But the snafu didn’t prove to be a omen that he was unprepared to rise to the occasion and pass the toughest test of his career against former titleholder Jerwin Ancajas.

Trinidad (21-0-2, 14 KOs) beat Ancajas (38-5-2, 25 KOs) by unanimous decision on Sunday by scores of 97-93 across the board in a 10-round featherweight fight that served as the co-main event of Zuffa Boxing 08 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

Trinidad outlanded Ancajas 172 to 113 in the competitive contest, which almost resulted in a stoppage win in the waning seconds.

The fight was a tight one from the onset and seemingly fought at the same pace throughout. There was very little separating the two in the skills department, and climactic moments were essentially non-existent.

It was a high-level, thinking man’s chess match until the final minute of the fight, when Trinidad caught the fatigued Ancajas with a big right hand and closed the show in style with a furious flurry at the finish, so much so that referee Tony Weeks appeared close to stepping in to stop the fight.

“Of course I was gunning for the knockout,” Trinidad said afterward. “You know, I smelled blood in the water. He was hurt. I wanted him to touch the canvas. He has a lot of heart and experience and was durable to withstand that, but, hey, my hat off to him.”

Trinidad measured Ancajas with calculated shots as the smaller fighter lunged in looking to win exchanges. Both fighters primarily hurled one-twos in the tit-for-tat tilt, but it was Trinidad’s right hand that landed more consistently against the shorter yet crafty veteran.

Trinidad started to slowly pull away on the margins in the second half of the fight and gradually edged rounds with higher volume.

“I didn't wanna get too carried away and vulnerable. I know he wasn't gonna open up, because my reach was too much for him, my speed, my ins and outs,” Trinidad said. “My coach was telling me to step on the gas. I felt like when I did, I was landing those one-twos flush, and it was too much for him.”

Ancajas came into the clash as the proven commodity, having previously held the IBF 115-pound crown from 2016 to 2022. He defended his title nine times before losing to Fernando "Puma" Martinez twice by decision, and then against Takuma Inoue by stoppage. But fighting at 126 pounds was one weight class too many for the 34-year-old Filipino southpaw.

Trinidad, a 30-year-old Los Angeles native, was briefly ranked No. 10 by The Ring at 126 pounds last year, and the win should get him consideration to crack the rankings again.

He also doubled down on pre-fight declarations and called out IBF champion Angelo Leo.

“I feel like [it was the best performance of my professional career],” Trinidad said. “I had some knockouts before and everything, but I didn't feel anything [in those wins], you know? I went out against a seasoned veteran, a former champion, and I feel like my experience got better. It was a fun fight for the fans, for sure.”