5 of the best welterweight boxing title fights

4. Felix Trinidad vs. Luis Ramon Campas - IBF Welterweight Title

September 17, 1994

Back in the 1990s, famed promoter Don King put on some of the best cards from top to bottom. On the undercard of Julio Cesar Chavez’s rematch against Meldrick Taylor, 21-year-old Felix Trinidad looked to make the fourth defense of his IBF welterweight title against Luis “Yory Boy” Ramon Campas. 

A fight doesn’t have to go the distance to be memorable, and Trinidad-Campas is a perfect welterweight battle that hits all barometers in just four rounds. Part of the Mexico-Puerto Rico boxing rivalry, Campas, 23, entered the bout with Trinidad with an astonishing 56-0 with 50 knockouts record. 

After a first round largely dominated by Trinidad, the fight took a turn in the second round. Campas landed a short left hook that would have made Bruce Lee proud, sending Trinidad down. Throughout his career, Trinidad would get dropped in early rounds only to come back and stop his opponent. This is one of the fights where that reputation came from. 

Instead of backing down, Trinidad went right after Campas landing right hands on the inside and mid-range. The knockdown only invigorated Trinidad as he took the fight to Campas after being dropped. Two of the three judges scored the round 10-9 instead of 10-8 for Campas despite the knockdown. He also began going to the body, but after a few strayed low, he was deducted a point in the third round.

Down on the scorecards, Trinidad picked up the intensity landing brutal shots on Campas. How Campas was able to stay on his feet is a mystery. After a series of punches, Trinidad would land a barrage of blows sending Campas to the ropes. One huge leaping left hook sent Campas’ head back like a bobblehead forcing the referee to end the fight in the fourth round. 

Trinidad-Campas was short and savage, with back-and-forth action featuring knockdowns and low blows with a vicious ending. It had a little bit of everything in a small package.