NEW YORK— Subtle barbs continued to fly between Roy Jones Jr. coach Alton Merkerson and Tito Trinidad trainer and father Papa Trinidad during today’s main event trainer roundtable in the media center at a hotel near Madison Square Garden.
“Tito doesn’t need any help from Roy Jones,” Papa Trinidad said. “We want to fight him at his best.”
Merkerson reached back to Monday’s trainer media conference call to launch this salvo with Papa Trinidad sitting right next to him. “I heard Trinidad Sr. say Tito is going to knock out Roy. If they come in with that strategy, it’s going to be an early night. Roy will take him out early with that game plan. I don’t see this fight going the distance.”
Felix Trinidad Sr. (Father, trainer and manager of Felix “Tito” Trinidad) “Tito had said he might be interested in fighting again even before Don King called. Roy Jones was on the list then.
“Tito did not show his skills against Winky Wright. Winky is very difficult, as you know.
“Tito has shown no difficulty moving up in weight. He brings his strength and his punch with him. Tito doesn’t need any help from Roy Jones. We want to fight him at this best. Roy has been a great champion. Tito has defeated fighters of all styles.
“I weigh 22 pounds less now. My health was not good. Now, after medical treatment, I am 100 percent well. At that time and today, my knowledge of boxing remains. Nothing has been erased. I recovered my potential, my strength and my energy, the same as it was at the beginning of Tito's career. And, thanks to God, what was in my past is to the side. I feel 100 percent and I have concentrated on preparing a technical team. Everybody has his specific duty, and so we feel prepared to defeat one of the greatest trainers of all time.”
Alton Merkerson (trainer for Roy Jones Jr.)
“Tito is normally a slow starter, but in reference to this fight, I think that Trinidad Sr. knows he has to try to start off faster than he usually does. Our strategy is not going to change that much, because I consider Tito to be somewhat one-dimensional, so we know basically what to expect.
“I heard Trinidad Sr. say Tito is going to knock out Roy. If they come in with that strategy, it’s going to be an early night. Roy will take him out early with that game plan. I don’t see this fight going the distance. What Roy does in the ring is to his advantage. But through the hype in this fight, and the darts thrown at each other, I don't think there's going to be too much boxing. It's just my philosophy, and knowing Roy, knowing his demeanor through all the years of training him, I see something in him for this fight that I haven't seen before. I relate it more to the second fight with Montell Griffin.”
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