Saturday night January 19, Roy Jones Jr. knocked Felix Trinidad down twice on the way to a unanimous decision victory at Madison Square Garden.
Showing signs of the speed that befuddled his opponents during the height of his career, Roy Jones Jr., 39, backed up Felix Trinidad, 35, with stiff rights and flashing hooks to gain the 52nd victory of his storied career.
Trinidad Starts Fast
The first two rounds belonged to Trinidad who dedicated himself to working Jones' body whenever he got close. Jones, who predicted a fourth round knockout, kept his gloves high and let Trinidad work. By round three, Jones seemed to gain a rhythm and began pot-shotting Trinidad though Trinidad kept the fight close by maintaining a higher work rate than the notoriously economical Jones.
Jones Still Fast
Approaching the middle rounds, Jones seemed content to keep his gloves up and allow Trinidad to throw punches to the body and head for the first half of the rounds, then let his superior handspeed take over and give the crowd some fireworks before the rounds ended. Lead rights and double left hooks to the head then the body from Jones had portions of the Garden crowd--heavily weighted in Trinidad's favor-- cheering for the 39-year-old Jones.
Trinidad Knocked Down Twice
In round seven Jones dropped Trinidad with a short counter right to the temple. Trinidad recovered quickly, helped by Jones unwillingness to pursue a knock out.
The pot-shotting continued with Jones walking Trinidad down and landing lead left uppercuts at will and snapping Trinidad's head back with several jabs. One such jab in round ten put Trinidad on the canvas when Jones walked him into it. Arthur Mercante Jr., the referee, ruled a knockdown though Trinidad's left foot seemed to slip when the punch landed. The second two point round left Trinidad with little hope of a victory unless he could knock Jones out, which seemed increasingly unlikely as the fight progressed.
The judges scored the fight 116-110, 116-110, and 117-109 for Jones. Suite 101 scored the fight 118-110 for Jones who improved to 52-4 (38). Trinidad's record fell to 42-3 (35)
Andrew Golota Decisions Mike Mollo
On the undercard, Andrew Golota, 40-6-1 (33), won a unanimous decision over a tough, but over matched Mike Mollo, 19-2 (12), in an entertaining heavyweight fight. The 40-year-old Golota, his left eye swollen shut for the second half of the fight, used his greater size and strength to wear Mollo down. Mollo, 27, started fast but wasn't able to maintain his early pace and survived the last several rounds by hanging on to Golota.
Alex Bunema Knocks Out Roman Karmazin
In 154 lb action, Alex Bunema, 29-5-2 (15), knocked out former world champion Roman Karmazin, 36-3-1 (23), with a left uppercut followed by a right that sent Karmazin slumping to the canvas.
Devon Alexander Decisions Demarcus Corley
20-year-old prospect Devon Alexander,14-0 (9), continued his march through the 140 lb division with an impressive unanimous decision over long-time title contender Demarcus Corley, 31-8-1 (17). The victory gave Alexander the WBC Continental Americas Junior Welterweight Title.
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