Felix Trinidad vs Pernell Whitaker + Evander Holyfield & Lennox Lewis interview - HBO 2-20-99 - video Dailymotion

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Watch Felix Trinidad vs Pernell Whitaker + Evander Holyfield & Lennox Lewis interview - HBO 2-20-99 - SteckmetX on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00:00Unlike Leonard, he gives rematches to the ones who have earned it, starting with Icorte.

00:00:07Well, and perhaps also including, ironically, Brunel Whitaker, a rematch that a lot of us thought would never take place,

00:00:14but which apparently will if Whitaker is able to upset Felix Trinidad tonight.

00:00:19And, George, 35-year-old Brunel Whitaker comes in here off a 16-month layoff,

00:00:24occasioned by drug testing and drug rehabilitation in addition to other circumstances.

00:00:29He insists it's good for him, 16 months at this stage of his career,

00:00:33to rest his hands, to freshen his legs, to give him a new perspective.

00:00:37Does that make sense to you?

00:00:38Yeah, and Whitaker, you have a fighter who goes the distance all the time,

00:00:42but most of it is in the gym when he's punching on that heavy punching bag, speed bag, skip rope.

00:00:47He needs the time off. He's going to benefit himself by it.

00:00:51You fight regular when you're young, so you can make a lot of money.

00:00:54When you get a little older, you don't need as many rounds in the ring.

00:00:57This time, I think it's going to benefit him to time off.

00:01:00And as for drug rehab, the experts say you don't accomplish that

00:01:04until you identify the problem and admit that you have it.

00:01:08Judge for yourself now whether Brunel Whitaker has accomplished that task.

00:01:15I was sorry that whatever happened, happened.

00:01:18So, you know, I took full responsibility. I shouldn't have, but I did.

00:01:22And I don't even talk about it. That's 98. This is 99.

00:01:26I have nothing to say about that. That year is over.

00:01:30I mean, this man has children, you know?

00:01:32And these kids go to school, and they say,

00:01:34ah, your daddy's a dope addict, you know, or, you know.

00:01:37Nobody needs that. The hell with boxing.

00:01:40What's wrong with Brunel? What can we do to help Brunel?

00:01:44Where did he go bad? Where did he go wrong?

00:01:47Logic tells you Brunel Whitaker is almost out of chances.

00:01:51He's 35 now, and who knows what he has left after a 16-month layoff.

00:01:55Since last we saw him in the ring, Whitaker has endured failed drug tests,

00:01:59a boxing suspension, a DUI arrest, and a forced trip to rehabilitation.

00:02:04He's a big underdog tonight, too.

00:02:06But Brunel Whitaker has always been all about meeting challenges,

00:02:09and this could be his last stand.

00:02:12I can't emphasize enough what this fight means out there.

00:02:15Not so much for boxing or its career,

00:02:18but it means for Brunel Whitaker, the man, also.

00:02:21You got to take the positive with the negative.

00:02:23My whole career, that's all I've been here, is positive.

00:02:27Now, this little negative came up, and I didn't let it break me down.

00:02:31So, you know, and with the grace of God, you know, with the help,

00:02:35you know, I've been able to stay strong, man.

00:02:37Three weeks in a New Jersey-based rehabilitation center helped him stay strong,

00:02:42a surprise to Brunel, who remains skeptical about his need for treatment.

00:02:47A lot of these people have horror stories, you know, and all.

00:02:50You know, I had no business sitting there with these people.

00:02:53But I stayed focused, and I kind of enjoyed being here and learning this.

00:02:59You know, I was learning, man, while I was in there.

00:03:01I was there.

00:03:02I was, you know, I was feeling for some of these people.

00:03:06I mean, not for everybody.

00:03:08I was feeling for them, and those people were feeling for me also.

00:03:11But I was there, man, and I was involved.

00:03:14You know, I was involved.

00:03:17And then, you know, I wanted to be there, because, you know,

00:03:21it was something that was a learning experience for me.

00:03:25He's not the only one that's, you know, fallen into that trap.

00:03:29But I think he's been man enough and big enough to overcome that

00:03:33and move on with his life.

00:03:35And that's the thing that I'm proud of.

00:03:37That's the thing I'm happy about for Brunel.

00:03:39You know, I've been able to stay strong, man.

00:03:41You know, and that's what it's all about, stay strong.

00:03:43I came from nowhere to somewhere.

00:03:46I lived in the projects all my life, you know, and I had a gift.

00:03:50So, hey, don't tell me about negative.

00:03:55You can't do that.

00:03:57Take something bigger than what you're sticking on me now to get me there.

00:04:01While rumors of Whitaker's partying have circulated for years,

00:04:04that was never really the issue,

00:04:06not with six world titles and four weight classes.

00:04:09But a failed drug test after a fight in October of 1997

00:04:12could not be overlooked.

00:04:14Suspension ensued but was lifted after an agreement was made

00:04:17on random drug tests for six months.

00:04:20A second failed test resulted in suspension

00:04:22and cost him a title shot against Ike Quartay.

00:04:25And a DUI arrest in June after rehabilitation

00:04:28seems reason for continued concern,

00:04:30as does Brunel's insistence that he never had a problem.

00:04:34I never had a problem with my personal life.

00:04:36I live my life the same way, you know.

00:04:38There's no sickness in my life.

00:04:40I don't want to sit here and say, you know,

00:04:45I don't enjoy my life the way any other man or woman should enjoy theirs.

00:04:50You know, I love to have the finer things in life.

00:04:54Tonight is Whitaker's shot at redemption.

00:04:57Can he rally a 35-year-old body to one more great performance?

00:05:01Or will Sweet Pea join the long list of boxing champions

00:05:04who held on too long and are remembered for the wrong reasons?

00:05:08People don't remember the good things.

00:05:10All they remember are the negative and all the bad things.

00:05:13So if we wanted to put it in that way,

00:05:18I'd say he's going to get a bad rap if he doesn't look good in this fight.

00:05:22That's not going to be the way I'm going to be remembered in this sport

00:05:26for what happened back then.

00:05:28One year out of 14 years, I'm going out on top.

00:05:32Now I can come back, win this fight,

00:05:35and reclaim my state as the best fighter in the world pound for pound.

00:05:39An impressive win tonight would indeed vault Sweet Pea

00:05:42right back into the pound-for-pound debate.

00:05:44A loss could send him into retirement.

00:05:47But win or lose, a much larger fight still lies ahead for Burnell Whitaker,

00:05:52whether he acknowledges it or not.

00:05:56Live in about five minutes, Felix Trinidad and Burnell Whitaker

00:06:00will enter the ring in Madison Square Garden for their confrontation.

00:06:04We're counting down now toward that moment.

00:06:09Larry Merchant, the one thing Burnell Whitaker has never said in public

00:06:12and would not say to us yesterday when confronted on the subject

00:06:16is that he tested positive for cocaine because he took cocaine.

00:06:20Given his inability to be honest with himself about that,

00:06:24how sure can we be that we'll see the usual honest professional effort from him tonight?

00:06:30The only thing we can be sure of, Jim, is that he's not planning a tell-all memoir.

00:06:36Burnell Whitaker is still a genius at defense or at denial.

00:06:41But tonight really isn't about those demons.

00:06:44There is no evidence that they have damaged him in the ring

00:06:48any more than his opponents over the years have.

00:06:51Tonight is about his age and fighting a talented, strong, undefeated champion.

00:06:59Once upon a time, Burnell Whitaker was so good that he could shut out an Azuma Nelson

00:07:05or he could beat up a Julio Cesar Chavez.

00:07:09But that was then.

00:07:11And that's one of the reasons why, while Burnell is in the spotlight tonight,

00:07:15the limelight falls much more clearly on Felix Trinidad

00:07:19as Trinidad now tries to establish himself as the premier anti-De La Hoya

00:07:24in the welterweight division.

00:07:26And, George, since two years ago, Burnell Whitaker stretched De La Hoya

00:07:29to what many saw as a controversial decision

00:07:31and, in the eyes of many, made De La Hoya look awkward and ineffective during that bout,

00:07:36then logic tells you that Trinidad, by contrast, will want to provide an explosive knockout.

00:07:41Is that good for him in this fight?

00:07:43I think so, but it's not that he want to do it.

00:07:46Trinidad is just a natural puncher.

00:07:48Every punch he throws, his intentions are brutal.

00:07:51He intends to get a knockout with every punch.

00:07:53So it's not like he's going to try to win and win on points and look pretty.

00:07:57He wants a knockout by nature.

00:07:59That's why fans are so excited about Felix Trinidad,

00:08:02because in the eyes of many boxing experts,

00:08:04he is alone on an island as the most explosive puncher pound for pound in the sport.

00:08:15I've been a champion for six years, but it's time for the big purses now,

00:08:20and it's time for the big fights that years ago I never got.

00:08:23Not because of me, but because of the promoters.

00:08:26But it's 1999, and it'll be a great year for me.

00:08:3026-year-old welterweight champion Felix Trinidad is in his 10th year of professional boxing,

00:08:35but because he's never received the kind of exposure or prize money he feels he deserves,

00:08:40he's fought only three times in the last 28 months and remains relatively little known.

00:08:46It's bothersome, yes. Inactivity can hurt a boxer's career.

00:08:51He's not earning money. He's not seeing.

00:08:53He's not maintaining his level of visibility.

00:08:56But we got a good contract for him now.

00:08:58He's being paid what he's worth on the market.

00:09:03On two occasions I've had seven and eight months of inactivity.

00:09:07This time I've gone nine months without a fight.

00:09:09But now we're done with this whole thing with Don King,

00:09:12the conflicts in court in New York and in Puerto Rico.

00:09:15It's all been resolved.

00:09:18Unhappy to have been an underpaid, undercard fighter throughout his career,

00:09:22Trinidad ended his feud with promoter Don King

00:09:25when King rewarded Felix with a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract.

00:09:29It will finally shift the focus from the courtrooms to the boxing ring.

00:09:37At one time you could say that Don King didn't value my career enough.

00:09:40I wasn't paid per fight what I'm worth.

00:09:42But now I've earned big money my next fight.

00:09:45What we want to do is just boxing, boxing, boxing.

00:09:49Get some big fights and show those who may have any doubts

00:09:52that there's no one better than me.

00:09:56The timing couldn't be any better for Trinidad.

00:09:59In the competitive, star-studded, 147-pound division,

00:10:02a win over Whitaker could open doors for a possible showdown with Oscar de la Hoya

00:10:06after de la Hoya split-decision victory over Ike Cuarte last week.

00:10:13His time has come. I've been saying that for a long time.

00:10:16Along with the financial compensation, he's got to get the big fights.

00:10:20The promoters know that to pay him,

00:10:22they've got to get fighters who will attract the public.

00:10:25Antito wants to fight those boxers who are at his level, too.

00:10:29Now appearing in his first big fight,

00:10:31since he decisioned Hector Camacho

00:10:33and knocked out Yoriboy Campos and Obakar five years ago,

00:10:37Trinidad is confident a victory over Whitaker

00:10:39will bring him the recognition that has eluded him for so long.

00:10:47I think that after this fight with Whitaker, when I win,

00:10:50I'm sure the public and everyone else will see that I am the best pound for pound.

00:10:54After that fight, there will be no doubt that I'm number one.

00:10:57Further complicating Trinidad's obscurity problem

00:11:00is the fact he still lives in his native Puerto Rico.

00:11:05I've lived here all my life.

00:11:07My family's here, my people.

00:11:09I like it here. I like the atmosphere.

00:11:11And no matter where I go, everyone,

00:11:13Puerto Ricans, Americans, everyone says hello.

00:11:18So Felix Trinidad's moment to make a mark

00:11:20in contemporary welterweight history has finally arrived.

00:11:24There should be no more excuses about problems with promoters

00:11:27and insufficient prize money.

00:11:29He has his big-money contract now

00:11:32and seeks to gain respect to go along with it.

00:11:36Back live in Madison Square Garden for the tale of the tape

00:11:39between Felix Trinidad and Brunel Whitaker.

00:11:41And you can see Trinidad's advantages in age, in height and in reach.

00:11:45But making weight was a struggle for the Puerto Rican star

00:11:48who was reportedly five pounds over the day before

00:11:51the weigh-in and spent the last hour or so

00:11:54before weighing in late, running with sweatshirts on

00:11:57in the streets of Manhattan to get his weight down.

00:11:59Tonight, they both come in at 155.

00:12:02Punch that numbers, Larry.

00:12:05Take a look and see how active they are.

00:12:07We can see that Trinidad throws more punches.

00:12:10But remember that Whitaker is so good in defense

00:12:14that an opponent's numbers are meaningless against him.

00:12:18Same thing with the jabs.

00:12:20Trinidad can jab, and he can hurt you with either hand.

00:12:25And rules of the bout with the most honest scorer in boxing,

00:12:28our ringside man, Harold Lederman.

00:12:30The Felix Trinidad-Brunel Whitaker fight

00:12:32is scheduled for 12 rounds

00:12:34using the rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions.

00:12:37Jim, the important thing to remember tonight

00:12:39is you've got a short fighter against a tall fighter.

00:12:42Whenever you've got a short fighter against a tall guy,

00:12:44you've got a short fighter against a tall fighter.

00:12:46Whenever you've got a short fighter against a tall guy,

00:12:48very often you get headbutts.

00:12:50So if a cut is caused by an accidental headbutt,

00:12:53we go to the scorecards.

00:12:54If the four rounds have been completed before that,

00:12:57it's a technical draw.

00:12:59Back to you, Jim.

00:13:02Brunel Whitaker's last prize fight

00:13:05took place on the night of October 17, 1997.

00:13:08That was the last time Ike Quartey had fought

00:13:11prior to his appearance last week against De La Hoya.

00:13:14A 490-day layoff,

00:13:16by far the longest of Whitaker's career.

00:13:19He began his professional career

00:13:21here in Madison Square Garden November 15, 1984.

00:13:25After having won his gold medal at the L.A. Olympics

00:13:28in that first fight here that night,

00:13:30he knocked out a fighter named Farron Como

00:13:32in the second round.

00:13:45And here comes Sweet Pea.

00:13:53With his left hand on Whitaker's shoulder there,

00:13:56former Olympic teammate

00:13:57and former world welterweight champion,

00:13:59Mark Breland, long departed from the sport

00:14:02as an active participant.

00:14:15Sweet Pea Whitaker loves to say,

00:14:18I've never lost a fight.

00:14:20His professional record, 40 wins,

00:14:23both losses by decision to Jose Luis Ramirez

00:14:26and the Oscar De La Hoya,

00:14:28hotly disputed by Whitaker's camp.

00:14:30The draw against Julio Cesar Chavez

00:14:33was clearly no draw.

00:14:35He certainly deserved a win that night.

00:14:37Again, Brunel loves to say,

00:14:39I've never lost a fight.

00:14:41And the opponent is a man who never has lost

00:14:44a professional prize fight,

00:14:46officially or unofficially.

00:15:11Large Puerto Rican contingent in the crowd

00:15:14here at Madison Square Garden

00:15:16should provide what amounts to a home court advantage

00:15:19for Felix Trinidad.

00:15:22Earlier tonight,

00:15:25junior welterweight champion Vince Phillips

00:15:29lost his title

00:15:32to a relatively unknown fighter

00:15:35named Teron Melech from St. Louis.

00:15:37And you can attribute that loss

00:15:40to the fact that he had to take off

00:15:43massive amounts of weight

00:15:45to make 140 pounds.

00:15:4847 pounds he took off in seven weeks.

00:15:54Trinidad has also had serious weight problems.

00:15:58He should really be a junior middleweight.

00:16:01But he is 10 years younger than Phillips,

00:16:04and when you're young and strong,

00:16:07you can get away with these things.

00:16:10Felix Trinidad has a record

00:16:13that underlines his reputation

00:16:15as an explosive puncher.

00:16:1733 wins, 29 of them by KO,

00:16:2012 knockouts in his 13 title fights.

00:16:23Only Hector Camacho went the distance

00:16:25with him in a title fight.

00:16:27Camacho, of course, did the same thing

00:16:29with Oscar de la Hoya.

00:16:32And now let's go up to ring announcer Michael Buffer

00:16:35for the official introductions.

00:16:39Ladies and gentlemen,

00:16:41from the most famous sports address

00:16:43in the Big Apple, New York City,

00:16:45Madison Square Garden,

00:16:47Don King Productions,

00:16:49along with your undisputed,

00:16:52undefeated king of beers, Budweiser.

00:16:55This Bud's for you.

00:16:57In association with Main Events Monitor,

00:16:59Madison Square Garden and HBO present

00:17:0312 rounds of boxing

00:17:05for the International Boxing Federation

00:17:08Welterweight Championship of the World!

00:17:15Sanctioned by the New York State Athletic Commission,

00:17:17Chairman Mel Souther.

00:17:19First Executive Director, Tony Russo.

00:17:22Executive Director, Jim Polzanello.

00:17:24Director of Boxing, Bob Duffy.

00:17:28Chief Physician at Ringside, Dr. Billy Lathan.

00:17:31Ringside Physicians are Dr. Stephen Gelfman,

00:17:34Dr. Richard Estrico,

00:17:36and Dr. Robin Scarlata.

00:17:38The timekeeper at the bell is Jim Borzell.

00:17:41IBF President at Ringside, Robert W. Lee.

00:17:44IBF Supervisor at Ringside, Bobby Lee Jr.

00:17:48In the ring, as special guest,

00:17:50the mayor of Bayamón, Puerto Rico,

00:17:52Ramón Luis Rivera.

00:17:54And Secretary of Sports of Puerto Rico,

00:17:57Eric Labrador.

00:17:59The three judges scoring this contest

00:18:01on a 10-point must system will be

00:18:04Bieber-Exton, Melvina Lathan,

00:18:07and Samuel Cande López.

00:18:10And when the bell rings,

00:18:12your referee in charge of the action,

00:18:14Benji Estevez.

00:18:17And now, ladies and gentlemen,

00:18:19from the mecca of boxing,

00:18:22Madison Square Garden, New York City,

00:18:27let's get ready to rumble!

00:18:40Introducing first,

00:18:41fighting out of the blue corner,

00:18:43wearing blue trimmed with white,

00:18:45he weighs 147 pounds.

00:18:48In 1984, he captured Olympic gold,

00:18:51and now as a professional in 43 bouts,

00:18:53he has 40 victories.

00:18:5517 by knockout,

00:18:57with two losses and one draw.

00:19:00There are many experts who believe,

00:19:02actually, that he has never

00:19:04lost a fight in the ring.

00:19:06And over most of the past decade,

00:19:08he has been considered pound for pound

00:19:10the best there is.

00:19:12Tonight, he plans to show the world

00:19:15he still is.

00:19:17From Norfolk, Virginia,

00:19:18ladies and gentlemen,

00:19:20here is the challenger

00:19:22and former six-time world champion,

00:19:27Cornel Sweetpea Whittaker!

00:19:39And his opponent across the ring,

00:19:41fighting out of the red corner,

00:19:43wearing white trimmed with red,

00:19:46he also weighs 147 pounds.

00:19:49His professional record stands

00:19:51at a perfect 33 bouts.

00:19:5433 victories,

00:19:5629 victories by knockout.

00:19:58Tonight, he steps into this ring

00:20:01in the pursuit of greatness,

00:20:03ready to show the world that he,

00:20:06and he alone,

00:20:07is the one to be called pound for pound

00:20:10the very best.

00:20:12Ladies and gentlemen,

00:20:13Thomas Caballeros de Coupe Alto, Puerto Rico!

00:20:19Representing the reigning

00:20:21and defending undefeated

00:20:24IBF welterweight champion of the world,

00:20:29Elias Tito Trinidad!

00:20:49It's me.

00:20:52It's me.

00:21:03Tu tiene el collar por favor.

00:21:09Two seconds.

00:21:11Tito, obedezca a mis reglas.

00:21:15Cornel, obey my commands at all times.

00:21:17I want to wish you luck.

00:21:22Touch up.

00:21:23Where's Lowe?

00:21:24Where's Lowe?

00:21:25Trinidad trying to make his case for a climactic showdown with Oscar De La Hoya.

00:21:33Trying to do a better job against Whitaker than De La Hoya did.

00:21:38Trying to look good against the fighter nobody has ever looked good against.

00:21:43And you may have noticed that in a perhaps stilted attempt to balance out the scoring scales here,

00:21:49they appointed one judge from Whitaker's home state of Virginia,

00:21:52and another from Trinidad's home province of Puerto Rico.

00:21:56The suggestion is that scoring for the bout lies in the hands of the neutral judge,

00:22:01Melvina Lathan from the state of New York.

00:22:03Felix Trinidad has a long history of getting knocked down in the early rounds.

00:22:08As near as we can figure, he's been down at least a half dozen times.

00:22:12Maybe seven.

00:22:13Always in the first three rounds of the bout,

00:22:16always he has gotten up to avenge the knockdowns by knocking out the perpetrator.

00:22:23And Pernell Whitaker is right on top of him trying to get inside his reach, it appears.

00:22:29And you saw the super quick delivery of the left hook, which is one of the Trinidad trademarks.

00:22:34Trinidad is going to need to keep his jab a bit more active,

00:22:37not allow Pernell Whitaker to get too close.

00:22:40But once he gets close to you, he make himself acquainted with you,

00:22:44and you won't be able to hit him with anything.

00:22:47And Whitaker's job is to make sure he stay close,

00:22:49so this guy can hit you on the end of those punches.

00:22:53And De La Hoya fought Pernell Whitaker April of 1997.

00:22:58He had a hard time making his jab a factor in the fight.

00:23:02Ultimately scratched out a victory with right hand leads

00:23:06and enough power punches to win the approval of the judges.

00:23:12But Trinidad, he has to be careful now.

00:23:14For the first time, he's in with a skillful left-hander.

00:23:17Every time you step forward with your jab, he's going to bump it with your foot, too.

00:23:21And Trinidad all night will have his feet on top, left foot on top of Whitaker's right foot.

00:23:29Pernell's right foot.

00:23:30That's always what you watch, George.

00:23:31When a conventional fighter fights a southpaw, the two lead feet.

00:23:34But some fighters don't need to slide forward as Trinidad does.

00:23:38He slides forward, and if he can't find that sliding, he's out of range.

00:23:43Hard right hand inside by Trinidad as they push for position.

00:23:50Whitaker trying to land a left over the top.

00:23:53Whitaker's new head trainer, Tommy Brooks, emphasized in camp,

00:23:57you must make him miss, you must make him pay.

00:24:00You made De La Hoya miss, you didn't make him pay enough.

00:24:02You didn't make him pay enough.

00:24:03Make Trinidad pay more.

00:24:05That's right.

00:24:06You want to get there and take any amount of courage from the younger opponent than you can.

00:24:11Make him want to box.

00:24:13That's where you know you're superior.

00:24:15Make him like to box by hitting him in the side and in the chest.

00:24:21Whitaker flat-footed, attacking, going more to the body than we're used to seeing him.

00:24:28There may be some blood trickling from Trinidad's nose.

00:24:46Whitaker's using that experience right jab, and he's pointing it.

00:24:50Wherever he points it, he hits.

00:24:53That can cause a lot of problem on a young opponent,

00:24:56seeing blood earlier in a boxing match.

00:24:58Excuse me, George.

00:25:00A hard left hand from Whitaker, just as the bell sounds to end the first round.

00:25:05And for now, looks to be in excellent fighting shape.

00:25:11If they speak Spanish in Felix Trinidad's corner,

00:25:13as we expect Felix Trinidad's senior will to his son,

00:25:18then our interpreter is Hector Garcia.

00:25:21They were so shocked in Trinidad's corner,

00:25:24they didn't get the stool in for 20 seconds.

00:25:29Don't pay attention to that cut.

00:25:31You're doing real good.

00:25:33Don't get desperate on this fight.

00:25:35Keep your hands up and let him do whatever he wants to do.

00:25:38You keep your pace. Slow down.

00:25:41Just go for it.

00:25:46That jab was working wonders, man.

00:25:49See his nose bleeding already?

00:25:57CompuBox numbers in round 1.

00:25:59Whitaker threw 40 jabs, landed 15 of them.

00:26:02Trinidad 9 out of 27.

00:26:04All in all, CompuBox has Whitaker outlanding Trinidad 21-12 in the first round.

00:26:10And you can see that Harold Letterman saw the round for the man in blue,

00:26:14Sweet Pea Whitaker.

00:26:29Trinidad's corner is going to have to be real cagey and pace a young fighter

00:26:33when you're up against a veteran of this nature.

00:26:36George, a young fighter has been a champion for more than 5 years.

00:26:40He should be able to handle anything.

00:26:42A youth is youth, and that has not anything to do with it.

00:26:46George doesn't trust them until they get past 40, Larry.

00:26:49These veterans, they got some tricks that you've never seen before.

00:26:54That was a straight right-hand lead.

00:26:57Classic technique against a southpaw.

00:27:00Whitaker diving in, hounding Trinidad to the body.

00:27:03And Whitaker so far making it clear that if referee Benji Esteves

00:27:06doesn't stop him from holding, he will.

00:27:13Trinidad was able to get a little effective with his jab.

00:27:16Whitaker want to make certain that once you get hit with one punch,

00:27:19move the next time. Don't get hit with two shots at a time.

00:27:25Esteves warning Whitaker about a low blow.

00:27:29The two fighters landing mostly one punch at a time.

00:27:35Hard left hand from Trinidad as Whitaker reached with a right.

00:27:40As I said earlier, Whitaker does not need to get hit with two punches at a time

00:27:44because Trinidad, one shot hurts you.

00:27:47Dunk and dodge the next time.

00:27:56Whitaker is totally out of the head movement now.

00:28:00Keeps his head straight, looking at a puncher.

00:28:03Hard left hand from Whitaker.

00:28:05That stuns as Purnell, who is more down on his flat feet than I've ever seen him,

00:28:11gets more punching power from it than we've normally seen from him in the past.

00:28:19As he comes down off his toes, the head movement goes away, George.

00:28:23Well, you know, Whitaker, like I said, you want to dunk and dodge

00:28:27after you throw a shot and just before because this guy can hit.

00:28:31Down goes Whitaker on a straight right hand.

00:28:41Several fighters have had Purnell Whitaker down in his career.

00:28:45Roger Mayweather, Buddy McGurk twice, Raphael Williams.

00:28:49Nobody's ever knocked him out.

00:29:01That jab was the one that's going to do a lot of damage.

00:29:04The jab was the one that's going to do a lot of damage.

00:29:07No, don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. You're all right, baby.

00:29:10Don't, don't. Vaseline, don't.

00:29:17Trinidad is an extra base hitter, and he hit a couple of times.

00:29:23He's a good guy.

00:29:26Trinidad is an extra base hitter, and he hit a clean shot.

00:29:34It's impressive primarily because he's been having so much trouble with Whitaker,

00:29:39and yet he's maintained his poise.

00:29:41He stays right in there knowing he has the big weapon.

00:29:48Part of the book on fighting a southpaw, George,

00:29:51the right hand lead, and Trinidad fired it right down the pipe.

00:29:59That happened mainly because Whitaker has no head movement.

00:30:03You don't allow a guy to just pipe in

00:30:06just like you got a rifle and aim and shoot like that.

00:30:17Crowd chanting, Tito, Tito, Tito. Trinidad's nickname.

00:30:23I think really good for Trinidad.

00:30:25You knock a veteran down, he tries to pay you back,

00:30:28and then you're sitting in the driver's seat.

00:30:32Now Whitaker stepping up and shortening the distance between himself and Trinidad.

00:30:36Could be a reckless strategy.

00:30:39Don't go, don't go.

00:30:46Whitaker's trainer, Tommy Brooks, to our mild surprise,

00:30:49said, we're not going for a decision for Sweet Pea.

00:30:53We're gonna knock Trinidad out.

00:30:57Whitaker evidently without any footwork trying to get a knockout.

00:31:04It's a more stationary Grinnell Whitaker

00:31:07than you've seen at any time in his career.

00:31:10A man who has prided himself on the past, in the past,

00:31:13on being unfindable in there.

00:31:15Trinidad is finding him tonight.

00:31:23Once Whitaker starts moving his head here and there,

00:31:25the fights turn into something he can handle.

00:31:30Make the opponent miss.

00:31:31He's more effective when he's making his opponent miss.

00:31:35Little head movement.

00:31:36No head movement there.

00:31:38Trinidad just popping the jab right onto Whitaker's face.

00:31:43And the right hand lands for Trinidad.

00:31:52Whitaker sticking his jab after landing a left hand in retaliation.

00:31:58Grinnell trying to get to the body and pushing with the right hand.

00:32:02Now Trinidad is real effective with one shot at a time

00:32:05because he's a puncher.

00:32:06Whitaker's gonna have to put together three and four punch combinations.

00:32:11Don't throw one at a time.

00:32:12Make up your mind you're gonna throw three and you'll catch him.

00:32:15Again the right hand lands for Trinidad.

00:32:17Just sticking that right hand lead onto the face of Whitaker

00:32:21who looks to referee Benji Estevez as if to say,

00:32:24why don't you pull him off of me?

00:32:32And much more action-packed fight

00:32:35in Whitaker's fight with De La Hoya.

00:32:38Much more.

00:32:40Whitaker feels like he's being physically challenged now.

00:32:43It's a macho thing.

00:32:44This guy is gonna run all over him if he doesn't fight.

00:32:47He doesn't want an out jab and he wants a knockout.

00:32:50Chopping right hand for Trinidad.

00:32:52Another right hand lands.

00:32:53Whitaker comes back with a left hook at the top.

00:32:56Backs Trinidad up.

00:32:59Don't pay attention to your cut.

00:33:00You're fine.

00:33:01That blood is finished.

00:33:06Just be careful.

00:33:08Calm and take it easy.

00:33:10Breathe in.

00:33:13Breathe out.

00:33:14Breathe in.

00:33:15Breathe out.

00:33:16Breathe in.

00:33:17Breathe out.

00:33:18Breathe in.

00:33:19Breathe in.

00:33:20Breathe in.

00:33:21Breathe out.

00:33:22Breathe in.

00:33:23Breathe in.

00:33:24That's it.

00:33:25And take it easy.

00:33:26Breathe in through your nose

00:33:29and breathe out through your mouth.

00:33:31When you're inside...

00:33:35-♪

00:33:43Hey, listen, try to time me with the count.

00:33:47I know, I'm trying, okay?

00:33:49But you got to put them together, though,

00:33:50in case you're missing with it.

00:33:51You pick him up with the second or the third shot.

00:33:53Can I buy it, B?

00:33:59By CompuBox numbers, in round three,

00:34:01it became a slugging match.

00:34:03Trinidad landing 24-48, Whitaker 29 out of 62.

00:34:07But here's the key.

00:34:09Whitaker's previous 20 opponents,

00:34:10including De La Hoya,

00:34:11combined to land 28% of their punches against him.

00:34:14Trinidad is landing 44% so far tonight,

00:34:18and you wonder how long Sweet Pea

00:34:20can withstand that kind of punishment.

00:34:22Harold, how do you have it through three?

00:34:23Jim, two rounds to one, 29-27, Felix Trinidad.

00:34:28You got to give him an extra point

00:34:30for that knockdown in the second round.

00:34:31He's landing the clean Ohana shot,

00:34:33so he won rounds two and three.

00:34:35But, Jim, I got to tell you,

00:34:36it's illegal to pull Pernell Whitaker's head down.

00:34:38Now, the judges see that.

00:34:39I hope Benji Estevez sees it,

00:34:41because Trinidad grabs Whitaker behind the neck

00:34:43and pulls his head down constantly.

00:34:45That's illegal.

00:34:47For as long as it goes, I think Benji Estevez

00:34:49is in for a rough night here,

00:34:51trying to decide when to intervene

00:34:53and when to let it go.

00:34:57Trinidad is having an easier time of it

00:34:59when he steps back a little bit.

00:35:00He's able to slide forward with his jab.

00:35:03It's a little easier stepping back jab

00:35:05and then going forward, because Whitaker cuts him out

00:35:07with his right foot.

00:35:15And the sliding of the front foot forward

00:35:17is important to Felix's rhythm and his power.

00:35:20He needs that rhythm.

00:35:27Whitaker's showing him, look, I'm going to fight you.

00:35:29I'm not going to be fair.

00:35:30I'm going to fight you mean and rough.

00:35:36That was the first good body punch by Trinidad this time,

00:35:39with a right to the body.

00:35:40And as they get close, Whitaker pounding to the body

00:35:43to try to take some of the mustard

00:35:45out of Trinidad's punches.

00:35:50Trinidad is using a good left jab,

00:35:52but it's all about, I'm going to hit you

00:35:53with a right hand afterwards.

00:35:55Never try to double up on a good jab.

00:35:59Last few right hands from Trinidad

00:36:00have been pushed just a little bit,

00:36:03landing them, but not with the kind of zip

00:36:06that he had in the first few rounds.

00:36:08But left hook landed there, and another straight right.

00:36:11When a fighter who has won fights

00:36:14by his quickness and cleverness

00:36:16through most of his career

00:36:18matures and gets older,

00:36:21you get a chance to see what he's made of.

00:36:23And we're seeing what Pernell Whitaker is made of,

00:36:26as he goes right at a younger, stronger puncher.

00:36:31Yeah, but this is no time in your life

00:36:33to try to beat a young fighter like Whitaker.

00:36:35He's got a lot of experience.

00:36:37He's got a lot of experience.

00:36:38Yeah, but this is no time in your life

00:36:40to try to be too courageous.

00:36:42You want to box, hit him, and get out of the way.

00:36:46It's just hard to imagine Pernell Whitaker

00:36:49winning the fight, going right at Felix Trinidad.

00:36:53And this will be ruled a slip.

00:36:55But Trinidad has landed two solid left hooks

00:36:58in the last minute inside against Whitaker.

00:37:09How do you feel?

00:37:10I'm okay.

00:37:13You have to be calm, okay?

00:37:17Breathe in.

00:37:18Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.

00:37:21Stand there.

00:37:23We're going to start fighting right now.

00:37:25Are you feeling okay now?

00:37:27We're going to go for it now.

00:37:30Keep your hands up.

00:37:34So you got to throw your punches and step,

00:37:35either side, it don't matter, okay?

00:37:38Go to this guy's body, Pete.

00:37:39Go to this guy's body.

00:37:40He's puffing and huffing out there, baby.

00:37:44Here we can see as they get in the clinch

00:37:46as Trinidad holds illegally, according to Harold Letterman,

00:37:51but the referee does not take notice.

00:37:55And the fight is over.

00:37:57The fight is over.

00:37:59The fight is over.

00:38:01The referee does not take notice.

00:38:07Very forbidding punch stat numbers

00:38:10for Brunel Whitaker in round 4.

00:38:12Felix Trinidad landing 25 out of 39 punches,

00:38:1616 of 26 power shots,

00:38:18carry picking, in effect, against Whitaker.

00:38:22Come on.

00:38:23Come on.

00:38:25Taking a lot of hard shots.

00:38:27When Whitaker gets a little dirty, he complains.

00:38:29Now, this isn't the time to complain.

00:38:32Get back with him.

00:38:33You heard in Trinidad's corner,

00:38:35they're telling him to go and get him.

00:38:37They feel he's just too strong,

00:38:40that Whitaker can't really hurt him.

00:38:43And here he comes.

00:38:45One of the scenarios here was that the younger, stronger man

00:38:49would simply go out and overpower Whitaker

00:38:52and render all of his technique and his skills meaningless.

00:38:56And Trinidad is in the thirds of that,

00:38:58though it isn't quite happening that clearly yet.

00:39:03Hard left hand for Whitaker.

00:39:06Trying to back Trinidad off

00:39:08and force the Puerto Rican fighter

00:39:10to be a little bit more measured in his approach.

00:39:13Well, you tell your fighter to go and get him.

00:39:15I don't know if you want to do it,

00:39:16but at the same time, you don't want to put him up.

00:39:18You want to keep his confidence.

00:39:20He's been winning a lot of boxing matches in the beginning,

00:39:23so keep telling him to go at it.

00:39:26And now Whitaker surviving in Felix Trinidad's sights so far.

00:39:31Trinidad is like some viper.

00:39:34Strikes out, steps back, steps right back on you.

00:39:38If the strategy is to make Trinidad miss and make him pay,

00:39:43then the first part of the strategy isn't yet working.

00:39:46Purnell is not making him miss.

00:39:49That Trinidad just waits and waits for one right hand.

00:39:52If you make a mistake,

00:39:53always right-hand minded.

00:40:12And this will be ruled a slip as well,

00:40:16although Trinidad got in a pop on Whitaker's skull,

00:40:19as per the rules.

00:40:21And a right hand on Whitaker's skull as Purnell went down.

00:40:30Left hand for Whitaker.

00:40:32And another.

00:40:35It's plain that Trinidad feels

00:40:39that he's a truck fighting a sedan,

00:40:45that he can just walk through Whitaker.

00:40:48Yeah, he's not terribly concerned

00:40:49about the fact that he's a truck.

00:40:52He has power, and he believes in his power.

00:40:56All right, George, some of our viewers may look at him

00:40:58and say, well, he's skinny.

00:40:59Where does all the power come from?

00:41:01Oh, look at the shoulders, right around the chest.

00:41:04Conceals it.

00:41:06It's also in the commitment to the punches.

00:41:09And the timing and the leverage and the balance.

00:41:12We're doing great.

00:41:13We're doing great.

00:41:15Breathe in.

00:41:16We're doing great.

00:41:17We're doing great.

00:41:18Breathe in deep.

00:41:21He is dead.

00:41:22But don't take any risk.

00:41:24This guy is dead.

00:41:25He's ready to go.

00:41:27It's only a matter of time.

00:41:28He's ready to go.

00:41:32Give us a little bit of water, please.

00:41:34It's just a matter of time.

00:41:39Did he slip before, or did you hit him?

00:41:42No, I hit him.

00:41:44Just be calm.

00:41:46Relax.

00:41:48Keep those hands up.

00:41:49Keep those hands up.

00:41:50And throw the right hand.

00:41:52Go for it, man.

00:41:53Go for it.

00:41:54Go straight for it.

00:41:56Keep those hands up.

00:41:58Let's go.

00:41:59Keep that clean.

00:41:59Limpio. Limpio.

00:42:04You know, when he was getting knocked down

00:42:05earlier in his career, Jim,

00:42:07he was wide open,

00:42:09throwing reckless punches,

00:42:10Trinidad is a much more controlled fighter now

00:42:13than he was in those days.

00:42:16Now Whitaker showing a pretty stiff chin

00:42:19as he takes two vicious right hands from Trinidad.

00:42:23A lot of fighters would have been down right now.

00:42:31Whitaker holding on after the sizzling left hook.

00:42:34This is target practice at this point.

00:42:36Well, but you got to understand that Whitaker has a few,

00:42:38two or three more tricks up his sleeve.

00:42:41No sleeves on, but he has a trick or two.

00:42:44I'd like to know what they could be, George.

00:42:46Might be a good time to break them out.

00:42:49Anything that you can do that can upset

00:42:51the rhythm of Trinidad as a veteran,

00:42:54you want to do that.

00:42:56You know, he said going into the fight,

00:42:58nobody had ever looked good fighting Whitaker.

00:43:01He said, you know,

00:43:03He said going into the fight,

00:43:04nobody had ever looked good fighting Whitaker.

00:43:08Felix Trinidad looks good fighting Whitaker.

00:43:13Trinidad comes back with his left hook.

00:43:15He's committed to every shot being a power punch.

00:43:21Straight right hand lands, boom.

00:43:24Winging right hand lands, boom.

00:43:27At this point,

00:43:30got his eyes wide open over the soft power.

00:43:33He's not going to be able to stay in this position.

00:43:41Grinnell firing jabs one at a time,

00:43:44reluctant to try to double up

00:43:46because of Trinidad's left hand.

00:43:49Whitaker ate some heavy leather early in this round,

00:43:53maintained his balance,

00:43:55and now Trinidad slows down

00:43:57as Whitaker lands a left across the top.

00:44:00Yeah, at some point or another,

00:44:01you, this fight continues this fashion.

00:44:03You want a patient fighter.

00:44:05He can distribute his power alone

00:44:08later on in a boxing match.

00:44:09You don't want to throw an owl that soon.

00:44:11He's got a lot of stamina.

00:44:13He's got a lot of stamina.

00:44:14He's got a lot of stamina.

00:44:16He's got a lot of stamina.

00:44:17You don't want to throw an owl that soon.

00:44:19CROWD CHANTING

00:44:22This does not look like a fighter

00:44:23who, a few days ago, was overweight.

00:44:27Larry, how would you compare the punching power

00:44:29of Felix Trinidad as a 147-pounder

00:44:35with that of, well, before we get to that,

00:44:39Estevez, timeout, low blow.

00:44:42Whitaker gets a chance to recover.

00:44:44All right.

00:44:45Come on.

00:44:46Suelo Puño, come on.

00:44:48Suelo, okay? Let's go. Are you ready?

00:44:50Still no penalty points.

00:44:51How would you compare Trinidad's punching power

00:44:53as a welterweight with that of Tommy Hearns

00:44:55as a welterweight?

00:44:57Hearns is about as big a puncher

00:44:59as I ever saw as a welterweight.

00:45:00Suelo Puño, okay?

00:45:02But this guy is a classic boxer

00:45:05who can knock you, knock you dead

00:45:07and hurt you with both hands

00:45:10with beautiful, beautifully conceived punches.

00:45:16Trinidad believed that his punching throw was legal.

00:45:19Five seconds.

00:45:21And I think what Larry said is that

00:45:23while Hearns' right hand may have been bigger,

00:45:25Trinidad's left is better.

00:45:33You were crushing beautiful out there, baby.

00:45:35Come on.

00:45:37All you got to do is throw it, Captain.

00:45:39All you got to do is throw it. It's there.

00:45:42You're getting careless, man.

00:45:44Come on. Come on.

00:45:46Just take your time. Just take your time.

00:45:49That jab in front, the jab in front all the time.

00:45:54He's got nothing left.

00:46:00Everything's okay? Yeah, everything's okay.

00:46:03Here we see Trinidad coming forward,

00:46:06straight right hand.

00:46:08Whitaker is there, not moving the way

00:46:11you used to see him move.

00:46:20Right now, Whitaker is in a position

00:46:25that he has to stay in there and do some damage.

00:46:27He has to do something dramatic.

00:46:30All right, bring some back there, both of you.

00:46:31Past the halfway point of the bout.

00:46:33Harold Lederman, how do you have it scored?

00:46:35Through six.

00:46:36Oh, boy, I wish I was young.

00:46:37Five rounds to one.

00:46:3959-54, Felix Tito, Trinidad.

00:46:42Jimmy's walking right through him.

00:46:43I tell you, it doesn't make a difference

00:46:45if he gets in front of him.

00:46:46You know, left, right, makes no difference.

00:46:48He's winning this fight on clean punching,

00:46:50effective aggressive business.

00:46:51He's walking forward and whacking Perna Whitaker

00:46:54with those straight rights and the good left jabs.

00:46:57A looping left across the top,

00:47:00and Estevez rules down a slip.

00:47:04That could have been called a knockdown

00:47:07because Trinidad was off balance

00:47:12and was hit a clean shot in the body.

00:47:15I'm sure Pernell thought it was a knockdown.

00:47:18Trinidad at this point does not want to give up.

00:47:22Pernell Whitaker, the confidence of him,

00:47:24you don't want to get him confident.

00:47:29Got up, as though nothing happened,

00:47:31and starts stalking his opponents

00:47:33the more Trinidad is.

00:47:35Whitaker beginning round 7

00:47:37with what amounts to a rally for him,

00:47:39ducking and slipping a couple of Trinidad's punches

00:47:42and landing a power shot of his own.

00:47:49Whitaker, for the moment, has succeeded

00:47:51in taking the large Trinidad rooting section

00:47:54out of the fight.

00:47:56Now they try to come back with a chant

00:47:58of, Tito, Tito, Tito.

00:48:00Hard left hand for Whitaker,

00:48:02making Trinidad miss and making him pay.

00:48:05Right hand to the body landed.

00:48:07Trinidad is a little wobbly.

00:48:12I think the body shot really hurt him, George.

00:48:15The body shot hurt, but at the same time,

00:48:17this boy's dangerous when he's hurt.

00:48:21Not a good body shot.

00:48:24And Trinidad crouching over to try to protect his body

00:48:28from Whitaker's assault.

00:48:32Whitaker has him coming forward.

00:48:35That's what you want a puncher to do is follow you around

00:48:38so that you can land shot as he's picking his feet up.

00:48:42Another left shot for Whitaker.

00:48:47And the right lands inside.

00:48:49A rousing rally in round 7 for Sweet Pea.

00:48:53You know that when you have the height advantage,

00:48:55you never want to get down low with your opponent.

00:48:58And that's Trinidad.

00:48:59Whenever he gets a little lower, Whitaker pays off.

00:49:03They trade, and Trinidad straight right

00:49:06backs Whitaker up.

00:49:10You want to make sure you maintain your height.

00:49:13Tito, Tito, Tito, Tito, Tito, Tito, Tito, Tito, Tito, Tito.

00:49:17Trinidad pausing to wave the right fist

00:49:20at his supporters in the crowd,

00:49:23and Whitaker tries to rally again

00:49:25at the end of his biggest round.

00:49:28-♪

00:49:32-♪

00:49:35That's it.

00:49:36-♪

00:49:39Hey, eighth round coming up.

00:49:41Hey, yo, if you give me the rest of them rounds like that,

00:49:44you got this thing, dog.

00:49:46You're winning by points.

00:49:47You're winning by points.

00:49:49He has no chance of hurting you.

00:49:51And don't stop that jab, and don't stop that jab.

00:49:55You're listening to me?

00:49:57Forget the public.

00:49:58You fight. You do your own fight.

00:50:01You see, this guy's going to go down any time now.

00:50:04Go for it.

00:50:10Take a look and see if it was a knockdown.

00:50:12Not really.

00:50:15Later on, clean shots from Whitaker

00:50:19and a round for him

00:50:20gave him hope of coming on as this fight goes on.

00:50:24But whatever happens,

00:50:26you're seeing the championship heart

00:50:28of a once-great prize fighter.

00:50:31And he almost certainly got a point back on the scorecards,

00:50:34but if the date with the canvas early in the round

00:50:38had been ruled a knockdown,

00:50:39then Pete would have gotten two points back.

00:50:42Trinidad going back to the right-hand lead,

00:50:46and once again, he stuffs Whitaker with it.

00:50:52You notice that some of the shots thrown earlier,

00:50:55Whitaker was able to land an uppercut

00:50:57on a taller opponent.

00:50:59Trinidad's best advantage is to stay tall.

00:51:02Don't get low for any shots.

00:51:06And at some point,

00:51:08given the fact that his corner is telling him

00:51:10he's ahead on the scorecards,

00:51:12you wonder if Trinidad will stop trying to knock Cornell out

00:51:15and box with him using his reach to control the fight.

00:51:18He has no other means.

00:51:20That's all he knows is a knockout.

00:51:25Both fighters have been on the canvas more than once,

00:51:28but there's been only one knockdown in the bout.

00:51:31The knockdown came in round 2,

00:51:34and Trinidad's defense was a little bit better.

00:51:37The knockdown came in round 2

00:51:38when Trinidad deposited Whitaker on the seat of his pants

00:51:41with a straight right hand.

00:51:52Trinidad, as though he's inviting

00:51:54Sweet Peter to throw these shots in.

00:51:56Great uppercut.

00:51:58Cornell wobbled again.

00:52:00Trinidad steps in to try to finish the match,

00:52:03and the uppercut lands again.

00:52:06Cornell, getting his legs back, and fires the left hand.

00:52:11Trinidad going all right hands now.

00:52:15Four more straight right hands,

00:52:16and he might knock the man out.

00:52:19I agree.

00:52:21Cornell ducking and holding and using his skills

00:52:24to stay alive.

00:52:32I agree.

00:52:37I agree. No punching, no punching.

00:52:39Trinidad is thinking,

00:52:40oh, he's hitting me all right,

00:52:42but that doesn't hurt me.

00:52:44Whitaker can feel that he's not hurting.

00:52:48Did you ever think you'd see Cornell Whitaker

00:52:51fighting as though the best defense is a good offense?

00:52:55He's in against something that only comes along

00:52:57every now and then.

00:52:58These Trinidad-type fighters.

00:53:01Whitaker trying to make a comeback.

00:53:05Whitaker trying to match Trinidad.

00:53:07Uppercut for uppercut.

00:53:08Trinidad backing Cornell up again

00:53:11with straight right hand power shots.

00:53:14So it was a big rally for Whitaker in round 7,

00:53:18and a big rally for Trinidad in round 8,

00:53:21and another lethal uppercut snaps Whitaker's head back.

00:53:25No, no, no.

00:53:28And Whitaker almost goes to the wrong corner

00:53:31at the end of the round.

00:53:34He's ready to go.

00:53:35He's ready to go.

00:53:36He's ready to go.

00:53:38He's ready to go.

00:53:40Relax, relax, Tito.

00:53:44Tito, he's ready to go.

00:53:47You know what's going on?

00:53:48You're comfortable with so many hooks.

00:53:50That buckle is loose in that corner.

00:53:52You know how to stay punched, man.

00:53:55How?

00:53:56You've been hurt.

00:53:57You're hurt this guy before.

00:53:58Come on, Pete, you can do it.

00:53:59Stand up too tall.

00:54:00Right.

00:54:01Throw the double jab and step.

00:54:03There is a half hook, half uppercut that dazed Whitaker momentarily, and later in the round,

00:54:22Trinidad puts an exclamation point on it.

00:54:26This is a better fight than the one we saw last week.

00:54:32In that round, Trinidad landed 25 of 44 power shots.

00:54:36Let's see if he has softened Whitaker up for a possible finish,

00:54:40or if there's another big rally left in the 35-year-old Hall of Fame fighter.

00:54:46You know what? Trinidad's corner told him to stay away from so many left hooks,

00:54:51and he went right off and doubled up on straight right hands.

00:54:54And that corner evidently knows exactly what they're telling him.

00:54:59And Hector Garcia, our Spanish interpreter, just informed us

00:55:02that Felix Trinidad's father told him between rounds,

00:55:05you're ahead by five points, don't do anything foolish.

00:55:11I think he'd be doing something foolish if he tried to coast in.

00:55:16Well, I think George made the point. He only knows one way to fight.

00:55:19Well, which is the best way. You said to make the fight yourself.

00:55:23Don't back up. You've been training. You've trained the way you fight anyway. Keep going.

00:55:28But also, Russ, remember the purpose in this fight.

00:55:32To make his case for a fight with De La Hoya,

00:55:36to try to be impressive, to achieve some parity.

00:55:41And he is certainly handling Whitaker better than De La Hoya did,

00:55:46although let's remember this is a 2-year-older Whitaker than De La Hoya faced.

00:55:50Well, that's exactly the point. There'll be a lot of material here for the De La Hoya skeptics.

00:55:54He will say that Trinidad created considerably more combustion against Purnell

00:55:59than Oscar was able to do, but how does this Purnell compare to the Purnell of April 7, 1997?

00:56:05Or April 12, 1997? I think he's a whole different guy.

00:56:09I think this Trinidad is something altogether different here.

00:56:13You haven't seen a guy with that many loaded up right hands.

00:56:16Shoots him like a guy with a pistol.

00:56:19And no matter what you do to him, it doesn't discourage him.

00:56:23I think we better get rid of the Father Trinidad around for a while.

00:56:27Good body shot by Purnell, Whitaker.

00:56:30Another great body shot.

00:56:32When Purnell has landed to the body, he's turned things in his favor.

00:56:36That's what happened back in round 7.

00:56:41Trinidad missing with the left hook.

00:56:45Whitaker, who's probably taken more big power shots in this fight

00:56:49than in any other fight in his career, gets hit with the right hand again.

00:56:59These are two thoroughbreds going at it.

00:57:02Boy, can you just imagine what Purnell Whitaker, his age, is going through

00:57:08to fight this young stud.

00:57:13What a great brace of fights, back-to-back in the welterweight division

00:57:17to signal the fact that top-flight competition

00:57:20with fighters risking themselves against great opponents

00:57:23is back in boxing.

00:57:27There's a cut over the right eye of Whitaker.

00:57:41Whitaker's cut man is the excellent Joe Souza.

00:57:44That's his right hand, with the rubber glove on, going to work.

00:57:49Hey, listen. Both hands right down the pipe, baby.

00:58:13Here's some of the body shots.

00:58:16Whitaker can hurt you with a body shot,

00:58:19but as I watch him in the corner during this replay,

00:58:23I don't think I can recall seeing him

00:58:26almost admitting that he's in with a better fighter tonight

00:58:32in his facial mannerism.

00:58:34You know, another thing, I don't think you've seen Purnell Whitaker

00:58:37or any welterweight in the ring with a fighter like this Trinidad.

00:58:41This boy's like a snake.

00:58:43Eighty-nine rounds have been for men only.

00:58:46Harold Lederman, how did you score him?

00:58:48Jim, let me tell you, after nine rounds,

00:58:50I think Purnell Whitaker's out of rounds.

00:58:52He's going to knock him out to win.

00:58:54Eighty-eight, eighty-two, seven rounds to two.

00:58:57A big six-point lead for Felix Tito Trinidad.

00:59:00Jim, effective aggressiveness, clean punching,

00:59:03that's the story of the fight. That's all you've got to know.

00:59:06I mean, we score on four points, the other points being defense.

00:59:09You don't have to worry about that.

00:59:12It's just that aggressiveness of Tito Trinidad coming forward

00:59:15and the clean right hands and the clean left hooks.

00:59:18He's walking right through him.

00:59:20I was with Whitaker cornering, I'd tell him,

00:59:22look, show the world you're the best boxer around.

00:59:24You got nothing to prove.

00:59:26Things can happen when you start boxing good.

00:59:29Even a punch, you may land something to knock him down.

00:59:32George, you don't get to be as good as Purnell Whitaker

00:59:35without trying to win the fight.

00:59:37Yeah, but I meant he's not winning

00:59:39because he's flat-footed trading shots with this big boy.

00:59:42But he doesn't have enough time to win the fight the other way.

00:59:45Yeah, but if you start boxing, other things open up for you.

00:59:48He's gonna have to get to the body.

00:59:50That's what works for him.

00:59:52He's gonna have to find a way to Tito Trinidad's ribcage,

00:59:55and unfortunately, getting there

00:59:57means going through a hail of Trinidad artillery.

01:00:10Come on!

01:00:15Right hand for Whitaker.

01:00:19Momentarily loses his balance.

01:00:21It's been a slippage fight.

01:00:25Good right, left hand by Whitaker this time.

01:00:28Like I said, make this big puncher follow you.

01:00:30Every time he comes forward,

01:00:32he has to lift up one foot at a time.

01:00:34Catch him as he lifts him up.

01:00:36Straight left hand for Trinidad.

01:00:38Drives Whitaker into the ropes.

01:00:40Left hand to the body by Trinidad.

01:00:44Whitaker parrying with his jab

01:00:46and trying to pound with the left hand.

01:00:51Whitaker cornered now.

01:00:53Sits down on his butt.

01:00:55Estevez won't throw in a knockdown.

01:01:02Seems like all the snap is going out of Whitaker's shots now.

01:01:09Come on, come on, come on.

01:01:11When you're not getting it done upstairs

01:01:13and you've done damage to the ribcage,

01:01:15that's the time to remember to go back to the body.

01:01:18Bernal Whitaker in this round

01:01:20didn't throw a single effective body shot.

01:01:31With calm.

01:01:33Keep those hands up.

01:01:34We're doing great.

01:01:37You're winning this fight.

01:01:39You're winning.

01:01:41Don't take any risk.

01:01:43And now keep him at a mid-distance

01:01:46because we're ahead.

01:01:48Don't let him hit you.

01:01:50Are you listening to me?

01:01:55You got to go get him, baby.

01:01:57You got to go get him.

01:01:59Everything you can do.

01:02:01You got to go get him.

01:02:03You got to go get him.

01:02:05Everything you got.

01:02:07Everything you got.

01:02:08You got to go get him now.

01:02:10Make it a dogfight now, Cat.

01:02:12Two rounds.

01:02:13You got two rounds.

01:02:14Make it a dogfight.

01:02:16This replay will show you that Whitaker, indeed,

01:02:18in order to get away from

01:02:20that roundhouse right hand,

01:02:22sat down on his own.

01:02:24You heard in Whitaker's corner

01:02:27it's a dogfight.

01:02:29You got to go out and get him.

01:02:31But in round 10,

01:02:33Felix Trinidad, picking his shots,

01:02:35landed 23 of 34 punches.

01:02:38He's going to wind up the fight

01:02:40landing more than half his punches

01:02:42against a guy who throughout his career

01:02:44has been invisible to most of his opponents.

01:02:47Trinidad's corner has told him to coast.

01:02:49That's not smart.

01:02:50You don't want to slow the train down here.

01:02:55And Whitaker now remembers to go back to the body,

01:02:57pounding hard there twice

01:02:59with the left hand.

01:03:07You got to tell Trinidad

01:03:09to keep doing what you're doing.

01:03:11Don't try to coast in for a decision.

01:03:15You could have done pretty well

01:03:17in the sportsbooks in Vegas

01:03:19betting that both Delaware Iaquarte

01:03:21and Whitaker Trinidad would go the distance.

01:03:24But right now, it appears entirely likely.

01:03:29Trinidad is keeping his distance real good.

01:03:31He's jabbed right hand, but he doesn't move in.

01:03:33He keeps his balance.

01:03:41Hard left hand for Whitaker.

01:03:43Momentarily backs Trinidad up.

01:03:46An add to all of the other Trinidad assets,

01:03:49a kin which has gotten better

01:03:51as this fight has gone on.

01:03:53Still no penalty for low blows.

01:03:57A referee's been watching his low blows by each guy

01:04:00round after round, so he's not going to get in there now.

01:04:03It wasn't that low.

01:04:05Whitaker's able to land one-twos in this round.

01:04:08Right hand left across the top.

01:04:10Trinidad's corner made a mistake.

01:04:12They told him to coast.

01:04:13You slow down the train,

01:04:15and this just doesn't have the power there.

01:04:17Yeah, but if he can avoid a knockdown, George,

01:04:20or a knockout, he's won the fight.

01:04:23So he can give up these rounds as one-point rounds.

01:04:26Because even if Grinnell wins this round,

01:04:29it's hard to find a round other than the first

01:04:32and the seventh that he might have won.

01:04:35You just want to keep this locomotive going.

01:04:38Keep him throwing.

01:04:40But the other issue here, guys,

01:04:42is Trinidad has to look good.

01:04:44He wants to make his case for De La Hoya.

01:04:47I think he's already made it.

01:04:50Maybe he can even make it more dramatically and convincingly.

01:04:58That was not a low blow.

01:05:00That was right on the border.

01:05:03Whitaker doing his best to make Estevez believe it was a low blow.

01:05:06Estevez was correct.

01:05:13Trinidad just missed with a home-run swing with the right hand.

01:05:18I think Trinidad should finish this fight

01:05:20trying to get a knockout.

01:05:21Forget about this point, Colston.

01:05:23Forget about any other fighters.

01:05:25Get out there and get yourself a knockout.

01:05:28Quick little right-hand counter inside by Whitaker.

01:05:31Snapped Trinidad on the 10, but they'll go to the 12.

01:05:35As I said, we're winning by a wide margin.

01:05:38Breathe in, breathe in.

01:05:40We're winning this fight.

01:05:48Let's go.

01:05:52Hey, baby.

01:05:54We got to go get it.

01:05:57You did it before, baby.

01:05:58You did it before.

01:05:59You can do it again.

01:06:01You can do it again.

01:06:02Come on, baby.

01:06:04Don't hit him back.

01:06:05Just keep your hands up and relax.

01:06:07Are you listening to me?

01:06:10This is the last round.

01:06:11Just get ready.

01:06:13I don't want you to get hit.

01:06:15Just keep your hands up.

01:06:22One final tribute to the brave warrior Pernell Whitaker.

01:06:25In round 11, he threw 81 punches,

01:06:28doing everything within his power

01:06:30to try to reverse the seemingly irreversible momentum

01:06:33of this fight.

01:06:35But Whitaker loves to say,

01:06:37victimized by close, controversial decisions

01:06:40against Jose Luis Ramirez and Oscar De La Hoya,

01:06:42he's never lost a professional prize fight.

01:06:45It's hard to imagine him winning this one

01:06:48by anything short of a dramatic, career-changing knockout.

01:06:53Sometimes you're in a fight like that,

01:06:55and you got to say to yourself,

01:06:56what do I go home for?

01:06:58Do I go home without any more scars?

01:07:00For what reason?

01:07:01Do I take a chance?

01:07:02For good reason.

01:07:03That's what you got to do.

01:07:04Take a chance, Whitaker.

01:07:05Hard left hook by Trinidad.

01:07:08Whitaker steps back and fires his own left.

01:07:12Pernell.

01:07:14Range finding with the right jab,

01:07:16trying to find a way to land one more big left hand.

01:07:20Straight right hand has been such a powerful piece of weaponry

01:07:24for Trinidad all night long.

01:07:27It's been a fast-paced fight most of the way.

01:07:31You can understand both fighters

01:07:33being a little tired in the 12th.

01:07:36But if Pernell Whitaker's gonna score a dramatic knockout,

01:07:39it's hard to imagine him doing it any other way

01:07:42than to launch a vicious, sustained assault

01:07:45to the body of Trinidad's champion,

01:07:47Jose Luis Ramirez.

01:07:49It's hard to imagine him doing it any other way

01:07:52than to launch a vicious, sustained assault

01:07:55to the body of Felix Trinidad.

01:07:57On the few occasions in the fight when he's hurt Trinidad,

01:08:00he seemingly did so by hurting him to the body.

01:08:03He's looking upstairs here,

01:08:04and he's not getting much reward for his efforts.

01:08:07It seems that Trinidad is all about 100%, nothing else.

01:08:11When he slacks up one inch, he just doesn't have it.

01:08:15So we're narrowing it down in the welterweight division.

01:08:18Cuarte tried against De La Hoya.

01:08:20De La Hoya was more man in the 12th.

01:08:22Well, Whitaker's trying to reduce one last stand

01:08:26against Trinidad, but it looks like all Trinidad.

01:08:30Somewhere down the road,

01:08:32a reckoning for the two young welterweight stars

01:08:35are so we most fervently hope.

01:08:39There is no doubt that Trinidad has made his case

01:08:45by looking better against Whitaker than De La Hoya did.

01:08:49He is a more natural boxer and two-handed puncher,

01:08:53which does not mean he would beat De La Hoya

01:08:56in a fight between them.

01:08:59And now Whitaker showing his bravery

01:09:02in a rough physical fight,

01:09:04but taking the toughest pounding of his career.

01:09:09And as Whitaker sits down again to avoid Trinidad's punches,

01:09:14the crowd calls for a knockout.

01:09:16Estevez pulls them apart.

01:09:18Ten more seconds to go.

01:09:21The two big welterweight dramas in the desert and in the garden

01:09:26both go the distance.

01:09:36I had Trinidad winning nine rounds to three.

01:09:43Thought he looked terrific.

01:09:51He is an outstanding fighter.

01:09:57CompuBox numbers give Whitaker credit

01:10:00for landing only six punches in the 12th round,

01:10:03as mostly he swung away with the left hand,

01:10:06hoping to land something big.

01:10:08He never went about the systematic body assault

01:10:11that I felt would have been his only chance.

01:10:15Highlights of the bout we told you about,

01:10:17Felix Trinidad's penchant for revenge.

01:10:20When he's been knocked down in the past,

01:10:22he's always gotten up to knock out the perpetrator.

01:10:24Well, in this fight,

01:10:26Brunel Whitaker won the first round,

01:10:28or at least appeared to,

01:10:30and so, therefore, Trinidad came out in round two

01:10:34and established the tempo for the bout

01:10:37by punching Brunel Whitaker to the canvas

01:10:40with a straight right hand.

01:10:43And from there, Trinidad stayed in control

01:10:46until Whitaker came out and mounted a big rally,

01:10:48mostly with body punches, to win round seven.

01:10:51So immediately after that in round eight,

01:10:53Trinidad came back with that big uppercut,

01:10:56the left hook and straight right hand there,

01:10:58and generally batted Whitaker around the ring

01:11:01throughout the eighth round.

01:11:03Brunel Whitaker is a guy who's made

01:11:05every fighter he's ever faced look bad.

01:11:07I mean, he's a guy who could make

01:11:09Michelle Pfeiffer look bad.

01:11:11He couldn't make Felix Trinidad look bad.

01:11:14Indeed.

01:11:16Harold Letterman, what about your final scorecard?

01:11:18117-110.

01:11:20Nine rounds to three.

01:11:22Felix Trinidad, an absolute no-brainer, Jim.

01:11:25Just walked right through him,

01:11:27scored with the right hand, scored with the left hooks.

01:11:29It was very easy for Felix Trinidad.

01:11:31Effective aggressiveness once again

01:11:33and clean punching were the two key points.

01:11:38And remember, one judge from

01:11:41Brunel Whitaker's home state of Virginia,

01:11:43one from Puerto Rico, one from New York.

01:11:46Newlywed Michael Buffer got married last Thursday

01:11:49and has our congratulations. Here he is.

01:11:51Ladies and gentlemen, here at Madison Square Garden,

01:11:53we go to the Budweiser scorecards.

01:11:55Melvina Latham scores the bout 118-109.

01:12:00That's the same score from Beba Exton, 118-109.

01:12:05Juan de Lopez scores the bout 117-110

01:12:09for the winner by unanimous decision

01:12:12and still IBF welterweight champion of the world,

01:12:18Felix Tito Trinidad.

01:12:30Honest scoring,

01:12:33creditable judging.

01:12:35Trinidad with a big victory

01:12:38in a fight much more entertaining

01:12:40than some of us might have suspected.

01:12:43A rousing performance by the Puerto Rican star

01:12:46as he establishes himself

01:12:48as De La Hoya's foil in the welterweight division.

01:12:51Final punch stat numbers,

01:12:53and you can see that Whitaker threw a lot more,

01:12:56Trinidad picking his spots all the way through,

01:12:59landing at an astonishing 54% rate

01:13:02against a fighter against whom in the past,

01:13:05if you landed 30%, you were doing well.

01:13:07And look at the power punch numbers.

01:13:0954% of the power punches landed for Trinidad as well.

01:13:18So Felix Trinidad moves to 34-0 with 29 knockouts

01:13:23and looks down the road toward bigger things.

01:13:26Larry Merchant is with him now.

01:13:29Thank you, Jim. Congratulations, Tito.

01:13:32Felicidades, Tito.

01:13:34Were you surprised that Whitaker was willing

01:13:37to engage you toe-to-toe through much of this fight?

01:13:53No, I wasn't as surprised

01:13:55because he's a boxer that runs around.

01:13:59What was in your mind going into this fight?

01:14:02Did you want to show that you could beat him

01:14:05more decisively than De La Hoya did

01:14:08in order to make your case for a fight against Oscar De La Hoya?

01:14:26I came to do my fight, and I knew I was going to win.

01:14:29You had a great deal of trouble

01:14:32making the 147-pound welterweight limit.

01:14:35Do you think you can keep fighting at welterweight

01:14:39or do you have to move up to junior middleweight?

01:14:48No, no, no. No problem.

01:14:55I am the best welter in the world.

01:14:58I had no problems making this weight,

01:15:01and I'm the best there is in this division.

01:15:04Will you fight De La Hoya at welterweight if necessary,

01:15:08or if he moves up to junior middleweight,

01:15:11will you follow him into that division?

01:15:25We're both champions in the same way.

01:15:28The fight's got to be done this way.

01:15:31Thank you very much. Congratulations again.

01:15:34All right, thanks a lot, Larry.

01:15:36We're going to try to get a word with Brunel Whitaker,

01:15:39certainly off his great career.

01:15:41He's appeared more on HBO than any other fighter.

01:15:44He deserves the last word here.

01:15:46George, Oscar De La Hoya went out and slugged away with Chavez,

01:15:50slugged away against Cuarte.

01:15:52Logic tells you he probably shouldn't try it against this guy.

01:15:55What would a De La Hoya-Trinidad fight look like?

01:15:58It would look great. You're talking about two champions.

01:16:01One is an apple, the other an orange.

01:16:03Both are delicious.

01:16:05I'm telling you, it would be a great fight.

01:16:07Will we see such a fight? I don't know.

01:16:09Well, there's a scenario by which it happens as early as September.

01:16:13Most people feel it's more likely that it waits until next year,

01:16:16but I don't think we're going to have to go without that fight.

01:16:19I think we will see, at some point, Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad in the ring.

01:16:23Meanwhile, Larry Merchant's in the ring with Brunel Whitaker.

01:16:26Let's see that.

01:16:28All right, just one moment, fellas, because Whitaker is wandering around here

01:16:32congratulating Tito.

01:16:38Brunel, you said with some pride and justification

01:16:44before this fight that you felt you really never lost a fight.

01:16:48Do you feel that finally you met a younger, stronger fighter who did defeat you?

01:16:53No, I know I haven't.

01:16:55Like I say, the world, the public is going to judge us.

01:16:57That's why we have these great fans who are not going to get to see it on view.

01:17:02They can score the fight for themselves.

01:17:04The fans title I fight for, I represent the fans.

01:17:08It was a good fight. I never took anything away from the kid.

01:17:12It was close.

01:17:14If he got the decision, I'm not going to whine or anything about it.

01:17:17I'm not going to say I lost.

01:17:20That's your championship pride talking, and we understand that.

01:17:24No, that has nothing to do with it.

01:17:26No?

01:17:27No, that has nothing to do with it.

01:17:28You guys have been waiting to see Brunel Whitaker lose for 18 years,

01:17:32and he still hasn't lost.

01:17:34The fight was close.

01:17:35All right, Brunel, why did you feel you had to stand and go with him?

01:17:40I didn't. I bossed the way I bossed for 27 years.

01:17:45You guys look for excuses against me.

01:17:49Don't give me no excuses.

01:17:51All right, then let's go.

01:17:52You fought Oscar De La Hoya.

01:17:54I fought everybody.

01:17:55You fought everybody, and you fought young Trinidad today.

01:17:59Give us your view of both fighters.

01:18:01Give me some credit.

01:18:02We gave you lots of credit.

01:18:03I fought everybody.

01:18:04Well, give me some now.

01:18:05I never turned away from anybody.

01:18:07You didn't.

01:18:08I don't think the best fighter in the world is that.

01:18:09I don't put you on the spot.

01:18:10The world wants to know.

01:18:11The world doesn't care what I think right now.

01:18:13They want to know what you think.

01:18:14You fought De La Hoya.

01:18:16You fought Trinidad.

01:18:17Compare the two for us.

01:18:19He's much better than De La Hoya.

01:18:21He's a good fighter.

01:18:23And I fight only the best.

01:18:26I want to thank all the viewers of HBO for tuning in.

01:18:32From the way you're talking, you're going to continue to fight.

01:18:35Is that right?

01:18:36Until somebody beats me.

01:18:38All right.

01:18:40Thank you very much, Brunel.

01:18:42I'll just close with this final word.

01:18:45Once upon a time, it seemed that Brunel Whittaker could stand in a

01:18:51very narrow alley and be a matador against an onrushing truck,

01:18:57somehow pop out its lights and slash its tires.

01:19:01Tonight, the truck won.

01:19:05Jim?

01:19:07Well said, Larry and George.

01:19:09We've waited a long time for what happened last week,

01:19:11for what happened again tonight.

01:19:13Your comments on what these last two weeks have meant to the sport.

01:19:16Well, it shows us for a fact the unexpected can always happen on HBO.

01:19:20I've never seen this many great fights in my life,

01:19:24and I've been around for almost 38 years.

01:19:27Hey, guess what?

01:19:28There's another great one coming up, George,

01:19:30in addition to what's coming up in the next couple weeks here.

01:19:33On March 13th, we'll be in Madison Square Garden live on pay-per-view

01:19:38for Evander Holyfield versus Lennox Lewis.

01:19:40Earlier this evening, I spoke to the two combatants

01:19:43in that heavyweight unification bout.

01:19:47Joining us now from their respective training camps as they get ready

01:19:50for their date with Destiny March 13,

01:19:52Evander Holyfield from Atlanta on the left,

01:19:55Lennox Lewis from the Poconos in Pennsylvania on the right.

01:19:58Evander, I'll begin with you.

01:20:00Money talks in boxing, and because of that,

01:20:02a lot of people might have suspected this fight would take place

01:20:05in a gambling casino.

01:20:06Instead, what might be the last mega fight of your career

01:20:10will be held in the mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden.

01:20:13What are your thoughts about that?

01:20:15Well, I just think that New York itself is a great place to have a fight,

01:20:20and it really didn't make a big difference what facility I fought in.

01:20:26But since a legendary place, which New York is,

01:20:31make it even greater.

01:20:33Lennox, your thoughts about coming back to the arena

01:20:35where you last appeared, scraping out a very tough decision

01:20:39against Ray Mercer three years ago?

01:20:41Well, I think it's great that the fight's going to be in New York, the mecca.

01:20:45I'm pretty excited about it. I'm looking forward to it.

01:20:48I know it's a great arena to make history, so I'm real happy about that.

01:20:54How important is the Mercer fight in having demonstrated to you

01:20:58that you could go in against a big, physically strong opponent

01:21:01on a night when you weren't fighting your best

01:21:03and find a way to win?

01:21:05I think the Mercer fight was a great fight for me

01:21:08because it definitely prepared me for the end-to-end fight

01:21:13with Evander Holyfield.

01:21:15And, you know, I think the fight with Ray Mercer again

01:21:20was a good lead-up to this fight.

01:21:23But, Evander, at about that same time, you got an easier win over Mercer,

01:21:27and you were the first man to knock him down.

01:21:30Does the comparison tell us that you should be the favorite

01:21:33against Lennox in this fight?

01:21:36Well, you know, opponents just all style-make fight,

01:21:42and I'm not looking to what I did against Ray Mercer

01:21:47and comparing it to Lennox.

01:21:49They're two different fighters.

01:21:51Lennox got a totally different style,

01:21:54and I have to come in and be open-minded

01:21:57and just have to come with a style that would benefit me in fighting him.

01:22:02So let's try another comparison.

01:22:04A lot of experts would say that the opponent

01:22:06who gave you the most trouble, Evander, was Riddick Bowe.

01:22:09He got victories in two of three fights against you.

01:22:11He was the one guy who presented a physical picture in there

01:22:14similar to Lennox in terms of his dimensions.

01:22:17So was Bowe better than Lennox,

01:22:19or do you have to be better than you were

01:22:21in two of those three fights to beat him?

01:22:24Well, you know, when I fought Bowe, I was a lot younger.

01:22:28I've grown a lot more.

01:22:30You know, I was a good fighter then, but I'm an even better fighter now.

01:22:34And I never fought Lennox,

01:22:37and this would be something different for both of us.

01:22:39But I tell you, I got the solution to the problem.

01:22:43Well, we'll see what that solution's going to be.

01:22:45Lennox, you might outweigh Evander by 20 pounds or more

01:22:50on the night of the fight.

01:22:51Given what happened in the Bowe fights,

01:22:53should your size be your critical advantage against Holyfield?

01:22:57I think my size is definitely going to be an advantage.

01:23:01Evander Holyfield's never seen nothing like Lennox Lewis,

01:23:04so he's in for a shock.

01:23:06Definitely I'm going to surprise him in there.

01:23:09And, you know, with my punches comes a lot of weight,

01:23:13so it's up to Evander whether he can withstand that.

01:23:16I know he's a boxer that shows true grit,

01:23:19so his true grit's going to have to really bring him out of this fight.

01:23:23Gentlemen, thank you both very much for your time and your comments.

01:23:26We'll look forward to seeing you both live March 13,

01:23:29pay-per-view from Madison Square Garden in New York,

01:23:33Holyfield versus Lewis.

01:23:35We'll have a final word on boxing in just a moment.

01:23:37Right now, let's look ahead to some upcoming programs on HBO.

01:23:41In the history of organized crime,

01:23:44Bugsy Siegel and Lucky Luciano were legends,

01:23:48but the mastermind was Meyer Lansky.

01:23:51This man is the linchpin of organized crime.

01:23:54While others made headlines, Lansky built an empire.

01:23:58You think you're safe? You're not safe.

01:24:00Nobody is safe.

01:24:02From critically acclaimed writer David Mamet

01:24:04and director John McNaughton,

01:24:06Richard Dreyfuss is Lansky.

01:24:09Premieres Saturday, February 27 on HBO.

01:24:12From HBO Sports, two great boxing shows on one great night.

01:24:17First, Holyfield versus Lewis.

01:24:19Take an in-depth look at the strategy, the history,

01:24:22the men and their destiny before the showdown

01:24:25for the unified heavyweight championship of the world.

01:24:28This is my opportunity to shock the world.

01:24:30I will do what's necessary to win, and I will win.

01:24:33Get the blow-by-blow before the ultimate battle.

01:24:36Countdown to Holyfield-Lewis,

01:24:38followed by Boxing After Dark Live

01:24:40as two champions operating in the shadows step into the limelight.

01:24:43Cesar Bazon defends his lightweight belt

01:24:45in a rematch with former champ Stevie Johnson.

01:24:47The victor earns a shot at Sugar Shane Mosley.

01:24:50Plus, light heavyweight champ Reggie Johnson

01:24:52takes on number one contender Will Taylor.

01:24:54The winner gets in line to battle Roy Jones Jr.

01:24:57Countdown to Holyfield-Lewis and HBO Boxing After Dark.

01:25:02It all happens Saturday, February 27 on HBO.

01:25:06On March 6, watch for David Reed

01:25:08against the 154-pound champ Laurent Boudouani.

01:25:11Gold medalist Reed, attempting to win his first world title

01:25:14in just his 12th professional fight.

01:25:16Also that night, seemingly indestructible Lou Savarese

01:25:19takes on Lance Mount Whittaker.

01:25:21And this Monday, check out the latest Real Sports with Brian Gumbel.

01:25:24Among the stories, an investigation into the Olympics scandal,

01:25:27which has rocked the whole sporting world,

01:25:29and a profile of Kentucky College basketball coach Tubby Smith.

01:25:33Well, one week ago, Oscar De La Hoya stated his case

01:25:36for supremacy in the welterweight division.

01:25:38Tonight, it was Felix Trinidad's turn.

01:25:40And though Brunel Whittaker stubbornly went the distance

01:25:43against Trinidad, Trinidad wound up winning

01:25:46an easy, unanimous decision in a fight

01:25:48which was largely target practice for the power puncher.

01:25:52He didn't get the knockout he's so accustomed to, but he got the win.

01:25:55Coming up immediately following our show,

01:25:57stay tuned for the premiere of Real Sex 22 on the East Coast

01:26:01and the premiere of The Replacement Killers on the West Coast.

01:26:05And now for the entire HBO gang,

01:26:08I'm Jim Lampley saying so long from Madison Square Garden.

01:26:13The executive producer of HBO Sports is Ross Greenberg.

01:26:16Tonight's Trinidad vs. Whittaker fight was produced by Dave Harmon.

01:26:19The De La Hoya-Kwarte fight was produced by Rick Bernstein,

01:26:22both directed by Mark Payton.

01:26:24Feature producers John Crystal and Thomas Erdl Felt.

01:26:27Tonight's associate producers Brian McDonald and Max Siegel.

01:26:30Assistants to the producer Matt Boland and Rodney Burford.

01:26:33The production manager was Mark Hayden.

01:26:35The technical supervisor, Bob Hunter.

01:26:37And the technical director, Doug Getz.

01:26:43This is a production of WGBH.

01:26:46This is a production of WGBH.

01:26:49This is a production of WGBH.

01:26:52This is a production of WGBH.

01:26:55This is a production of WGBH.

01:26:58This is a production of WGBH.

01:27:01This is a production of WGBH.

01:27:04This is a production of WGBH.

01:27:07This is a production of WGBH.

01:27:10This is a production of WGBH.

01:27:13This is a production of WGBH.

01:27:16This is a production of WGBH.

01:27:19This is a production of WGBH.

01:27:22This is a production of WGBH.

01:27:25This has been a presentation of HBO Sports,

01:27:28the network of champions.

01:27:31♪♪

01:27:37Throughout the streets of France,

01:27:39he rules with an iron fist,

01:27:41and his crown has remained secure until now.

01:27:45Olympic gold medal sensation David Reed,

01:27:48in his first shot at a title,

01:27:50plots to overthrow the reigning super welterweight champion

01:27:53from France, Laurent Boudouini.

01:27:55Plus, heavyweight hitter Lou Sabauris

01:27:57launches an all-out assault

01:27:59on undefeated giant Mount Whitaker.

01:28:01It all happens live, Saturday, March 6,

01:28:03only on HBO.

Felix Trinidad vs Pernell Whitaker + Evander Holyfield & Lennox Lewis interview - HBO 2-20-99

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