Written by Ozzie Gonzalez
Latino Legends in Sports

March 14, 2001 -- IBF jr. middleweight champion, Félix "Tito" Trinidad has guaranteed a victory over William Joppy and vows to bring back another title to Puerto Rico.

Trinidad is scheduled to fight Joppy (32-1-1), who is the WBA middleweight champion, on May 12th at Madision Square Garden. This fight will be at 160 pounds -- a weight class which will be new to Trinidad.

"I am slowly moving up in weight to 160 pounds, but that weight will not affect me in nothing [performance], also in the last three fights, I went into the ring weighing 163-165 pounds." "I'm sure I will feel fine" said a confident Tito Trinidad.

Trinidad and his camp decided to move Tito up in weight because "there's nothing left to accomplish in the Jr. Middleweight division".

Trinidad fought and defeated three really good fighters in the (154 pounds) Jr. Middleweight Division last year: Ex-Olympian, David Reid (Trinidad defeats Reid by unanimous decision), Mamadou Thiam (Thiam goes down in three) and former IBF Jr. middleweight champion Fernando Vargas. (Recap: Trinidad TKO's Vargas in Las Vegas).

Tito Trinidad knows that William Joppy is a good fighter and also indicated that defeating Joppy is more important than the past fights because of the WBA Middleweight title. "Joppy is a good fighter and only has one loss" said Trinidad. 

Also, this fight is a stepping stone to bigger fights like a potential showdown with light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. 

This fight with Joppy won't be easy and Trinidad is taking him seriously.  He started training in March for this fight with a weight training program and several cardiovascular exercises.

"I assure you that I will be in great shape like I always am when I fight an opponent" said Trinidad.

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