THE “IT” FACTOR

Winky Wright is deserving of every accolade that he receives for his near shutout victory over Felix “Tito” Trinidad this past May 14th at the MGM GRAND In Las Vegas. Not only was it almost a shutout - Tito won a grand total of two rounds from the three judges through 12 rounds - it was almost a no-hitter, too. Tito landed 58 punches in the entire fight, single digits in every round.

Even worse than the physical beating administered to Trinidad was the apparent hammering that was delivered to his psyche. Tito was unable to attend the post fight press conference, Don King informed the assemblage, because he needed medical attention for a cut eye. There were cynics present who recalled that one week previously Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales practically eviscerated each other for 10 rounds in the fight of the decade, yet both managed to appear at the press conference prior to receiving medical attention.

“The doctors are going to get it sewed up so that he can come back and fight again,” King replied to this writer when asked about the severity of the cut.

Trinidad’s absence became clear when, along with father/trainer, Felix Sr., their retirements were announced just slightly over 24 hours after the lopsided defeat.

For the Trinidads it was retirement #2, one for each loss in Tito’s career. His first retirement, after his knockout loss to Middleweight Champion Bernard Hopkins, lasted 29 months. One could argue that Tito is fueled by the thrill of victory, but devastated by the agony of defeat that even the greats suffer in boxing.

The problem is that while Trinidad may have decided that, at least for now, he doesn’t need boxing, boxing certainly needs him. The Trinidad-Wright fight garnered 510,000 Pay Per View “buys,” the largest number thus far this year. And even as we praise Wright in his moment of triumph, not even Winky’s family would say that it was his personal magnetism that attracted that many viewers.

In that sense, Wright’s well deserved victory is bad for boxing. Tito Trinidad is one of the few fighters that can transcend the sport and attract fans other than the hard core regulars. In the entertainment world they would say that he has the “It Factor.’’

Before entering the ring, Tito was greeted with a reception normally reserved for rock stars. Fans lined up along the security gate with their cameras poised hoping to catch a quick glimpse at greatness. In a star packed house that included Patrick Ewing, Chris Byrd, Hasim Rahman, Warren Sapp, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, among others, it was the cheers for Tito that rocked the house, filling the arena with an unmistakable energy just by his presence.

Very few fighters have “It” and “It” cannot be bestowed to another by ring combat. You don’t even have to win all of your fights to have “It.” Oscar De La Hoya has “It” in buckets, as much so if not more than Trinidad, which is another reason for dismay over Tito’s retirement. The prospect of a rematch between the two men still whets the appetite of boxing fans, who responded to their first bout with a non-heavyweight record 1.4 million PPV sells in 1999.

The Golden Boy is in a position to carefully hand pick his annual opponent, preferably the most lucrative one. As Zab Judah said, “You don’t pick Oscar; he picks you.” Everyone with a title or a reputation wants a shot at Oscar -even the short end payday with Oscar could mean as much as $10 million to the winner of the DLH lottery.

Mike Tyson definitely still has “It.” Anyone who can fight the likes of Kevin McBride on PPV, coming off a knockout loss to a class C fighter at close to the age of 39, and despite having only nine wins in 14 years qualifies for that distinction.

The question is why. Is it because he once starched Michael Spinks in 91 seconds? Is it because he was KO’d by the mediocre Buster Douglas in 1990 in Tokyo, one of the biggest upsets in boxing history? Maybe because he once bit off part of the ear of Evander Holyfield in a championship fight? Could it be the prison sentence for rape, or blowing $300 million and being driven to bankruptcy? Or is it because all of these things barely scratch the surface of his bizarre behavior? Whatever the reason, Iron Mike seems to have enough charisma to climb into the ring for as long as Mick Jagger has been selling nostalgia on stage.

If there was any justice in the world of boxing, Castillo and Corrales would have “It” by virtue of their fistic masterpiece on May7th at Mandalay Bay in Vegas. It was the ultimate boxing fan’s fight, a brutal brawl fought at close quarters in a pitched battle that ended with the victor, Corrales, getting off the deck twice in the 10th and scoring a technical knockout.

But the paid attendance for that much anticipated bout between the WBC Lightweight Titleholder Castillo, and the owner of the WBO belt, Corrales, was a paltry 5168. The bout was not shown on PPV but on the premium cable network Showtime. The fight is approaching cult status among the boxing hard core, and word of mouth buzz might fill the seats next time, if there is a next time. Bob Arum is said to have offered $2 million to the Corrales camp to secure a rematch but that type of fight can shorten careers so don’t count on it. But the reality is that the two men need each other to reach the next level of popularity. Neither has shown a capacity for “It” in the past and less competitive fights against other opponents will seem pale in comparison.

The bottom line is that right now boxing lacks superstars. Even NASCAR fans identify with their favorite drivers, even if they can’t see them as they circle the track for 500 miles.

Boxing needs some fine tuning, not a major overhaul. To make the sport more fan-friendly we need to dilute the power of the alphabet organizations, but at the same time come to accept the power of the networks. We have to realize that the boxers are the product and therefore increase our product identification to hold the die hard fans while cultivating new ones.

With the help of Hollywood movies such as Million Dollar Baby and Cinderella Man, the great documentaries Unforgivable Blackness and Ring Of Fire, as well as television’s The Contender, Hollywood has shown the way for boxing’s resurgence.

What we need now are professional public relations people to convince corporate sponsors to have our athletes sell their cereal and shaving cream, get fair newspaper coverage, and see boxing stories in a sports magazine, not just the internet. The use of a Hollywood type publicity machine to sell our great game should be a matter of need, not greed. It’s time for the premier promoters and marketable fighters to step up for the good of the sport.