Undefeated no more -- Trinidad goes down to Hopkins

Trinidad's bout-by-bout career boxing record.

Undefeated no more -- Trinidad goes down to Hopkins.

Hopkins TKOs Trinidad to become the undisputed Middleweight Champion

September 30, 2001 -- There is one word to best describe this fight, shocking! For the past few years, Felix "Tito" Trinidad looked unstoppable and unbreakable. When the Middleweight Championship series first began in March, everyone felt that Tito Trinidad was going to be crowned as the undisputed middleweight champion and the first recipient of the Sugar Ray Robinson trophy.

He was well on his way to that when he defeated William Joppy in May, but to the shocking surprise to many, he fell to "The Executioner" Bernard Hopkins.

In the finale of the Middleweight Championship Series, Hopkins knocked down Trinidad and stopped him at 1:43 of the final round early Sunday morning before a stunned crowd of 19,075 in Madison Square Garden.

Hopkins fought Trinidad well and obviously did his homework. He's been studying Trinidad's style for months and had an answer for his every move. Trinidad couldn't get his feet set and deliver that devastating blow which has taken out so many of his past opponents. Hopkins put on a great performance and fought the perfect fight against one of the best fighters of this modern era.

"I wanted to show my greatness, and I think I did -- halfway," Hopkins said. "I'm not great yet, but I will be. Nobody can stand up to me."

One judge had Hopkins ahead 109-100 after 11 rounds, and the other two each had it 107-102.

During the first half of the fight, Trinidad held his own and won several of the rounds, but never hurt Hopkins. Whenever Trinidad seemed to mount a rally, Hopkins would charge in and land several punches to stop Trinidad's rally.

Hopkins didn't fight a clean fight. He often hit Trinidad after the bell rang and punched him in the back of the head and leg when they were clinching. A planned tactic which assisted Hopkins to victory.

He dominated the second half of the fight, rocking Trinidad several times and then knocking him down with a crunching right. Trinidad struggled up at 9 and as referee Steve Smoger looked at him, the papa Trinidad, father and trainer of Tito climbed into the ring to stop it.

"He's a great fighter," Trinidad said after the fight. "He threw a right hand that hurt me -- I was hurt. I thought the fight was even until the end."

It was Trinidad's first loss in 41 professional fights and the first defeat in 21 championship fights for the 28-year-old Puerto Rican, who is a 5 time world champion in three divisions.

Hopkins, a veteran of the sport and a champion since 1995, now is the undisputed middleweight champion adding the WBA belt to his WBC and IBF middleweight titles.

After he realized he won, Hopkins jumped up on the ropes in a neutral corner and chanted, "U-S-A, U-S-A. He then embraced Trinidad and said, "I want to tell you and your Puerto Rican fans that there was nothing personal about the flag."

Hopkins (40-2-1, 29 knockouts) also said he would go to Puerto Rico and talk to the people. He also talked about giving Trinidad a rematch.