Did someone say Jones Jr. was great? Well, it's safe to say my criteria of greatness is very different than his.
Where does Felix Trinidad fit in? I'm fan probably biased for him a bit. I think he is right on the border of great/very good. Longevity, fought good and great fighters won belts over 3 divisions but also defensded his IBF Welterweight title around 12 times before moving up. Took another great boxer to stop him in his 3rd division up.
I’d say he’s great. He defended 15 times, reigned for 7 years and unified two hot divisions and was the clear man and he did it in the space of 6 fights and then blasted a respected middleweight title holder. It took elites to beat him even when he was past his best.
I'm on this train as well. When he lost to Hopkins he kept pressing forward and went down swinging. He was a true warrior. As a fan of Trinidad what says the most about him was how he handled adversity. He knew BHop was boxing his ears off but I dare anyone to watch that 10th round of that fight. Trinidad was champion.
I think if someone looks at the whole picture he was indeed great. He had a pretty good pre title run cleaning out the division more or less. He was a wrecking machine. He lost his title to probably the greatest heavyweight in history. Hate the way he lost, he suffers from that distinction. but there was so much drama and intrigue going on around Sonny it's hard to really say what the truth was. His talent and ability were obvious.
The technical aspects are easy to see. It’s the intrinsic qualities that take time, sometimes an entire career to be proven out. Superior toughness, will to win, durability, the ability to take it and not give up no matter what.
