Trinidad dominates late to give Reid a beating

LAS VEGAS - David Reid won an Olympic gold medal with one big punch in a fight in which he was taking a beating. Felix Trinidad wasn't about to let him do the same thing for the junior middleweight title.

Trinidad dominated the second half of the fight Friday night, knocking Reid down four times to take Reid's WBA title in his first fight at 154 pounds.

Similar to his fight in Atlanta, Reid was a desperate fighter late in the rounds. But he didn't land a miracle punch to pull out this fight, like he did against Cuba's Alfredo Duvergel in the 1996 Olympics.

Instead, he took a terrible pounding at the hands of the undefeated Trinidad, the welterweight champion who made his debut at 154 pounds a smashing success.

"If you don't get me in the first few rounds, the fight is over," said Trinidad, who went down for the fifth time in his career, all of them in the early rounds.

Reid nearly did just that on a chilly night at an outdoor arena at Caesars Palace, knocking Trinidad down with a right hand in the third round after hurting him with one a few seconds earlier.

But Reid never used his seeming advantage in speed and power early, and it cost him late.

"I should have been throwing more punches," Reid admitted.

The fight was Trinidad's first since beating Oscar De La Hoya to add the WBC 147-pound title to his IBF belt. But this time it came in a dominating performance, not in a close decision over a fighter who gave the late rounds away.

"I would love to fight Oscar De La Hoya, but he is fighting (Shane) Mosley next. So I don't care if I don't fight him again," Trinidad said.

Reid was leading 57-55 on all three scorecards after the sixth round, thanks to the knockdown and a point taken by referee Mitch Halpern for low blows in the sixth round.

But Trinidad remained focused and, for Reid, disaster loomed.

"I never got discouraged after the knockdown and the point was taken," Trinidad said. "It just made me focus more."

Reid had been laughing off all of Trinidad's punches up to that time, as if they weren't affecting him. But, early in the seventh round, a right hand by Trinidad wobbled Reid and the fight suddenly turned.

Trinidad, landing his punches suddenly with authority, then put Reid to the canvas with a left-right-left combination. Reid got back up and fought well in flurries, but he would not win another round.

Reid was cut over the right eye in the eighth round, and his legs were wobbly. He went to the canvas several times over the next few rounds while trying to keep his balance, but they were all ruled slips.

By the 11th round, Reid was a desperate fighter. And he took a beating in that round that may have ranked among Trinidad's best performances in knocking 30 opponents in 37 fights.

Reid went down three times in the round, and was desperately trying to stay upright when it finally ended. He managed to survive the 12th round, but his chances of winning the fight had long since vanished.

"Experience in the later rounds was a telling factor," admitted Reid, who had only 14 pro fights since winning the gold medal. "He was a little slicker than I was."

Trinidad earned $3.5 million for the bout, which both fighters weighed in at 153 for. Reid earned $1.67 million, along with a bruised and battered face.

"I was a little hurt, but I wasn't going to quit," Reid said.

Trinidad indicated his fight at 154 pounds may not be his last. He said he could slowly move up to middleweight and, eventually, to 168 pounds.

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