NEW YORK-An early media poll in advance of next Saturday's middleweight clash in Madison Square Garden between hard-punching former world champions Felix "Tito" Trinidad (41-1, 34 KOs) and Ricardo "El Matador" Mayorga (27-4-1, 23 KOs) shows that an astonishing 86% of the respondents believe the fight will end in a knockout.

Media members from around the world were asked if they believe the fight will end in a knockout. Of the 89 respondents, 76 said yes with only 13 believing the judges will be asked to determine the outcome.

"I'm calling Trinidad vs. Mayorga the fight fans' fight of the year
because both of these guys love to throw punches in bunches," promoter Don King said. "This will not be a dance contest. Fans will see two boxers that aren't afraid to take huge risks in the hope of scoring a knockout."

King added: "I can't wait to see which gladiator will still be standing in
the end."

Of those who believe a knockout will occur, listed below please find the
exact round they think the fight will end:

Round 3 1
Round 4 4
Round 5 11
Round 6 10
Round 7 19
Round 8 8
Round 9 8
Round 10 11
Round 11 3
Round 12 1

Tickets, priced at $1,000, $700, $400, $250, $150 and $75, are on sale at the Garden box office and all TicketMaster locations or by calling
TicketMaster at 212-307-7171, 201-507-8900, 631-888-9000, or 914-454-3388.
TicketMaster purchases are subject to convenience charges.

This World Boxing Council Latin American and World Boxing Association North American championship bout on Oct. 2 will be presented by Don King Productions in association with Madison Square Garden and will be produced and distributed domestically by HBO Pay-Per-View at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and broadcast internationally and on closed circuit by KingVision.

The Fight Fans' Fight of the Year will take place on Oct. 2 in Madison
Square Garden when legendary three-time world champion, Felix "Tito"
Trinidad (41-1, 34 KOs) emerges from a two-and-a-half-year retirement to face the always-dangerous and former WBA and WBC world welterweight champion, Ricardo "El Matador" Mayorga (27-4-1, 23 KOs).

National conference call includes comments from two-time world champion Zab "Super" Judah (31-2, 22 KOs). Zab will face Wayne "Wawatae" Martell on the card.

Also attached and pasted find quotes from Tito's father and trainer Papa Trinidad.

RICARDO MAYORGA, through translator Tony Gonzalez

"With the money I win from my bet ($100,000), I'm going to go back to
Nicaragua, buy a new limo or maybe two, and call them Tito."

Have the hurricanes in Florida disrupted your training?
Ricardo Mayorga: No, no interruptions at all because of the hurricanes.

What do you plan on doing to stay away from Felix's left hook?
Ricardo Mayorga: I prepare myself to either block it or take the punch,
I've prepared for both of those, but most importantly I'm preparing to knock him out.

How do you think Trinidad's layoff is going to affect the fight?
Ricardo Mayorga: It's going to affect him immensely, were basically
looking at a Tito who is going to retire from boxing, and when a boxer retires from boxing he no longer has any heart. I don't think Tito will be the Tito of old rather he's just going to be a former shell of himself on October 2.

What makes you so confident at 160lbs against Felix?
Ricardo Mayorga: Generally good boxers don't go down that easy and we know that Tito has a weak chin and I think I can knock him out this time around because he's been put on the canvas.

What round do you think that your going to knock out Tito?
Ricardo Mayorga: I predict that around three or five, I really don't want
to cause the Trinidad family any grief, so I will please ask the dad to stay close and do not let the fight go on longer than needed.

What is your game plan if the fight goes twelve rounds?
Ricardo Mayorga: In order for Tito Trinidad to be with me for 12 rounds
he's going to have to be born again and born again with a new jaw because there is no way he's going to withstand my pressure.

What was your opinion watching Oscar De La Hoya's fight against Hopkins this past Saturday?
Ricardo Mayorga: My respect to Oscar, he proved to me that he was brave trying to stand in front of Bernard and bring it to him, I respect his
decision to stay down on the canvas even though I felt he could have
gotten up. But I think his time is up and I think it's my time now.

What fighters would you like to take on after Trinidad?
Ricardo Mayorga: I would like to fight Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard
Hopkins and "Sugar" Shane Mosley.

What do you think about Vargas coming back to fight in the middleweight division, would you like to fight him?
Ricardo Mayorga: Of course, I'd love to fight Fernando Vargas, he loves
fighting in the big fights and that's something I'm crazy about. I would
love to take that fight as well.

Is that $100,000 bet with Trinidad for real, and, if so, does it weigh on
your mind?
Ricardo Mayorga: No, it's a real bet, its not putting any sort of
pressure on me and I'm going to make sure that he pays me after the fight, that $100,000. With that money, I'm going to buy myself a limousine-maybe two-in Nicaragua and name them "Tito" so that everyone can remember when I knocked out Tito Trinidad.

On a scale of one to 10, what do you consider your physical state to be
coming into this fight?
Ricardo Mayorga: I find myself at 20 because I'm a great fighter, I can't
wait to get my hands on Tito because the problems that I've had really
haven't been any problems they pretty much fell off me and at this point
I'm prepared to take on Tito.

How do you plan to deal with all of the Puerto Rican fans that Tito will
bring to the Garden?
Ricardo Mayorga: In the type of shape that I find myself right now,
training here at the Fight Club [in Miami], which is a great gym, I think
there will be no distractions whatsoever and you've got to keep in mind
there might be 16 thousand Puerto Rican fans in the bleachers, but I'm
only fighting one in the ring, and that's Tito Trinidad, so he better watch
out.

Why aren't you giving Tito any more respect?
Ricardo Mayorga: Please remind yourself of my previous comments, and my opinion stays the same that Tito is retiring from boxing and I'm really, really having the thought that once you retire from boxing, boxing leaves your heart. That's why I'm not respecting him as much as I would have before.

Is this the biggest fight you've ever been in?
Ricardo Mayorga: I would say that monetarily it would be the biggest fight of my career, and, obviously, by beating Tito I will gain much more fame that I have right now. I would say that it's going to be a great fight and one that I'm going to be a victor in.

Do you think you'll be at 160 from now on or are you going to go back down to fight Cory Spinks again?
Ricardo Mayorga: If I need to come down, I'll come down to 154 pounds.
For whoever I'm looking to fight, whether it be Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, Winky Wright, or Shane Mosely, anybody who presents themselves at 154, and even at 160, if they want to come up.

Do you think the De La Hoya/Hopkins fight was good for the fans or no?
Ricardo Mayorga: No I don't think it was a good fight. I think it was a
boring fight and, like I said before, I do respect Oscar, he's the only
one who felt that punch, he's the only one who knows if he could have gotten up, but I respect him just the same.

How will you fight Trinidad?
Ricardo Mayorga: I can tell you this much: it will be a very active fight
from my side. From the first round I'm going to be looking for the
knockout. Hopefully, I'll knock him out within three to five rounds. I know from my end I will be very active, and I don't know if he's going to get on his wheels and start running, but I know I'm going to be pressuring him for 12 rounds at least.

Who was the hardest puncher you've faced, and what weight would you like to come in at?
Ricardo Mayorga: I'd like to go up at 158 or 159 pounds. For this fight,
to get into this ring at this weight would be good. The hardest punch I've
ever been hit with was probably Vernon Forrest, that's probably the hardest I've been hit in my career.

Why is Wayne Martell in this line up to fight you?
Zab Judah: It's a tune-up fight for the upcoming fight between Zab Judah and Cory Spinks. We are right now talking about a rematch, but one thing at a time. Martell first, then a rematch with Spinks.

What went wrong for you at the Pineda fight? Was it too close to fight
two fights in a month or so?
Zab Judah: Well, I tried to do the impossible. I tried to go in there and
show the world that I already wasn't pleased with just being called a
fighter, so I had to come back in the next month and get some kind of win, so I didn't want to sit around the entire summer not ending on a win. It's not much, but it's something to make me feel good at the end of the day.

How much better do you feel at this weight now than you did in April at
the same weight?
Zab Judah: Well, you know that right now I feel good, even my father will
tell you I'm what you I'm saturated at 147 pounds, but I can fight with
Spinks. I think that everybody can clearly see that Spinks was the bigger
man in the fight. That was my first fight at 147 pounds, the problem was
that I was training so hard that I started losing weight fast and I was
like around 144, so I had to eat more to get up to 147 pounds, but I think now with this fight and this last fight with Pineda I'm saturated now. I'm a solid 147 pounds. I'm punching like a 147-pounder. My feet are still
there, and I'm going to show the world that what I did at 140 pounds I'm going to do at 147 pounds.

Would you be interested in going up or down in weight classes to fight,
and, if so, which ones?
Zab Juda: Like I said, I would love to go down to 140 pounds and fight
anybody who's there; anyone whose calling themselves the best fighter in the world right now I would come do it. If Kosta Tszyu happens to win the fight over Mitchell, I would love that [Tszyu] right now and get my revenge fight with Kosta Tszyu. Its not a problem for me right now. I'm looking to get the best fights in the world at whatever weight it takes.

Is there a time frame on when the fight with Spinks might happen?
Zab Judah: Well, we're looking for late December or early January.

Do you think you're close to signing for that?
Zab Judah: Yeah, well, we already have a bout agreement, and now all
we're doing is looking for the right time and the right venue-you know, just money. That's all we're looking at right now for anybody big who wants to step up and put the money up.

Would you fight Mayweather?
Zab Judah: Well, like I said, me and Floyd are good friends, and if the
fight so-called presents itself, of course we would fight each other. For
the right amount of money me and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will get it on.
Even though we're buddies, we ain't no fools. At the end of the day, we both have families and children to feed. A fight between me and Floyd Mayweather Jr. would be for a lot of money, and it would be a healthy experience for the both of us, as far as financial wise.

How much of a boost does it give you to fight at home in Madison Square Garden?
Zab Judah: A lot of people don't understand, they're focusing a lot on the
Mayorga vs. Trinidad fight, which is an excellent fight for the Latino
community, but you got to understand that Zab Judah is ready. I'm born and raised from New York City, from Latino fans to Afro-American fans to anyone, I'm loved in the city and they're going to be surprised when I step in that ring. As far as an advantage, I think it's a great advantage. It's my first time back in the ring ever since my second professional fight, and that was back in '96. So it's my first time back in the Big Apple, and I'm looking forward to putting out a great effort and show.

What your thoughts for the upcoming Tszyu vs. Sharmba Mitchell fight?
Zab Judah: Kosta Tszyu has had a long layoff in boxing, and I think that
he possesses enough power and strength to go in there and beat a Sharmba Mitchell. Sharmba Mitchell, he has been looking good, you know, and he's trying to come and claim his fame at 147 pounds, but, to me, Mitchell just lacks heart, and you know and heart is a major thing in boxing. If Sharmba Mitchell still has his heart then he might get a win over Kosta Tszyu, but right now I see Kosta Tszyu by knockout.

How are you going to guard against underestimating Wayne "Wawatae"
Martell?
Zab Judah: Well, like I said, I'm excited for my hometown crowd, a lot of
my peers, a lot of my friends and family, and my plan is not even to go in
there and just show my plan is to go in there and catch a highlight. I
want to catch the ESPN highlight of the week. So that's my goal right now, I'm not going to go in there and for no show for anyone, I'm going to go in there. in and out and if it just so happen to be the first round it will be that.

Some people criticize your antics in the ring, is that something you've
been working on?
Zab Judah: Well, I guess playing around in the ring is not something you can work on. I guess that comes from focus-ness. Playing around in the Pineda fight anyone can see that I dominated in there in the early part of the fight. I hit the guy so much, at will, that, you know, if you go back to Pineda's record, I was the first person to ever put Pineda down on the floor, and Pineda fought tons and tons of guys, so you know I was the first and only person to ever drop Pineda; to drop Cory Spinks. So the lack of concentration is just from me getting bored in the ring, but I'm very excited for this fight. I'm really up for this fight. I'm happy to be back in New York City, in the Garden, and it gives myself a chance to get my hometown crowd back again.

Do you think you lost some of your fans after losing to Tszyu and Spinks, including your home crowd?
Zab Judah: Of course, you know loss is everything. Loss of friends, loss
of family, everything is involved in that, but, like, I always learned a true
champion is somebody that knows how to come back from defeat, and that's what I'm going to be.

How has your sparring been?
Zab Judah: I've been sparring with a couple of guys. Ricky, who is one of the Warrior fighters, a couple professional fighters whose names I don't want to mention because I don't want to embarrass them because I want to try to trick them into the ring, but, like I said, I'm very excited for this. I'm very focused. I don't want anybody to think that because people are looking at my opponent as under 50 opponent that I'm going to come in here and not be in shape and play around. I'm coming in here and training for this fight as if it was a rematch with Cory Spinks. I'm in tremendous shape and I'm coming in here to put a show on for the New York City crowd.

The quotes listed below from Felix "Papa" Trinidad Sr. were taken from a story that appeared in El Vocero in San Juan, Puerto Rico, written by
Carlos Narvaez that appeared on Sept. 20, 2004. Papa comments on De La Hoya vs. Hopkins and his son's upcoming bout with Ricardo "El Matador" Mayorga in Madison Square Garden on Oct. 2.

"I saw the fight, but like I said before, I have no reaction towards it.
Since people started to talk about that fight, I saw it as shady business
because the weight was below the limit, and both fighters were allowed to fight for all the titles. Honestly, it's not worth our time to have any
opinion on the fight itself."

"We are concentrated on our fight with Mayorga and we will stick to that.
But I have only one message for Hopkins, and he has received it a very
long time ago. Tito is now at a different level, and we are basing our work on that premise. With all due respect to the boxing organizations, they allowed the unification fight in the middleweight division, and they disrespected the entire category. Tito will fight, with or without a title, because the real fighters come first, and later are all the belts.

"On October 2 you will see a more mature fighter with much more punching power and better ring generalship. Also, Tito is a fighter that believes in God above all. We are currently working on keeping his weight steady and we are ready for the biggest fight of the year."