Felix Trinidad, always reaching for greatness, then moved up to 160 pounds to participate in Don King's Middleweight World Championship Series with IBF champion, Bernard Hopkins; two-time WBA champion, William Joppy; and WBC champion, Keith Holmes. The first fight in the tournament was won by Hopkins, who defeated Holmes by unanimous decision in April 2001. The second fight featured Trinidad vs Joppy in May of that year.
The widely held beliefs that Trinidad might not be able to bring his vaunted punching power to, or take a punch at, middleweight were dispelled when Trinidad dropped Joppy with a left hook that sent Joppy sprawling underneath the bottom rope in the first round. Joppy survived the round and maintained his composure until the fourth round when Trinidad caught him with a right hand left hook combination that floored Joppy and left him stumbling badly. Joppy made it into the fifth round, but Trinidad dropped him for the third time with two right hands, and the referee halted the bout.
The newly crowned WBA middleweight champion became the seventh fighter in history to win championships at welterweight and middleweight joining "Sugar" Ray Robinson, Carmen Basilio, Emile Griffith, "Sugar" Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran.
Trinidad then faced IBF and WBC champion, Bernard Hopkins, in Middleweight World Championship Series finale in September 2001. Hopkins had a tremendous game plan, stuck to it, and fought the fight of his life in winning by technical knockout in round twelve, the only loss of Trinidad's career.
Trinidad returned in May 2002 and defeated Hacine Cherifi by TKO in round four. Unable to lure Hopkins into a rematch to avenge his sole career loss, Trinidad opted for a retirement that lasted 29 months before he returned to the ring.
Trinidad has faced some stiff competion as a pro. In December 1991, he faced a more experienced Jake Ropdriguez. Trinidad injured his right hand in the second round, followed by an injury to the left hand in the fourth round. Even though he suffered great pain, he went on to score a 10-round unanimous decision.
Felix took a five-month layoff because of the injuries. He got a wake-up call against world-championship-caliber competition when he fought Alberto Cortes in October 1992. The veteran Cortes entered the bout with a record of 51-3. One of Cortes' losses came at the hand of the great Julio Cesar Chavez. Trinidad got sloppy in the second round and Cortes knocked him down twice. It was the first time Trinidad had been knocked down in a fight. When Cortes came out to finish him off in the third round, Trinidad caught fire and tattooed Cortes with a barrage of punches. Cortes was helpless and unable to defend himself, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
In his first world title bout in June 1993, Trinidad took on two-time world champion, Maurice Blocker for his IBF welterweight crown. Trinidad took control of the bout from the opening bell, rocking Blocker with powerful shots from both hands. Trinidad finished Blocker off in the second round with a devastating knockout that left him on the canvas for several minutes, solidifying Trinidad's status as a power puncher.
Trinidad's first defense of the IBF Welterweight Title was against No. 1 contender, Luis Garcia in August 1993. Trinidad stunned Garcia with a crushing overhand right in the first round and never let up. He knocked Garcia to the mat four times in the first round before the bout was halted.
Trinidad successfully defended his title for the second time in October 1993 against Anthony Stephens. He survived a second-round knockdown and stopped Stephens in the 10th.
In January 1994, Trinidad scored a unanimous decision over Hector Camacho. Trinidad dominated the fight that vaulted him to the elite of the boxing world.
Following an eight-month layoff, Trinidad was matched up against "Yory Boy" Campas, whom many were calling the next Julio Cesar Chavez at the time. Campas carried with him a remarkable 56-0 record with 50 knockouts. In September 1994, Campas sent Trinidad to the canvas with a quick, short left hook in the second round. The young Puerto Rican sensation showed why he became the champion as he roared back in the fourth round and landed a dozen unanswered blows to Campas' head. Referee, Richard Steele had no choice but to stop the fight.
In December 1994, Trinidad faced the most formidable challenge yet in his career against then-undefeated Oba Carr. After an uneventful first round, a straight right hand sent Trinidad down in round two. For the next five rounds, Trinidad controlled the fight, and in the eighth round, Trinidad decked Carr twice. After getting up for the second time, Trinidad unleashed four unanswered blows to Carr's head, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
In his first fight of 1995, Trinidad defended his title against the No. 9 contender, Roger Turner. Tinidadad sent Turner down with a left hook in the second round from which he was never able to recover and the referee halted the fight a short time thereafter.
Gaining headline status for his fight in February 1996, Trinidad stopped Rodney Moore by TKO in the fourth round. A body blow sent Moore down at one point and after returning to his stool, Moore relayed to everyone that he had suffered enough and refused to come out to begin the fifth round.
In May 1996, Trinidad faced former world champion, Freddie Pendleton. who became victime No. 29 when Trinidad used a left hook to the body to stop the challenger in his tracks. The fight ended in the firfth, when Pendleton failed to rise before the count of ten.
Trinidad faced Kevin Lueshing in Trinidad's first fight in 1997. Trinidad's lackluster attitude towards his opponent turned into a shock of reality when Lueshing tagged the champion with a right-left combination, sending him to the canvas in the second round. Once again, the knockdown only awakened Trinidad and he stormed back in the next round to down Lueshing and register his 31st win with 27 KO's.
Trinidad was scheduled to meet Terry Norris during the summer of 1997, but Norris backed out of the bout agreement. No. 1 ranked super welterweight contender, Troy Waters became the Puerto Rican's next opponent. In August 1997, Trinidad called on his powerful right hand to knock Waters down in the first round. Waters bounced back up before the count of ten, but Trinidad went back to work, dropping Waters again, this time for the full ten-count.
In April 1998, he defended his welterweight crown against No. 1 contender, Mahenge Zulu. who silenced the deafening roar of the crowd by landing some crisp shots against Trinidad in the first couple of rounds. But his rally was short-lived. Trinidad began to score with precise blows and picked apart the challenger. He staggered Zulu and sent him to the mat twice before the mismatch was mercifully stopped in the fourth round.
Nearly a year later, Trinidad faced welterweight icon, Pernell Whitaker. The six-time world champion came in with stellar credentials, including a controversial split-decision setback to Oscar De La Hoya. Whitaker was over-matched from the start. Trinidad floored Whitaker in the second with a straight right hand and wobbled the challenger several times with hard, crisp combinations. At the end of twelve rounds, Trinidad's dominance was illustrated in punch-stat numbers that had him connecting on 54 percent of punches thrown compared to 23 percent for Whitaker.
The last hurdle to making the De La Hoya fight a reality stood in the form of mandatory challenger, Hugo Pineda. The Colombian was no match for the faster, accurate-punching Trinidad who vanquished the challenger with straight right hands and left hooks. Trinidad had Pineda in serious trouble in the third round, landing shots to the body and head that pierced his defenses. Trinidad finished him in the fourth with a crushing left hook to the body that folded Pineda over into a crumpled head on the mat where he was counted out by the referee.
Trinidad fought French brawler Mamadou Thiam in July 2000 and broke his tradition of low starts and began hammering away at Thiam in the first round. Trinidad pressed the attack but Thiam survived and mounted a rally during the second round of the fast-paced fight. In the third, however, Trinidad's pinpoint accuracy and rapid-fire combinations overwhelmed the challenger. With his right eye completely closed and swelling badly, Thiam simply walked away from the punishment, and the refereee halted the bout in round three.
