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Vargas, who has never been down in his pro boxing career, went down 5 times to the punches of Trinidad with the decisive blow coming at 1:33 of the 12th round. Trinidad wins by TKO and retains the WBA title and gains the IBF Jr. Middleweight title.
Round by Round recap: Round One: Trinidad embraces his father, Felix Sr., as the fight begins. Both fighters start by feeling each other out. Trinidad lands huge left hook in the first 25 seconds of the fight and floors Vargas for the first time of his career. Vargas gets up before the mandatory eight count and Trinidad attacks him with a barrage of combinations and puts Vargas down for a second time. Trinidad climbs the ropes in celebration. Vargas is in shock and is tentative. It seems Vargas will not make it through, but a determined Vargas manages to finish the round. Round Two: Vargas still looks wobbly. Trinidad seems to hurt Vargas with a jab, who backs into a corner. Trinidad staggers Vargas with a lead right. Vargas has never felt the kind of power that Trinidad possesses. Vargas finishes the round strong by landing several combinations. Round Three: Trinidad starts off aggressive. Both fighters are exchanging hard blows. Vargas seems to have recover from his previous knock downs. During an exchange, Tito caught a thumb in the eye and he seems bothered. Both fighters are in the middle of the ring, going blow-for-blow. Trinidad goes hits Vargas with a low blow. Referee Jay Nady calls time to allow Vargas to recover. Vargas' corner urges him to take the full five minutes to recover. Round Four: Vargas hits Trinidad with a short left hook and Trinidad goes down. The crowd cheers for Vargas. Vargas nails Trinidad with a strong left hook, but Trinidad takes it well. Vargas is the aggressor trying to finish off Trinidad. Trinidad seems wobbly and retaliates, but hits Vargas with a low blow and the referee takes a point away from Trinidad. This was Vargas' best round of the fight. Round Five: Both fighters seem tentative. Trinidad's right eye is swollen badly. He is wiping at his eye, as it seems to be bothering him. Vargas lands a chopping right and follows with a left with a minute left. Tito lands a right hook to the head of Vargas. Vargas lands a good upper cut and finishes off the round strong. Round Six: Don Felix, Trinidad's father and manager seems to be scolding Tito in his corner between rounds. Tito starts off the round by landing a left hook. This fight has turn into a brawl as both fighters exchange blows. Trinidad is swinging wild as Vargas duck many of the blows. Trinidad lands a devastating body punch and Vargas seems hurt. Trinidad goes on the attack and Vargas is trying to hold on. Vargas survives the round, but Trinidad's power is clearly taking a toll on him . Round Seven: Trinidad seems a bit desperate. Trinidad lands a strong left hook, then hit Vargas with a borderline low blow and referee halted the fight and once again Trinidad was deducted a point. The fight continues with Trinidad coming forward with power shots and Vargas lands upper left hook. Round Eight: Trinidad lands a solid right hand lead. Vargas is hurt but he returns with some good shots. Vargas lands a good right hand, then a combination to body and head to Trinidad. Vargas hits Trinidad with a low blow and referee warns Vargas. Trinidad land a powerful left hook and Vargas is in trouble again. He's wobbly and almost falls. Vargas is saved by the bell. Round Nine: Vargas seems tentative and eats right hands shots by Trinidad. Vargas is throwing combination and lands a solid right hand. Vargas hits Trinidad low, but the referee doesn't see it. Trinidad land a combination and Vargas is wobbly, but Trinidad looks tired. Trinidad lands a beautiful uppercut which straighten out Vargas. A tremendous round as both fighters hit each other with combinations. Many punches are thrown and both men stagger to their respective corner. Round Ten: Trinidad
starts off with a wild left. He follows with a left jab which has
landed all night. Vargas' is hurt by a right
hand of Trinidad and Vargas' left eye is swollen. Both fighters are exchanging
blows. Vargas is on the defensive and is back-tracking as Trinidad
is on the attack. Short right upper
cuts lands for Vargas. Nady deducts a point from Vargas for low blows with 24 seconds left.
Trinidad lands a left hook which wobbles Vargas towards the end of round. There's a sense of desperation from the corner of Vargas. Vargas comes out aggressive and land a solid left to the head of Trinidad . Trinidad retaliates but Vargas slips the punches well. Trinidad catches Vargas with a left hook and Vargas is wobbled. Vargas is trying to hold on. Two, three right hands by Trinidad to the head of Vargas. Vargas fights back and lands and lands a powerful combination. The round is coming to a close and Vargas lands a couple of right hands to the head of Trinidad. A good round for Vargas as he throws his hands in the air while going back to his corner. Round Twelve: Vargas' corner says he must win this round. Vargas lands a good combinations. Trinidad follows with a powerful left hook and Vargas goes down. Vargas get up before the count, but Trinidad attacks and lands a right hand which put Vargas on the mat again. The crowd is going wild and Trinidad's eyes are wide open eager to attack his prey and land the final blow. Vargas is up and Trinidad pounds Vargas. Vargas is hurt and is not punching. Trinidad lands a devastating right hand to the head of Vargas and he goes down head first for the third time of the round. Vargas tries to get up and the referee stop the match. The fight is over at 1:33 mark of the 12th round.
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December 3, 2000 --
They battled in the ring for nearly 12 rounds, toe-to-toe,
blow-to-blow. 