Felix Trinidad v Ricardo Mayorga

Felix Trinidad justified his decision to come out of retirement when pummelling Ricardo Mayorga to an eighth-round stoppage defeat at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Trinidad had been out of action since a fourth-round win over Hassine Cherifi in his native Puerto Rico in May 2002.

He showed signs of ring-rust in the early exchanges and suffered an official knockdown when his glove touched the canvas after a clubbing right from Mayorga in the third round.

However, the 31-year-old gradually recovered enough of the silky skills which had established him as one of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters.

Despite taking plenty of shots himself, Trinidad upped the tempo as Mayorga began to tire in the fifth.

Mayorga showed great heart to get back in the fight but was floored three times in the eighth before referee Steve Smoger waved the contest over.

In winning his first 40 pro bouts, Trinidad claimed world titles at three different weights and secured high-profile victories over the likes of Oscar de la Hoya, Fernando Vargas, William Joppy and Pernell Whittaker.

His only defeat came via a 12th-round knockout when taking on undisputed world middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins in September 2001.

After beating Cherifi he then shocked the boxing world by claiming he had simply had enough of the sport – only to be lured back over two years later.

A rematch with Hopkins would appear the natural step for Trinidad, although another clash with de la Hoya could swell his bank balance even more.

Nicaraguan wild-man Mayorga had lost just one of his last 20 fights, a majority decision against Cory Spinks when trying to unify the IBF, WBA and WBC welterweight titles.

He was as spirited as ever but clearly found the step up to middleweight tough to handle.