This Saturday night in New York City, Madison Square Garden is going to resemble a Latin inferno.

That's because a sell-out crowd of Felix Trinidad supporters are going to set the roof on fire, as they welcome him back after retiring in 2002. Trinidad has bought $300,000 US worth of tickets for NYC police officers and firefighters.

Since his 12th round knockout loss to Bernard Hopkins exactly three years ago today, Trinidad has fought only once, a four round kayo of Frenchman Hassine Cherifi in his native Puerto Rico, a fight that many percieved as a comeback until he shockingly announced his retirement weeks later at the age of 30. But on October 2nd, 'Tito' is back, and after his superfight with Shane Mosley was sabotaged by Winky Wright's schooling of 'Sugar' Shane, the Puerto Rican legend is taking on heavy-hitting Nicaraguan Ricardo Mayorga in what promises to be a bomb-throwing fiesta.

It is interesting to note that many experts and boxing observers actually think that Trinidad is making a grave mistake, and that Mayorga will send him back into retirement in convincing fashion. They attribute this to Trinidad's inactivity, but it's no secret that 'Tito' has been sparring in local gyms and keeping in shape (he even ran in a marathon in Puerto Rico), and has been hinting at a return to the ring for almost a year now. This isn't the case of a shot fighter trying to recapture past glory. How quickly people forget Trinidad's rise up the weight classes after handing Oscar De La Hoya is first pro defeat in 1999, then destroying Fernando Vargas and William Joppy before being picked apart by Hopkins. Yes, Trinidad has a shakey chin, and yes, Mayorga is a huge puncher, but if it weren't for 'El Matador's' punching power, this bout would be considered a mismatch.

The feather-fisted Cory Spinks showed that you don't need to overpower Mayorga to beat him, and Felix Trinidad is an offensive machine that can box, too. Although his footwork and handspeed are not in the same class as say, a Mosley or a De La Hoya, Trinidad is a far superior boxer to Mayorga, who wings punches from all angles and has decent but limited boxing skills.

The big question is how well Trinidad will handle Mayorga's awkward aggression. Trinidad is known for suffering flash knockdowns early in a fight, then rising off the canvas to win. He did it against Vargas and he rose from the Hopkins knockdowns until his father and trainer rescued him in the final round. At 160, Trinidad, 41-1 (34) is bigger than Mayorga, who had trouble making weight in his last fight against Eric Mitchell, in which Mayorga won an unimpressive decision.

Don King's favourite pawn, Mayorga, 26-4-1 (22), rose onto the scene with an emphatic knockout of welterweight champ Vernon Forrest last January, taking the boxing world by storm with his cigar-puffing, beer-swigging wildman antics. But since his loss to Spinks, it appears the Nicaraguan's shine has worn off and his bad habits have caught up with him; look for Mayorga, not Trinidad, to show up in less than stellar shape.

Trinidad will win this fight because he is a world-class fighter and Mayorga is not. And he will knock Mayorga out, but not before giving him a boxing lesson first. It's that simple.

Prediction: Trinidad KO 6