NEW YORK -- Bernard Hopkins grabbed a miniature Puerto Rican flag from Felix Trinidad Jr.'s hand and threw it down Monday during an outdoor press conference to hype their undisputed middleweight title fight in September.

Trinidad and his father, who also trains and manages him, reacted with class. The fighters did not touch one another and the crowd in midtown Manhattan's Bryant Park did not misbehave.

"The way he threw down the banner that's the way he'll go down on Sept. 15," the senior Trinidad said.

His son's reaction was: "I'm not going to touch you. On Sept. 15, I will knock you down."

Replied Hopkins: "I don't apologize for anything I do. I think before I do anything."

The IBF-WBC champion from Philadelphia then took a larger paper Puerto Rican flag, lowered it halfway down the stick and said: "the flag of Puerto Rico will be at half mast."

As the fighters were leaving, Trinidad, the WBA champion, said to Hopkins: "Thank you for recognizing you did wrong."

"I didn't apologize," Hopkins said, "and I'm not backing down."

While many in the crowd shouted their displeasure at Hopkins, the elder Trinidad said: "I want all the people of Puerto Rico to treat Hopkins well and give him respect as a human being."

Hopkins sees his fight against Trinidad as a war. He makes it sound as if their battle for the undisputed middleweight championship will be a street fight.

"I've been accused of being dirty," the 36-year-old Hopkins told reporters at HBO offices before the outdoor press conference.

After Trinidad knocked out William Joppy for the WBA title on May 12, Hopkins had talked about using elbows and knees, of turning the pay-per-view fight against the 28-year-old Puerto Rican into a brawl Sept. 15 in Madison Square Garden.

Asked how he would react to roughhouse tactics, Trinidad said through an interpreter, "The referee has to look closely if a fighter fights dirty. I'm planning to fight a clean fight and let the referee do his job."

Should the referee not do his job, the unbeaten Trinidad said at a news conference Monday, "I have hands and I can punish."

A smiling Trinidad added, "There is the possibility he can't do anything because the fight will end so fast."

It is Trinidad (40-0, 33 knockouts), a former IBF-WBC welterweight and super welterweight champion who is the favorite and perceived star of the show.

Trinidad is considered by more than a few people in boxing to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

This rankles Hopkins (39-2-1, 28 knockouts), who has held the IBF title since 1995 and won the WBC title on points from Keith Holmes April 14, but who has been overshadowed by the likes of Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya and Roy Jones Jr.

"Everybody's so quick to jump the gun and label a guy great," Hopkins said. "You become great because you beat one guy? Longevity, quality opponents and a lot of title defenses is greatness to me."

Trinidad, however seems to meet Hopkins' qualifications for greatness.

He has beaten a lot quality opponents, including De La Hoya, and he has been in 19 world title fights. That's three more than Hopkins, whose championship bouts include a decision loss to Jones in 1993 and had a draw with Mercado Segundo in 1995.

The Puerto Rican fighter also looked spectacular in knocking out Joppy in the fifth round and setting up his match with Hopkins.

"You're not the middleweight champion until you beat Bernard Hopkins," Hopkins said. "Everything Trinidad's gotten in the past few years, he deserves. When I beat him, slip the paper to me and give me what he's had -- the money, the press, the front page."

"I don't think in my mind the fight will be hard," Trinidad said. "My job is to make the fight easy."