herifi Better Watch Tito's Hand Wraps.
Exclusive by Ron Heard
On September 29, 2001 before the fight between Bernard Hopkins and Felix Trinidad, team Hopkins sent a representative from their team to over-see Tito's hands being wrapped. When their representative arrived he was shocked to see that Tito's left hand was already wrapped, signed off and the boxing glove was on. In an exclusive interview Bernard Hopkins (said), "I sent my team in there to watch Trinidad wrap his hands and when they got there
Trinidad's left hand was already wrapped and he had his boxing glove on. So my trainer, Bouie Fisher who has been doing this stuff for a long time went over there to straighten it up. The thing is Trinidad has been getting away with doing this for a long time. I know for a fact that he has done it at least one other fight. They are used to being able to do whatever they want and get away with it. That is how it is in boxing."
First of all, you have to wonder who this commissioner was that let Don Felix wrap Tito's hand without anyone from the Hopkins camp being there. Hopkins said, "not only did he let him wrap the hands without us being there, but he was in there joking and laughing and talking Spanish with the Trinidads like they were best friends. When Bouie told them that he would have to take it off and rewrap it in front of someone fron their camp, he said "NO," its
already wrapped and it's too close to time for the fight to start. Bouie had to go to the head commissioner before they were made to rewrap his hands."
Luckily for Hopkins, Bouie Fisher is old school and he was not going to let this fight go on with Tito having wrapped his left hand and nobody from his camp watching it. "Bouie kept telling them, either we do this by the book or we don't do it all," said Hopkins.
It didn't make since to Fisher why the Trinidad's were so insistent on not rewrapping the hand because obviously they knew the rules. They have been in enough of these big fights to know that a representative from the other camp is allowed to be in the room while they are wrapping Tito's hand. Even if the New York Commission's Representative didn't know any better, the Trinidads definitely did. The Trinidads went so far as to actually say, "If we have to rewrap Tito's hand then there will be no fight."
Why was this left hand wrapping so important to the Trinidads?
Finally, after the head commissioner became involved the Trinidads were told to either rewrap the left hand or the fight was off. After much argument, they finally agreed to rewrap the hand with a member from the Hopkins team present.
Tito was made to remove his glove and the prior wrapping in front of Hopkins representative Naazim Richardson who noticed that the wrap looked very thick and when he felt it he says it was as hard as a rock. All the sudden it became very clear why they had tried to get away with wrapping the left hand without anyone from the Hopkins camp watching and also why they didn't want to remove it and rewrap the hand.
Don Felix began to rewrap the hand again, but Richardson noticed that Don Felix was putting layers of tape and then gauze, tape and then gauze, tape and then gauze which is not in accordance with NYSAC rules. The rules stipulate tape cannot be applied directly over the knuckles, and that repeating the process several times (is not permitted).
In an interview with Bernard Fernandez of Philly.com, Hopkins said, "If you put on tape, then gauze, then tape, then gauze, it's like a [plaster] cast. It's like being hit with a baseball bat. I'm giving out some secrets here, but you can dip your hands in ice water and that tape will, like, marinate and become harder. But it's only cheating if you get caught. Personally, I think Vargas' and Reid's people dropped the ball. Naazim did a brilliant job in spotting what [Felix Trinidad Sr.] was doing with the wraps." Don Felix was also putting tape on the skin and over the knuckles, both of which are not in accordance with NYSAC rules. New York's head commissioner put his foot down and made Don Felix wrap in strict accordance to the rules.
Don Felix has insisted in several interviews that, "I have always wrapped Tito's hands this way and nobody else has ever said anything."
That
