Margarito is back !!!

Same team, same camp, same style....

 

They can't even decide who was back there. was it Naz or was it Bouie? it was only one of them. If they can't get this simple part of the story correct, it's hard to have much faith in it at all. Besides that...this is the opinion of people. Not fact. It's not like they took his wraps, found plaster of paris had a big commision hearing to look at the evidence and suspended him. Not one single official from NYSAC has anything to say to indicate that Tito's wraps were a cast, a bat or anything. Sounds like a problem with procedure.

 

Félix "Tito" Trinidad, el gran campeón is now being unofficially accused of cheating by way of illegal hand wrapping. Bernard Hopkins' camp planted the seed of doubt and three of Trinidad's victims have watered it and watched it spread. The forums, boxing's underground, are reeking of it, and once again, the anti-Trinidad faction has come out of the woodwork in a shameless attempt to demean the Trinidads character and the achievements of Cupey Alto's favorite son.

The question has been raised as to "how legitimate are Trinidad's accomplishments in light of the recent findings?" What findings?, I ask, because what we are dealing with here are accusations, assumptions and innuendo. Let us evaluate the real findings. The findings point to Al Mitchell, David Reid's head trainer at the time of his encounter with Trinidad, who stated that he saw nothing wrong with the way Tito's hands were wrapped. The findings point to a statement offered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission vouching for the legality of Tito's wraps in all of his fights under their jurisdiction. The findings point to José Peñagarícano, President of the Puerto Rican Boxing Commission, who publicly acknowledged that Trinidad Sr. has always bandaged his son's hands in the same legal manner, and that in actuality the excess gauze acts as a cushion, used solely to protect the fighter's hands.

The findings also point to Oscar de la Hoya, to Pernell Whitaker, to Hector Camacho Sr., to Jake Rodriguez and to Valentín Ocasio, all of which were still standing at the end of their close ups with Trinidad -all losers to him- but all on their feet. Are we to assume that the so called illegal wrapping works on certain fighters and not on others? Or is it effective on certain days and not on others? Or maybe in certain venues and not in others? How ridiculously insulting is this concept? Furthermore, since don Félix has acknowledged that he tapes all his fighters' hands in the same identical fashion, shouldn't Fres Oquendo, Daniel Seda, Nelson Dieppa, Félix Flores and all his other charges be KO artists, undefeated and totally dominant fighters in their respective weight categories?

David Reid, Fernando Vargas and William Joppy have chosen to demean their own handlers' abilities and intelligence in an attempt to disrepute Félix and his father. Do Reid, Vargas and Joppy really believe that their men, those who -supposedly and contractually- have had their best interest at heart, are so uneducated, so callous, so inept, so unprofessional and so ignorant of the rules? To take the word of an outside camp and use it to negate the knowledge and integrity of one's own is a low blow to boxing and all its people, including the fans. Has James Fisher, (Hopkins' advisor), become the "smartest" and most boxing savvy individual in all of boxing, by virtue of accusations that not only tarnish the Trinidads but also every boxing commission they have ever fought under? If that is the implication, the sport is really in trouble.

I suppose if I were William Joppy I would be jumping at the opportunity of blaming the "supernatural" or the "unproven" for the obscene fashion in which he was disposed of by Tito Trinidad. I have never seen a fighter, a champion least of all, fall so readily and look so discombobulated in doing so, as Joppy did against Trinidad. If I were Fernando Vargas, I suppose I too, would be anxious to blame someone or something for the sustained beating that Tito put on him. By the way, check Wilfredo Rivera's hand wraps because Fernando assumed the position for him as well.

William Joppy claims Hasim Rahman warned him to check Tito's wraps and Vargas offers a cloak and dagger story about a man he doesn't know, (but he does know the man is Puerto Rican and boxing affiliated; in what capacity? he doesn't know that either), who stated that he didn't like the Trinidads and warned Fernando about the way Trinidad wraps his son's hands. When Vargas was asked who was checking Trinidad's wraps when they met on December 2nd, 2001, he declined to mention name(s). If this were a court of law, the judge would have sent everybody packing long ago; hearsay, credibility issues, and to put it simply, if it doesn't make sense, it simply is not true.

I realize that sensationalism sells, and isn't it coincidental by the way that this article came about at a time when the cyber publication that saw fit to print it is trying to break ground by selling subscriptions over the internet? Let's face it people, Bernard Hopkins was the better man on September 29th, 2001; he defeated a great champion in Félix Trinidad.

Let's also face the fact that up until that night, Félix Trinidad had beaten every fighter put in front of him, and his devastating power cannot and should not be denied, least of all by those who felt it and experienced it up close and very personal.


:hat

 

Nah man, this is the difference:

If this were a court of law, the judge would have sent everybody packing long ago; hearsay, credibility issues, and to put it simply, if it doesn't make sense, it simply is not true.

 

James Fisher is never too far behind Bernard Hopkins, he is hard to miss, and although Aladdin Freeman had interviewed him a while back, I couldn't resist the opportunity to talk to him after having met him at the AmericanAirlines Arena on January 4th.
I approached Mr. Fisher, told him I had issues with him regarding the Steve Kim article and Tito Trinidad being portrayed as a cheater. He was quick to assure me the had never implied that the Trinidads were cheating, and when I asked him to put it on tape, he gave me his digits so we could set up an interview as soon as possible.

We got together the following Monday, and this is what we talked about.



BRC: What exactly is your position with Bernard Hopkins?

JFISHER: Well, I have many positions with Bernard. As everyone knows, my dad, Bouie Fisher is Bernard's trainer. Every since Bernard has been with my dad, we have developed a relationship such as brothers. We are real close, he calls me his "sponge." I absorb everything; before it gets to him, I absorb it. I'm like a buffer, such as they used in "The Godfather." I handle a lot of his business deals, business things, such as the camp. I arrange the camp, oversee it and make sure everything is in order.


BRC: I want to talk about Steve Kim's infamous "Cheat-o Tito" article. Let's start out with what happened in Tito's dressing room. Can you tell me what happened there?

JFISHER: For all the fans that don't know the procedure of a championship bout, or any bout, before a fighter can have his hands wrapped, a representative from the opposing camp has to be in the dressing room. When they came to our dressing room and asked for a representative, myself and brother Nazim Richardson, who is a second in Bernard's corner, went over to Tito's dressing room. When we got there, one of his hands was already wrapped...

BRC: Do you remember which one?

JFISHER: I think it was his left hand, it was already wrapped and Tito's dad didn't want to take the wrap off. The Commission's representative didn't want us to make him take the wrap off, he said it was okay, but that's not the rules, he had to take the wrap off.

We debated back and forth for like an hour and they finally had to call the chief inspector for the New York State Athletic Commission and when he came, he told them what the rules were, which they already knew, and they cut Tito's wraps off. Then, they started wrapping his hand again, and there was a controversy on the way he (Trinidad Sr.) was wrapping Tito, as far as the use of the tape and gauze. That's when they called my dad, and they were going back and forth on the proper way to wrap hands, and the commission agreed with my dad that you had to wrap the hands with the gauze and the tape, not too much padding on the knuckles... a lot of little technical things that had to be changed. Changes were made and the fight went on. But there was never an issue where anyone in Bernard Hopkins' camp thought the Trinidads were cheating.

It's just that it's not their job, you know... To enforce them taking the hand wraps off; the commission, the guy that was inspecting, he should have never even let them start, but he did, and he was like, being unfair, you know.


BRC: Is it true that Tito's hand was already wrapped when you got there was because you were late getting to his dressing room?

JFISHER: No, we weren't late getting there. As soon as they told us to go around there, we went to the dressing room. Nobody never told us to go around there any earlier.


BRC: Now, let's talk about the article itself. What was your take on it when you read it? How did you feel about it?

JFISHER: Well, to be honest, I really didn't like the article. There were quotes made from James Fisher that weren't accurate, there were quotes made that weren't really quotes, because I never knew that an article was going to be written about what I was saying.

Steve Kim is a friend, he is around our camp all the time, and we just had a discussion about what happened in the dressing room, and I just told him, you know, that there was a problem with the wraps. People use different things, opportunities to say what they might really want to say. But I never, EVER, made an issue about the Trinidads cheating, never!


BRC: What is your take on the statements that Joppy and Vargas made?

JFISHER: After the article came out, I read a couple of things that Joppy said. Joppy is a friend of mine, a guy who I really like. I read a statement that Vargas made. My thing is, both of these guys had opportunities, both of them, they were in fights with Trinidad, so it's not all about the hands, Trinidad's hands; it's about a lot of other things. It's his courage, his heart and his determination, that's why he's been the great fighter that he is for the last decade or so. It's nothing about the hand wraps; I don't believe in excuses because the background where I come from you can't make no excuses. You are responsible for your actions, you know, and when something happens, I'm not a sore loser, it just happened.

They (Joppy and Vargas) had corner men who were in the dressing room watching Trinidad's hands get wrapped, they didn't see nothing wrong. They had inspectors in there, watching Trinidad's hands get wrapped. When he fought Vargas, that was in Vegas, and under Marc Rattner, they have one of the best boxing commissions in the United States, besides Pennsylvania. They do a great job, and they didn't see anything wrong with the way Tito's hands were wrapped.

When Tito fought David Reid he fought him in Vegas, they didn't see anything wrong with the way his hands were wrapped, so don't come now, because someone gave you a way out, to make an excuse.

I really don't think that -knowing Joppy- that he really... I think that he might have made a statement about it, but I can't see him making excuses. I think that, like reporters do, reporters ask questions and they take what they want to take from the conversation and they print that...


BRC: Not all reporters...

JFISHER: Right, some reporters, not you. I think that's what might have happened with Joppy. I don't know why Vargas would say that, but, those losses that they took to Trinidad are nothing to be ashamed of. Trinidad is a great fighter. I mean, Vargas, he got hit with a great shot in the first round and for him to do what he did... I wasn't a fan of his, but after that fight I became a fan of Vargas because he showed a lot of heart, and grit and determination, to get up from those shots and fight back in a vicious war, and almost get Trinidad out. Trinidad was just a little too smart for him, more experienced, and he didn't get him but he has nothing to hang his head about; don't come with excuses now, because that takes away from the fight that you put forth.


:hat

 

Chill this story just ethered your whole arguement...

 

You gotta read everything...There's a lot of info....

double ****ing standards

 

Teddy Atlas

"This is why we need a National Commission because there is no rhyme or reason in regards to some of the rules. Every state allows you to wrap the fighters hands differently. I personally usually use gauze, then 1 roll on tape on each hand for my fighters. More tape doesn't add punching power it's more to protect the fighters hands."

Tommie Brooks

"The most important thing to do when wrapping your fighters hand is to protect them, not for added punching power. How you do this is by establishing a good base. Start with gauze or pre-wrap, then make sure you wrap the wrist first and very tight. I know every state allows different rules when it comes to wrapping but usually you can get away with one and a half rolls per hand but with the big guys you definitely need two rolls for each hand. It also helps if you have a general idea where the breaks occur, like the knuckles, so you can put extra foam or padding for the fighters."


José "Pepe" Correa

Tito Trinidad can punch so god darn hard, you may think he has a brick in his gloves, because that is the way he can kick it. I've heard a lot of garbage about he has this in his gloves, he had that in his gloves....Let me tell you something, whenever there is a championship fight we have inspectors in the dressing rooms that watch us prepare, watch us get our hands wrapped. These are professional people who do nothing but watch you wrap your hands. The only thing that Félix Trinidad had in his gloves fight night against any of those guys he knocked out was hand wraps and KNUCKLES! Real knuckles, not brass knuckles.

Let me tell you something, these people have no ground to stand on. You have a hard punching Puerto Rican that can hit like hell, and they just hate the fact that he can punch like that.

I use all the gauze I have on the hand, to make my fighter the best fist, the hardest fist that I can make, and yes, I am trying to make it as hard as I can, because we are allowed to do that. After wrapping his hands, I take the tape, I do the wrist and part of the hand area, I do not go across the knuckles, no trainer does, you are not allowed to do that, that is against the law.

We are given a certain amount of gauze to wrap our guys' hands. What I do is I start up at the wrist area and I come down, I put as much as I possibly can across the fist area, so he doesn't damage his hands, because we are hitting with his knuckles, so therefore I'm allowed to take one gauze and wrap it the way I want to and put that across his knuckles, I do that with all my fighters and have done that for years.

I use tape that I put between the fingers but I do not put tape across the gauze, you gotta have it at least an inch behind the knuckles. You have tape that goes between the fingers, which has nothing to do with trying to make "a cast", it does not make a cast. Some guys go: Oh, man! Jesus Christ, I love the way that hand is wrapped it looks like you can knock down a wall... Yes, you can, because it's wrapped properly. The problem with trainers today, they don't protect their fighters' hands, I do, I do it in every fight, and most good trainers do.

This thing about Felix Trinidad having his hands wrapped wrong or improperly is a FLAT OUT LIE. You have inspectors in the dressing room, we have to trust those people because they are professionals and anyone who says anything different is stupid.


Referee Jorge Alonso

BRC: As a referee I know that you check some of the equipment the boxer wears, do you also check the gloves to see if they are irregular in any way?

JA: We check the gloves, we feel the gloves, but remember when we get the boxer in the ring, he already has his gloves on. In Florida, they have inspectors that supervise the wrapping and approve of the wrapping. What I feel for, when I feel the gloves is to make sure that first of all, the knot is in the back part of the hand, right underneath, where there is no rub, no big knots when they tie the gloves and that the tape covers the knot itself and the tie. I also check that the impact area of the glove is in good condition, that it doesn't have any soft spots where you can't feel the knuckles. In the past, I have eliminated gloves for having been used before, they were very soft and you can feel the boxer's knuckles with your finger; in those cases you don't let those gloves go on to the fight.

As far as the wrap itself, we don't actually see it. In Florida we have inspectors that handle that.

BRC: When you refereed Trinidad vs. Thiam, and based on your many years of experience, did you see, did you detect anything, anything at all that now -looking back on it and based on the grave accusations that have been made- did you detect anything that may now seem irregular to you?

JA: No, looking back, I don't see anything irregular. I checked the gloves, in the ring, and I didn't notice any irregularities as to the way the gloves felt when I checked them, they were tied properly. I didn't see anything improper with the gloves, however I don't know about the hands wrap, but I have a tremendous confidence in the inspectors in Florida. We probably have one of the most experienced team of inspectors in Florida and I say that with a lot of pride. I seriously doubt that they would allow any improprieties as to wrappings in a fight in the state of Florida; and specially the guys here in South Florida they are very, very experienced inspectors.

Marc Ratner

Felix Tito Trinidad has fought here several times against some of the biggest fighters in the world: Oscar de la Hoya, David Reid, Fernando Vargas. He's always had opponent's corner people watching him wrap, as well as my inspectors. We have never detected anything illegal.

Alton Merkerson

First of all, the most important thing when wrapping hands is to protect three areas of the hand: back of the hand, the wrist and the thumb. The knuckles you put pad over to protect, so you won't have direct contact. My philosophy is in reference to the tape, in reference to the Commissioner, they give you a certain amount of gauze, some people say ten yards, twelve yards, even up to fifteen yards, and most people say eight feet of tape, one inch tape, as long as it's not going across the knuckles.

Personally I don't feel that all the gauze and tape in the world you can use can add force to your blow, what it really does is protect your hands as long as you don't have tape over the top of your knuckles, but that is a rule by all Commissions all over the world, that you don't put tape over the knuckles. Most Europeans and Hispanics for some reason do not put as much gauze on the hands as most Americans do and they use excessive amount of tape, and it really makes it like a cast and what people are saying that the gloves, that the hand wraps are loaded is because it's so much tape, it actually feels like a cast. So that won't allow any of your bones in your hands to move; any big puncher would like his hands wrap that way, and it's safety for them, but most people think it adds more power to the blow, IT DOESN'T, but it gives you confidence and you feel better about throwing a punch as hard as you can with your hands wrapped like that because you have less chance of injuring your hand.

BRC: Based on your vast experience, have you ever felt uncomfortable about the officials appointed by the Boxing Commissioners, the officials that are responsible for watching the trainers wrap their fighters' hands? Have you ever felt that irregularities have taken place?

AM: I feel comfortable with them but I do like one of my representatives to be present, because you don't know you might, in a world championship fight, you know boxing is corrupt, you don't know who favors who or who is biased and they might let them get away with something. So, that's the reason why you want to have a representative from your camp in that other person's locker room when they wrap hands.

Every fighter and every Commissioner should know exactly how much gauze, how much tape and how a hand should be wrapped. So, when you deviate from that, you complain about it, the biggest problem that most people have with the Hispanic wrap and even Europeans is that they use excessive amounts of tape to secure the hand and make it like a cast. So, the rule of thumb is that in my camp I do have one of my people observe, even though the Commissioner is there...I'm not saying that he doesn't know his job, but I rather have one of my people there also.

BRC: Let me run this scenario by you. Our feature correspondent, Aladdin Freeman, interviewed Bernard Hopkins shortly after his resounding victory over Trinidad. Hopkins said and this is a direct quote: "Trinidad had only skin and then tape on his hands, no gauze, and it also looked like he was wearing casts..."

AM: State of Florida Rules and Regulations state that 105-154 pounds can use 10 yds of gauze; they don't care how they put it on the hands, anything over 154 pounds can use 12 yds of gauze, they don't care how you put it on. When you get to the tape this State allows you to use 8 foot of tape, and that is not very much; one roll of tape is ten yards, usually a person can wrap with 3/4 to 1 roll of tape, and there is nothing said and no tape over the knuckles, you have to be an inch behind the back of the knuckles. The only tape you can use and gauze you can use that is affiliated with the knuckles is going between them, and that is just to secure the tape so it won't peel back. That's cut and dry, and those are the rules and regulations.


BRC: In your opinion, would the amount of gauze and or tape used in a legal way, as you have stated it to me...

AM: (Jumping right in...) I don't think it would add any more force to the blow, I think it is a safety precaution for the person's hands, to keep them from injuring their hands. I don't have any problem with it as a trainer.

 

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Margo at Freddie's car show

 

Your October 29th, 2001 article "Cheat-To Trinidad" is malicious and irresponsible; it ranks right up there with the cheapest supermarket tabloids, the ones that use sensationalism and misconceptions to sell issues, regardless of who they vilify.

I must confess that I am aghast as to how you have been able to get away with this piece, unbalanced and irresponsible as it is. You took the words of the three guys who Félix Trinidad beat the worst, and used them to cast a heavy shadow on Trinidad's career, his accomplishments, his pugilistic integrity. In reality, you have done the same for his father, and for every Commission and every inspector they have ever fought under, but more on that in a minute.

Your article states that William Joppy has a strong opinion about "all this", whatever all this is, because there is no proof or evidence of any impropriety on the part of the Trinidad camp. You obviously conducted some sort of interview -or shall we call it a witch hunt- with Joppy, in which he assumes that the reason why he looked like a rubber band man on May 12th, 2001, at the Garden, is because Tito's gloves were "loaded".

You continued the public lynching in cohoots with Fernando Vargas, who based solely on what James Fisher said proceeded to malign his handlers, his own camp; and goes on to justify his starching with a cloak and dagger story, without the benefit of names, dates, or anything specific, solely hear say.

As for David Reid, well, let's just look at his last fight and leave it at that.

I feel that as a responsible journalist you should have gotten both sides of this story, because as you might know, Trinidad didn't demolish all his opponents in the same manner he did Reid, Vargas and Joppy. So, what is the explanation there? The "loaded" gloves were only "loaded" on certain days and only against certain opponents? How illogical and foolish is the concept?

One of your readers e-mailed you, condemning your atrocious article, and your answer to him was even worst than the article. Your response to this reader was, and I am quoting: THANK GOD YOU ARE A NOBODY! Well, this person contacted me quite upset at the way you had responded, and asked if we could help him set the record straight.

So, Mr. Kim, on behalf of Taino34652, who is very much SOMEBODY in our book, my feature correspondent Aladdin Freeman and I set out to seek answers, and a better understanding on how a boxer's hands are wrapped. I guess you can call it, doing your homework for you, or better yet, presenting facts instead of fiction.

The general question asked was "how do you wrap your fighters' hands?" This is how the question was answered by some of the game's most reputable and knowledgeable people.

:hat

 

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