RARE Felix Trinidad vs David Reid official on-site programme plus full $1000 ticket, billed "The Glory Of Caesars Undefeated Gladiators", 3rd March 2000, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

Condition excellent

Felix Trinidad (37-0 30 KO's) came back from a third round knockdown to rally and win a unanimous decision against a tough David Reid. The bigger and clearly stronger David Reid (14-1 7 KO's) gave Trinidad all he could handle at the outdoor arena in front of 10,000+ fans in Las Vegas.

Round by Round coverage:

Round One:

The round started off slow as both fighter try to feel each other out. Trinidad starts to establish his left hooks to the body. Trinidad is the aggressor throughout the round.

Round Two:

Trinidad continues to be the aggressor and continues toward Reid. Reid starts to land strong right-hand power shots. Trinidad continues his body attack with left hooks to the rib cage. Reid rallies at the closing minutes of round two with a straight right hand to the head of Trinidad.

Round Three:

Reid looks more aggressive and begins to unload with powerful right hand blows. Trinidad does a good job blocking most of the right hand bombs by Reid, but out of nowhere Reid throws a right hand between the defence of Trinidad which lands squarely on his nose. Trinidad goes down and quickly gets up before the mandatory eight count. Trinidad hits Reid with a low blow and is warned by the referee.

Round Four:

Trinidad comes out aggressive after his manager and father calms him down after being knocked down. Left hooks by Trinidad lands flush on Reid's face. Trinidad continues his body attack and starts to land solid body-head combinations. Reid comes back with some powerful left hooks to the head to finish the round strong.

Round Five:

Right hand at the beginning lands for Trinidad. Fast combinations is making Reid stop in his tracks. Reid seems to be moving more and displays great defence as Trinidad tries to land power shots. Several good left hooks to the head and body by Trinidad ends the round.

Round Six:

At the start of the round, Trinidad lands several left hooks. Trinidad starts of aggressively by landing a flurry of punches, but Reid retaliates with his own flurry. Both boxers are in the middle of the ring trading power punches. Trinidad continues his onslaught of left hooks to Reid's body. Trinidad hits Reid with a low blow and the referee takes a point away from Trinidad.

Round Seven:

Trinidad seems angered and comes out landing big right hand punches and several crisp combinations. Reid returns with his own combination. Reid hits Trinidad with a low blow and the referee halts the action for Trinidad to recover. The aggressor, Trinidad, lands a devastating combination and a left hook which Reid didn't see and Reid hits the canvas with 20 seconds to go in the round. Reid is clearly shaken and Trinidad goes on the attack. Reid seems to be going down again, but is saved by the bell.

Round Eight:

Big right hand by Trinidad to start the round. Reid is in big trouble and gets a cut over his right eye from all the left jabs and hooks that Trinidad has landed. The resilient Reid comes back with a flurry of punches and big right hand blows. Reid lands some left hooks to the jaw of Trinidad but Trinidad finishes off the round with a big combination.

Round Nine:

Big right hand by Reid to start the round. Trinidad remains the aggressor by landing a right hand then a left hook that shakes Reid. The referee halts the round and takes one point from Reid for a low blow. Trinidad goes on the attack and Reid goes down but it was called a slip. Reid is rocked by several big power punches to the head and body by Trinidad. Reid is on the defensive and is wobbly. Once again Reid is saved by the bell.

Round Ten:

Reid starts the round with a couple of good left jabs. Reid then lands some solid right hand blows to the head of Trinidad and it seems like Reid has regained some confidence. Left hooks gets in for Trinidad but Reid follows up with a good right punch. Big bombs to the body of Reid by Trinidad and Reid seems to be hurt by the body blows. Trinidad finishes off the round strong by landing several big right hand punches to the head of Reid. Reid's right eye is starting to swell more and once again is saved by the bell.

Round Eleven:

Big left hand punch by Trinidad at the beginning of the round. Reid's legs are gone and seem wobbly. Reid goes down by a flurry of punches by Trinidad and it seems like he doesn't want any more of Trinidad's powerful punches. Reid continues to fight but goes down for a second time. Reid is taking a beating and is clearly shaken by Trinidad's attack. Reid goes down for a third time but gets up quickly to continue the fight. A low blow by Trinidad makes the referee take another point off of him. A courageous Reid comes back with a flurry of punches. Reid's right eye seems to be closing shut.

Round Twelve:

Reid has no legs under him. Trinidad lands several big right hand power shots and Reid is hurt again. Reid is trying to survive and comes back with a solid combination of his own. Trinidad seems to be on the defensive for the remaining few minutes of the final round. Reid lands a good combination and finishes the fight strong.

Felix "Tito" Trinidad is declared the winner by unanimous decision and is the new WBA super welterweight champion. This Trinidad's third world title and is considering unifying the titles in the super welterweight division before moving up in weight.

Price: £95

Félix "Tito" Trinidad began boxing at the young age of 12 on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico where many boxing legends also call home. Tito was raised in a boxing environment as his father and manager Félix Trinidad Sr. was a Puerto Rican featherweight champion in the mid '70s. Felix Trinidad had a solid amateur career winning five Puerto Rican National Amateur Championships at (100 pounds, 112, 119, 126 and 132). He posted an amateur career record of 51-6, but only had 12 knockouts. When the president of the amateur boxing federation in Puerto Rico wanted Trinidad to abandon the 126 pound division so another boxer could compete in the 1992 Olympics, Félix Sr. became fed up with the politics and Trinidad never competed in the Olympics and decided to go pro.

In his first world title bout on June 19, 1993, Trinidad took on two-time world champion Maurice Blocker for the IBF welterweight crown. Trinidad took control of the bout from the opening bell, rocking Blocker with powerful shots with both hands. Trinidad finished Blocker off at 1:59 of the second round with a knockout that left Blocker on the canvas for several minutes, solidifying Trinidad's status as a devastating puncher with power in both hands.

On January 29, 1994, Trinidad scored a unanimous decision over Hector "Macho" Camacho. Trinidad dominated the fight against the flamboyant "Macho Man." It was fight that vaulted Trinidad to the elite of the boxing world. Following what was then the longest layoff of his career (eight months), Trinidad was matched up against Luis Ramon "Yory Boy" Campas, whom many were calling the next Chavez. Campas carried with him a remarkable 56-0 record with 50 knockouts. The fight took place on September 17, 1994 as part of the Mexican Independence celebration. Campas, who had the crowd behind him, sent Trinidad to the canvas with a quick, short left hook in the second round. Though the punch seemed to stun Trinidad rather than hurt him, the frenzied crowd sensed Campas would finish him off. But the young Puerto Rican sensation showed why he's champion, as he roared back in the fourth round and landed a dozen unanswered blows to the head of Campas. Referee Richard Steele had no choice but to stop the punishment and fight shortly thereafter.

On December 10, 1994, in Monterrey, Mexico, Trinidad faced the most formidable challenger of his career, then undefeated Oba "Motor City" Carr. After an uneventful first round, a straight right hand in round two not only sent Trinidad to the canvas, but also woke up the champion. For the next five rounds, Trinidad controlled the fight, and in the eighth round, Trinidad floored Carr twice. After getting up for the second time, Trinidad unleashed four unanswered blows to Carr's head, prompting the referee to stop the fight. Trinidad went on to defend the IBF welterweight title 16 times against many quality opponents. Trinidad, now feeling that he solidified the welterweight division, set his goals on earning another title. He continued his choice of quality opponent and faced undefeated WBC welterweight champion "The Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya. In a highly publicized match, Félix Trinidad out-dueled, De La Hoya in a unanimous 12-round decision to retain his IBF title while taking De La Hoya's WBC title.

Promoter Don King created a Middleweight World Championship Series where four boxers will fight against each other to determine who will be the undisputed Middleweight champion, a feat that hasn't been done since the great since Sugar Ray Leonard beat Marvelous Marvin Hagler in 1987. The winner will also win the first Sugar Ray Robinson trophy. Trinidad's first opponent in the new division was William Joppy. A true middleweight at 160 who was holder of the WBA title since 1998. Trinidad, in his first fight at this new weight, destroyed Joppy in 5 rounds knocking him down 3 times during the fight. "I always knew I was a middleweight," Trinidad said at the post-fight press conference at Madison Square Garden. "I knew I was going to knock him out." Trinidad showed devastating power at this new weight and proved to everyone that he is a force to be reckoned with in the Middleweight division. Trinidad moved on to the finale of the Middleweight World Championship Series against Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins.

When the Middleweight Championship series first began in March, everyone felt that Tito Trinidad was going to be crowned as the undisputed middleweight champion and the first recipient of the Sugar Ray Robinson trophy. But to the surprise of many, Trinidad would suffer his first defeat. In the finale of the Middleweight Championship Series, Hopkins knocked down Trinidad and stopped him at 1:43 of the final round before a stunned crowd of 19,075 in Madison Square Garden. Hopkins fought Trinidad well and obviously did his homework. He studied Trinidad's style for months and had an answer for his every move. Trinidad couldn't get his feet set and deliver that devastating blow which has taken out so many of his past opponents.

Hopkins was flawless and fought the perfect fight against one of the best fighters of this modern era.














Amateur Career
David Reid had a stellar amateur boxing career, culminating with a gold medal at the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, after having won the title a year earlier at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. Because he was, like Oscar De La Hoya four years before, the only Olympic gold medalist in boxing for the United States, comparisons by writers and critics to de la Hoya were practically inevitable. De la Hoya's nickname is "The Golden Boy"; Reid was dubbed as "The American Dream". It could be said that Reid's professional career, however, resembled that of the second Davey Moore instead of De La Hoya's

Professional Career
Reid began his professional career, with much attention from boxing magazines, when he defeated Sam Calderon on March 21, 1997, by a unanimous four round decision, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

He followed his debut victory with four knockout wins in a row, before meeting former world Welterweight champion Jorge Vaca, on October 3 of the same year, also at Atlantic City. He knocked Vaca out in the first round.

His next bout, against Dan Conolly, was showcased on HBO Boxing, and it was also covered, round by round, by Ring Magazine. Reid earned his sixth victory in a row, knocking out Conolly (who was described by The Ring magazine as a "game opponent") in five rounds.

On January 31, 1998, he dropped Robert Frazier in the first round. Despite losing a point in round six due to what the fight's referee thought was dirty tactics, Reid went on to beat Frazier by an eight round unanimous decision.

After two more wins, he faced former world champion Simon Brown, knocking him out in four rounds on June 27, at Reid's hometown. On October 24, he claimed his first belt, defeating James Cocker by a twelve round unanimous decision, to win the WBC's continental Americas Jr. Middleweight title.

After that victory, he was deemed as ready for a world title try by his management team, and so, on March 6, 1999, Reid became a world champion in only his tenth professional bout (making him one of the boxers to win a world title in the fastest time, also like the second Davey Moore), by beating WBA world junior middleweight champion Laurent Boudouani by a twelve round unanimous decision in Atlantic City.

Reid would defend his title successfully twice, one of them, a twelve round unanimous decision over Keith Mullings in Las Vegas.

By then, Reid had already made Las Vegas his new home. There was much talk about facing him against a number of opponents, including Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad.

The only fight out of those four possible match-ups came on March 3, 2000, when he defended his crown against Trinidad in Las Vegas. Reid enjoyed some advantage during the first six rounds, having dropped Trinidad in the third, and with the fight being close on all three judges' scorecards. He was dropped in round seven, however, and subsequently suffered a detached retina and three more knockdowns in round eleven, before losing the world title by a twelve round unanimous decision.

Many fans then questioned his management's judgment by letting Reid defend his title against a veteran like Trinidad in only his twelfth professional bout, a fact that reminded many of the case of the second Davey Moore 17 years before, when he defended the same WBA Jr, Middleweight title, in only his thirteenth bout, against the far more experienced, boxing hall of famer Roberto Duran. Many critics say that the reason for Reid's falldown after his defeat to Trinidad could be due to a psychological break-down, but the fact is that his detached retina affected him for the rest of his short career.

Retirement
He returned to the boxing ring for four bouts. He won three fights against insignificant opposition, then lost to Sam Hill by a knockout in nine rounds, in what would turn out to be his last bout, on November 11, 2001, at Elizabeth, Indiana. His retina was causing him more trouble, and he retired before losing his eyesight.

Reid had a professional record of 17 wins and two losses, with 7 wins by knockout.