Damaged Goods – But Which One Is It?

By October two fighters are going to be pretty sure about where they stand in the sport of boxing. One will likely hang the boxing gloves up for good while the other will be thrown back into the pile of fighters about whom we ask, “who invited him anyway?”

The fight in question is the Tito Trinidad comeback bout, as he takes on free swinging Ricardo Mayorga. For Mayorga, it will be his second consecutive bout moving up in weight as he has gone from 147 to 154 to 160 in less than a year. Trinidad will be marking his comeback to the ring after a retirement that will have lasted over two years. Questions abound as to what each man is thinking in making this fight – it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense for Trinidad, though for Mayorga it does make cents.

Ricardo Mayorga has gone from escaping Nicaragua for the higher standard of living of the sweaty gyms of San Jose, Costa Rica, to being Don King's meal ticket to the Welterweight crown, to having a big money shot at a potentially shot Felix 'Tito' Trinidad. But does he have a shot?

Judging by his performance in last fight against late-sub Erik Mitchell, one might suggest he does not. Looking back at his consecutive wins over Vernon Forrest and his blow out of Andrew 'Six Heads, No Chin' Lewis, it says here that he does. Mayorga fought Mitchell in his last bout at 155, having shown up at the weigh-in for his bout with Jose Antonio Rivera 6.5 pounds over the Welterweight limit.

Truth is Ricardo Mayorga had no intention of fighting Rivera, as it seems he never wanted anything to do with him having previously ducked him behind the guise of an injury. While 'El Matador' got past Mitchell, it wasn't an overly impressive display. The question of whether Mayorga carries more power at 147 than 155 is a valid one. So how much power he will carry at 160 makes one skeptical.

Going hand-in-hand with Mayorga's wild power shots – he has 23 wins by the short route in 27 fights – is the equation:

Mayorga's KO power + Trinidad's chin + two years of ring rust = ?

The last time we remember seeing Tito in the ring he was being defeated, beaten, and punished at the hands (literally) of 'The Executioner' Bernard Hopkins. I said that's last time we remember.

Officially his last fight was a fourth round TKO of Frenchman Hassine Cherifi in May of 2002, but it certainly wasn't memorable. How Trinidad will come back from such a long time out of the ring in a real fight against a puncher is what makes this one interesting. You see, Felix's whiskers have failed him in the past but he has gotten up off the canvas to go onto win, aside from the previously mentioned execution.

Among the fighters who have dropped Trinidad are the names: de las Mercedes Cortes, Yory Boy, Oba and Luesching – in addition a few you may recognize such as David Reid and Fernando Vargas – but fighters like de las Mercedes Cortes and Luesching are the 'who's who' of 'who are they?'. While Reid and Vargas are or were well-known fighters, both have no chin and were eventually knocked out. Come October Mayorga has a chance to dent the Boricua's Mona Lisa . . . and then what happens? Mayorga has proven that he can take a shot, to the point of sticking out his chin and asking for it.

If Trinidad wins without taking much abuse he may stay around for a few more battles, including a rematch with De La Hoya and then possibly Hopkins again, should he be a glutton for punishment. In losing, Mayorga likely would take his money and drop back down to 154 and see what King can arrange for him. Questions would no doubt emerge as to whether Mayorga was any good to begin with.

In hindsight, beating Lewis was not that big a deal as Antonio Margarito starched Lewis inside two rounds, and 'Six Heads' hasn't been seen since. Some feel that Mayorga lost to Forrest in the rematch after catching him by surprise in the first bout. If Mayorga does beat Tito then it will likely be the last we see of Trinidad, while Ricardo will probably trash talk his way into an appearance on “The Price Is Right” and a “Showcase Showdown” for the right to lose to either De La Hoya or Hopkins and an even bigger payoff.

A knockout by either fighter and the loser gets stamped 'damaged goods.' Oddsmakers suggest that it will be 'El Matador' who will have “expired” tattooed on his forehead after October 2nd.