch, hold on.
25:17You can't get out of it by fighting.
25:19Just hold him.
25:20Takes a left hook to the body.
25:23Locks some of the other stuff upstairs.
25:25He's done everything but Clinch.
25:27If he can get out of this round,
25:31Trinidad is going to expel a lot of his energy.
25:36That corner is going to have a hard time working on an eye.
25:39Yeah, that eye is in fact.
25:40If he finishes the round.
25:41Do you think Trinidad got a thumb in on that eye?
25:43I mean, what would it count for that slow forward?
25:45I don't think so.
25:46This guy just got hit with a lot of shots.
25:47He had his gloves in front of his face.
25:49That hurts.
25:50And it pushes your thumb into your eye.
25:53That might have happened.
25:54Because Tiam's right eye is in bad shape.
26:00Tiam makes it out of the round.
26:03But plenty the worse for wear.
26:16Don't worry.
26:18Don't go crazy.
26:18Don't worry.
26:19Don't worry.
26:19Don't worry.
26:19Don't worry.
26:19Our interpreter is Elie Shiraki in Tiam's corner where they speak French.
26:25Okay.
26:28Listen to me.
26:32Listen to me.
26:35You're going to put your right hand up.
26:37You can see my hand.
26:46Can you see my hand?
26:48It seems that... that T.M.'s can't...
26:51When you watch Trinidad throw these kinds of punches...
26:55It seems that he doesn't see.
26:57You start thinking what God had in mind there as a fighter.
27:03Copy box numbers are overwhelming.
27:06Trinidad landed 40 of 67 shots in a rare big first round.
27:11The big first round made possible by the fact that Mamadou Thiam
27:14has never seen this kind of competition
27:16and couldn't handle Felix's punch when first he felt it.
27:23Trinidad better finish him out
27:26because this guy has the capability of becoming stronger
27:29as the fight goes on.
27:31You heard him, don't let him recover.
27:34What about the eye, George?
27:36Well, the eye's in bad shape,
27:37but if you get a little confidence with a bad eye,
27:39you can sustain.
27:40You don't want him to get that confidence.
27:42You heard him, finish him out.
27:44Mamadou made the mistake of standing in front
27:47and following a big puncher.
27:49You don't do that.
27:50You go left and right, then go to him.
27:52And they told us that he had worked in the gym
27:55on a new fight plan,
27:57that he had worked in the gym on doing something different,
27:59that the something different would be to go side to side
28:02and be more elusive.
28:03But of course, if you've had 33 fights
28:06and you've done one thing,
28:08that's what you're likely to do when you get into the ring.
28:10Mamadou is more effective when he can get in a right,
28:13double left, double right.
28:15You get that rhythm going, he can give you trouble.
28:17He hasn't gotten it going yet.
28:19Now he tries to come with the left hook.
28:21Mamadou's seeming to understand
28:23that his best defense here will be a good offense.
28:26And now he begins to try to put Trinidad back on his heels
28:29by attacking and keeping it going.
28:32Trinidad, you see, he moves to Mamadou's left
28:35because that eye just, to his left, I'm sorry,
28:38Mamadou's right eye just doesn't see a thing.
28:41All right, so Trinidad's moving toward the bad eye
28:43to set up and attack that target.
28:45You can stay out of harm way whenever you want.
28:48Go to his left when you want to hit him,
28:53then go back to the right for safety.
28:57Giam chasing Trinidad and trying to seize the initiative.
29:03Trinidad will look for an opportunity
29:05to counter with his left hand.
29:07To the right man, Mamadou had better be very careful
29:10when he throws the right.
29:12Trinidad had better establish his left jab
29:14because this guy's tasted his best stuff now.
29:17Now he's gonna come on.
29:18You lose a lot of energy trying to knock him out.
29:20And he's coming on.
29:22And Diam knocks Trinidad back with a right hand.
29:26Low blow from Trinidad.
29:28Diam walks through it.
29:30This guy is strong.
29:32And you know, he hasn't got his rhythm going yet.
29:35But that eye is gonna be the telling story tonight.
29:38Another huge left hook from Felix Trinidad.
29:41And Diam comes back anyway.
29:48Here's a guy, Mamadou, who can take the punishment
29:51and still be there.
29:52Hadn't been for that left eye,
29:54this could be a different story.
29:55Another uppercut starts as Diam.
29:58And with the eye shot like that,
29:59cannot see the left hand coming.
30:01Cannot see the left hand coming.
30:02Cannot see the left hand coming.
30:03Brinidad doing big damage
30:05in the last 30 seconds of the round.
30:07The ring doctor is Dr. Alan Fields,
30:09and he will be watching Mamadou Tiam across the ring.
30:13Our interpreter in Trinidad's corner is Hector Garcia.
30:29Just continue.
30:30You're going to knock out him.
30:34He's dead.
30:35The guy's dead.
30:36The guy's dead.
30:37The guy's dead.
30:38Just get your hands in there.
30:41Don't hold back.
30:46He's dead.
30:47Don't hold back.
30:48Don't hold back.
30:50Don't hold back.
30:51Don't hold back.
30:52Don't hold back.
30:53Diem is probably the strongest fighter
30:57that Trinidad has ever faced.
31:00He's determined.
31:01He just doesn't have the skill level
31:06to deal with a fighter of this quality.
31:09So you're saying already he's stronger than David Reed?
31:11Absolutely.
31:12Very strong.
31:13I've ever seen Trinidad starting off the fight
31:17circling his opponent.
31:19It's the opponent who circle away from him.
31:22But he has shown some respect
31:24for the fact that this guy is very strong,
31:27and then in the second half of the round,
31:29he goes at him.
31:31Punch that number's in round two.
31:33Trinidad, 19 of 45, Thiam, 19 of 57.
31:39Mamadou has just never run into that kind of power before.
31:43Some fighters know about it, and some have never seen it.
31:46This is a new thing for him.
31:50You just can't cover up.
31:51You got to move your head and your body.
31:54You just can't hold your hands up this time.
31:57Poignant sight between rounds.
31:59As the ring doctor leaned in over the ropes
32:01to try to get a look at Thiam's right eye,
32:04Mamadou's father, here from France,
32:06stepped up on the apron and leaned in with him.
32:08He wanted to see how his son was doing it.
32:10Touch your head, touch your head, touch your head!
32:20Some guys, you can lay your hands up
32:22and let them punch on you.
32:23Some guys, they'll hurt you even through your gloves.
32:27Trinidad is that kind of puncher.
32:28Keep your head moving, your waist moving.
32:31Don't stand still to nothing.
32:38Don't stand still to nothing.
32:40Don't stand still to nothing.
32:42Don't stand still to nothing.
32:43Don't stand still to nothing.
32:44Don't stand still to nothing.
32:45Don't stand still to nothing.
32:46Don't stand still to nothing.
32:47Don't stand still to nothing.
32:48Don't stand still to nothing.
32:49Don't stand still to nothing.
32:50Don't stand still to nothing.
32:51Don't stand still to nothing.
32:52Don't stand still to nothing.
32:52Don't stand still to nothing.
32:53Don't stand still to nothing.
32:54He takes the chance because he is now hungry to win.
33:01Hey, Deion commits to his punches, too.
33:04Well, he commits, but he just doesn't have what nature
33:07has given Trinidad power.
33:12Ooh, those uppercuts.
33:15It's not just power, it's also technique, I think.
33:18Oh, no, no, no, this is pure power.
33:21Some guys can do the same thing and nothing happens.
33:24The right eye is grotesque.
33:26The right eye is swollen, completely shut,
33:29totally grotesque.
33:31Not sure how long the doctor will let Deion continue,
33:34particularly since he can't see Felix's left hand coming.
33:42Trinidad doesn't have big arms,
33:44he doesn't have exceptionally big shoulders.
33:47And he looks stiff-legged in there sometimes.
33:49He's like Bob Foster, they just do something.
33:52And Deion can't have any more.
33:54Deion asked the referee to stop the fight.
33:56His right eye simply too bad for him to continue.
34:02You hate to see them do it,
34:04but it wasn't gonna get any better for him.
34:06Well, you know, that's a great fight.
34:08You know he is.
34:10He wouldn't have quit unless he found the situation just impossible.
34:17He just has never seen that kind of power delivered to him.
34:22From the first uppercut left hook combination, that was it.
34:26He took it to Trinidad, he just doesn't seem to have to look for uppercuts.
34:29He has.
34:34So in closing it out in round three,
34:36Felix Trinidad landed 29 of 46 power shots.
34:39And it would have been that way.
34:41It would have been target practice as long as they continue.
34:44Tell you about De La Hoya fighting a very smart fight.
34:57Never did stop moving at all.
34:59Yep.
35:00No, De La Hoya's first seven rounds against Trinidad
35:04were as masterful as masterful can be.
35:06When he was sucking up fire, he kept moving.
35:10Trinidad is one of those guys that you look at
35:13and it's all in his face.
35:16Something inside of him.
35:18We call it the gift.
35:21Born to fight.
35:23As Larry Merchant said, God had a fighter in mind.
35:26That's true.
35:27Larry called that one right.
35:29Well, so now the ball moves into Fernando Vargas' court.
35:38And Vargas, coming off of his huge win over Aicorte,
35:41will try to beat a mandatory challenger named Ross Thompson
35:44in August to set himself up for a meeting with Trinidad.
35:47Let's look back at some of the damage that was done toward the end.
35:52And that's when Mamadou Tiam decided he had enough.
35:55You can see how badly swollen the eye was.
35:57And Tiam seemed to realize that Trinidad's left hand
36:00is his big weapon.
36:01There was nothing he was going to be able to do to stop it.
36:03And you think about it.
36:05This guy made Trinidad fight a fight.
36:07He wasn't even intending to fight.
36:09He was in his face from round, from bale to bale.
36:11Yep.
36:12Get up off the canvas, get right back into his face.
36:14I think he made Trinidad a better fighter tonight.
36:16It takes a fight like that to make a fighter step up
36:28and score his quality and punching power.
36:31Now he has the faith in his own power.
36:33I imagine Felix, you know, to the degree that fighters enjoy
36:35this kind of thing, he had to enjoy that,
36:37a guy who would right, stand right in front of him
36:39and fight him.
36:40You bring your punching bag to the center of the ring.
36:43That's what he does.
36:44And that's what he had.
36:45Absolutely.
36:46Mamadou was a punching bag tonight.
36:47He tried.
36:48Well, let's go up to, uh...
36:50Number one in the world!
36:51Let's go to Jimmy Lennon Jr.
36:52for the official particulars on the TKO.
36:55Ladies and gentlemen, we have the time.
36:58Two minutes, 48 seconds in round number three.
37:02Fighter unable to continue.
37:04Our referee in charge stops the contest.
37:06The winner, by way of technical knockout,
37:09he is still undefeated and still the WBA
37:13super welterweight champion of the world,
37:16famous Pinto Trinidad!
37:22No!
37:23Don't do that shit to me!
37:25Don't do that shit to me!
37:26Don't do that shit to me!
37:28Don't do that shit to me!
37:30Don't do that shit to me!
37:31Oh, no, no!
37:32Don't tip that bullshit out!
37:33Don't pull that shit on me!
37:35Oh, no!
37:36Fuck that shit!
37:38Final punch stat numbers, totally dominated by Trinidad.
37:5096 out of 175 to 34 out of 136.
37:54Tito, a notoriously slow starter, as we told you at the beginning of the fight,
37:59forced to come out and start a little faster by the aggressive style of Tiam.
38:04And after he landed the first uppercut left hook combination and broke up Tiam's eye,
38:09he had a target to work with, and there was every reason to continue to be aggressive.
38:1372 out of 118 power punches.
38:15If Felix Trinidad does that against you, you're going home early and you're going home hurt,
38:20and that's what's happening with Mamadou Tiam.
38:23Heck of a performance by Trinidad.
38:24And one more thing, George, he looks so comfortable at 154 pounds.
38:28Well, like Larry said, God had him in mind when he made a boxer.
38:32Yep.
38:32This guy's all of the—he's got the whole package, and he's just going to get better.
38:36Tremendous performance by Trinidad via an interpreter.
38:39Let's see what he has to say to Larry Merchant.
38:42All right, thank you, Jim.
38:43When did you do this in the—
38:44Congratulations, Tito.
38:46Felicidades, Tito.
38:47You usually don't start this fast.
38:51What was there about your opponent that you saw such opportunity?
38:55Usually, you don't start at this speed.
38:57What did you see in your opponent that made you start in this way?
39:00Well, thanks to me for my condition.
39:02I last met him in the early.
39:04I was going to close my eye to the right eye and have to take advantage of the opportunity.
39:09I was going to close my eye to the right eye to the right eye to the right eye.
39:14It's because of my good conditioning.
39:15I was able to close his eye in the early round.
39:16And because of my conditioning, I'm able to do this.
39:19He seemed to be very strong when he came out.
39:22You were circling around, just waiting for an opportunity.
39:26What did you see that gave you that opportunity?
39:47I got a advantage of the opportunity that I had in the first round.
39:50And my conditioning is very good.
39:54What has it meant to you moving from welterweight to junior middleweight?
40:02I feel very good at this weight.
40:13This weight, I'm a super welterweight.
40:14I feel very good, very comfortable at this weight.
40:18Are you satisfied with the opportunities at this weight, rather than the much-talked-about
40:25rematch with De La Hoya?
40:40I'm 154 pounds.
40:43If Vasquez De La Hoya wants to come up to my weight, that's fine.
40:45So be it.
40:46All right.
40:47Just tell us what your impression is of Fernando Vargas and your thoughts about coming to that
40:55fight later this year.
40:56Fernando Vargas is a great fighter.
41:10He's a great fighter.
41:11I'm a very good friend of his, but in the ring it's something different.
41:13Thank you very much.
41:14Again, congratulations.
41:15Go ahead.
41:16Yes, Tito.
41:17He's talking about a child in Puerto Rico that was kidnapped, and he's hoping that whoever
41:34has that child to return him.
41:41And just salutations to people in Puerto Rico and France and so on.
41:45Waldemar Fernandes.
41:46Mr. Fernandes, Waldemar Fernandes.
41:49Was this fight in Miami everything you had hoped for in terms of the greeting you had from
41:56your fans?
41:58Yeah, the fans here in Miami are great, and they ensure they were here to support me.
42:15Thank you again.
42:16Okay.
42:18Jim.
42:19All right.
42:20Thank you very much, Larry.
42:21Now think of this one as kind of an extended train wreck.
42:25It started in round one when Trinidad landed the left hook uppercut combination that busted
42:31up Mamatou Thiam's right eye and left Thiam compromised through the rest of the action.
42:37In round two, Thiam came out aggressively at the beginning of the round and actually rocked
42:41Trinidad back with a right hand.
42:43But then when Felix began to target the left hand again in the third minute of round two,
42:47he again put Thiam in terrible difficulty.
42:50And by the middle of round three, Thiam realized there was nothing he'd be able to do to stop
42:55Trinidad's left hand power.
42:56And he walked to the referee and asked that the combat be stopped at that point.
43:01At the risk, George, of putting undue pressure on Fernando Vargas because he has to win another fight
43:06against Ross Thompson before he can get to the possible matchup with Trinidad on December 2.
43:10We've seen what Trinidad can do now at 154 pounds.
43:13Vargas is a fighter who can punch, but he can also box and move as he showed in his great win against Ike Quarte.
43:19Would Vargas have to fight against Trinidad, the same kind of plan that De La Hoya fought against him for the first eight rounds at 147?
43:26Not at all. Vargas can stand with him. He's got big shoulders. He's strong.
43:31As a matter of fact, you're gonna see a sum of Trinidad boxing Vargas.
43:35I think that Vargas stands a greater chance because of the strength of his body.
43:38He's a true one. He's a middleweight for sure.
43:40I can't wait to see it now. You've made me more excited than ever, George.
43:43Oh, yeah. It's gonna be strange and interesting, and I'm gonna have a lot of fun as Larry Merchant's wife told me to.
43:48Let's hope it takes place, and Larry Merchant's wife is among the millions who now look forward to some upcoming sports programs right here on HBO.
43:57So, Patricia, if you're watching, these are what they are.
44:00August 5, it's the next edition of HBO's new boxing series, KO Nation.
44:05This show will come to you from Madison, Wisconsin, where hometown hero Eric Murrell attempts to win the flyweight title from champion Soren Pichai Pusnourashank.
44:14HBO, the heart and soul of boxing.
44:17Also, if you missed it, check out our latest installment of When It Was a Game.
44:21In this third documentary, viewers will once again be taken back to a time when fans had special bonds with their heroes,
44:27with names like Gibson, Maze, Mantle, and Aaron.
44:30When It Was a Game 3, with its exclusive home movies playing in July on HBO.
44:36Tune in August 17 for another HBO Sports documentary, Ali Frazier, One Nation, Divisible.
44:42We'll examine what may have been the most anticipated sporting event of the last half century.
44:47And you'll see both men as fighters and as symbols of America's fractured society in the 60s and early 70s.
44:54Ali versus Frazier, One Nation, Divisible.
44:57Coming next month to HBO.
44:59And we bring you back to ringside in Miami.
45:04We told you our website question this evening.
45:07Who do you think is the best 154 pound fighter?
45:10Not terribly surprisingly, given of course that you as an audience are interested in Felix Trinidad or you wouldn't be here.
45:16And off the performance we just saw, Trinidad the overwhelming winner in that poll question.
45:2149%, 28% picking Shane Mosley if he moves up to 154 pounds as the best of the group.
45:28And of course, later on this evening you can chat live with 154 pound champion Fernando Vargas as he waits to stake his title against Trinidad's 154 pound title a little bit later on this year.
45:40It's no secret what we're working on here.
45:42You're talking about four terrific fighters within seven pounds of each other.
45:47Deloy and Mosley at 147.
45:49Trinidad and Vargas at 154.
45:51Of course, it's reminiscent of the situation we had in the 1980s when the four truly great fighters wound up matching against each other a total of nine times.
46:02First, it was Ray Leonard against Tommy Hearns, beginning the whole enterprise on September 14, 1981.
46:08Then later, Hagler against Duran.
46:10And among the four fighters, as I mentioned, they produced nine big matchups during the decade,
46:16including the unforgettable three rounds of mayhem in Hagler Hearns.
46:22And of course, Ray Leonard's incredible comeback win over marvelous Marvin Hagler by controversial decision, April 6, 1987.
46:32Well, we've already kicked it off among these four.
46:35Last year, Oscar De La Hoya taking on Felix Trinidad at 147 pounds.
46:40Controversial decision to Trinidad.
46:42De La Hoya had already beaten Mike Cuarte to set up that fight.
46:45Fernando Vargas got a huge win over Cuarte earlier this year to put himself into the four fighter sweepstakes,
46:51along with De La Hoya, Trinidad, and Shane Mosley, who on June 17 scored a dramatic split decision win over Oscar in their fight in Staples Center.
47:01George, when you have four fighters in a situation like this, how difficult is it for them to focus on their own careers
47:06and not pay attention to what the other three guys are doing?
47:09Awful difficult.
47:10As a matter of fact, you get out there and you start thinking about, I've got to look better each time I get out.
47:14Then De La Hoya.
47:15Then Shane Mosley.
47:16The next thing you know, you don't have a career of your own.
47:19Shut it off.
47:20Tend to your own business.
47:21And I think that whoever does that is going to be the one standing at the last.
47:25Easier said than done.
47:26But the one who has had amazing focus throughout his whole career is Trinidad.
47:29He's shown that.
47:30Yeah, Trinidad has always been the best kept secret in the world.
47:33Now he's the world champion and there's no secret.
47:35That's right.
47:36No secret anymore.
47:37And Larry Merchant, of course, you experienced all of those great matchups among the four stars of the 80s.
47:42What are your thoughts now as you look forward to a possible repeat of that scenario?
47:47Well, the stars have to be aligned.
47:49And in that case, you had Sugar Ray Leonard who took part in most of those fights.
47:54And he was the big box office draw who sort of made that happen.
47:58But what I'm reminded of when watching the champion tonight, Felix Trinidad,
48:04is that you have to be careful what you wish for in boxing because there may be something better out there.
48:12Do you remember six months ago only everybody was talking about a rematch of a kind of mediocre fight?
48:19It's Trinidad versus De La Hoya.
48:22Trinidad moves up to 154 and what do you have?
48:25He beats David Reed.
48:27De La Hoya has to fight Mosley.
48:29Mosley wins.
48:30There's a rematch in store.
48:31Trinidad is now going to fight Vargas.
48:34We could get a rematch out of that.
48:36We could get in the next three or four years a whole series of great fights.
48:40So once again, be careful what you wish for in boxing.
48:45There may be something better out there.
48:48And indeed, our next appearance here will be August 19.
48:53But we'll talk about more on that in just a moment.
48:55In addition, of course, we'll be back with more on what happened in the ring.
48:58Let's look ahead to some other programs here on HBO.
49:03Bye!
49:04Bye!
49:05Bye!
49:06Bye!
49:07Vision!
49:08Bye!
49:09Precision!
49:12Acceleration!
49:13Bye!
49:14Target!
49:16Aw!
49:18You may hate me, but it ain't no lie.
49:21Bye!
49:22Bye!
49:23Bye!
49:24Like the moon ain't gonna make it tough.
49:26I just wanna tell you that I am.
49:29Might sound crazy, but it ain't no lie.
49:33Baby, bye, bye, bye.
49:35HBO presents NSYNC live from Madison Square Garden.
49:42Thursday night at 9, live on HBO.
49:47On the next Real Sports.
49:49San Francisco slugger Barry Barnes,
49:51one of the greatest baseball players of the 90s,
49:54is having one of his best seasons ever.
49:56In the past, Bonds has struck out with both the fans and the media,
50:02but now he's bringing a new attitude to the plate.
50:05Is it a questionable attempt to improve his battered image,
50:08or is he genuinely a changed man?
50:10Real Sports with Brian Gumbel.
50:12Premieres Monday night at 10 on HBO.
50:15Nothing is out of bounds.
50:19August 19th, check out the return of the entertaining Prince Nassim Ahmed,
50:22the man with the memorable ring entrances and the fists of fury,
50:25will be taking on veteran Augie Sanchez at 126 pounds.
50:29Also that night, Antonio Diaz fights Mickey Ward.
50:32Don't miss it on HBO, The Heart and Soul of Boxing.
50:34That one ought to be a war.
50:36Tonight's fight, earlier here at the American Airlines Arena in Miami,
50:41Felix Trinidad took advantage of a very available Mamadou Tiam,
50:44a fearless opponent who came and stood in front of Trinidad
50:47and soon realized he had never faced that kind of punching power before.
50:52Trinidad busting Tiam up with left uppercuts and left hooks,
50:55damaging his right eye so badly that Tiam had to walk away from the fight
50:58in the middle of the third round.
51:00Coming up immediately following our show, stay tuned for Arliss,
51:02followed by Oz on the East Coast and the premiere of Chain of Command on the West Coast.
51:07And now for the entire HBO crew, I'm Jim Lampley saying so long from Miami, Florida.
51:14The executive producer of HBO Sports is Ross Greenberg.
51:17Tonight's edition of World Championship Boxing was produced by Dave Harmon
51:20and directed by Mark Payton.
51:22The feature producer was Max Siegel.
51:24Associate director, John Crystal.
51:26Assistant to the producer, Craig Shapiro.
51:28Production manager, Mark Hayden.
51:30Technical supervisor, Roy Otaki.
51:32And the technical director was Doug Getz.
52:02This has been a presentation of HBO Sports, the network of champions.
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