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Collision course Trinidad-Vargas could happen in December
MIAMI (AP) -- A smiling Felix Trinidad carried his super welterweight championship belt on his shoulder. He just stopped Mamadou Thiam in the third round, and already was looking toward his next target. He wants Fernando Vargas' IBF 154-pound title and apparently is willing to put his WBA belt on the line. In between promoter Don King's cries of "Viva Puerto Rico," word came that a unification bout between Trinidad and Vargas on December 2 in Las Vegas is in the works. "We've signed the fight. We are just waiting for Vargas to sign," Trinidad said about an hour after mauling Thiam Saturday night at American Airlines Arena in his first title defense. The undefeated Vargas, who retained his junior middleweight title against Ike Quartey in April, faces mandatory challenger Ross Thompson in Las Vegas August 26. Thiam quit with 12 seconds left in the third round with a swollen right eye. Trinidad opened the cut with a left hook and uppercut in the first round, chasing Thiam to the ropes. Trinidad unleashed a seven-punch combination to Thiam's head before he stumbled away from Trinidad's reach. By the end of the round, Thiam's right eye closed and Trinidad made the No. 1 contender look sluggish. Thiam responded by attacking Trinidad in the second round as both men went toe to toe. The thick-necked French challenger staggered Trinidad with a couple of left hooks in the round but started the third nearly blind from the cut. "We knew (Thiam) would be a brave opponent, but he doesn't have Tito's boxing skills," said Felix Trinidad Sr., the champion's trainer. Trinidad improved to 38-0 with his 31st knockout, while Thiam dropped to 33-2. It was Trinidad's quickest victory since his first-round knockout of super welterweight Troy Waters in 1997. Thiam, the European 154-pound champion, struggled to leave the ring but walked to the locker room without help. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital with a possible concussion. He did not attend the post-fight news conference Much of the paid crowd of 12,506 chanted "Tito, Tito," as Trinidad danced his way into the ring and spontaneously during the fight. King compared the event to a pair of title fights held in Miami -- Aaron Pryor's 1982 dismantling of Alexis Arguello and Muhammad Ali's win over Sonny Liston in 1964. "This is a great statement we made tonight in beautiful Miami," King said. "The support here proves how much we can accomplish."
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