Austin Trout Outclasses Miguel Cotto and Retains WBA Light Middleweight Title

Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30 KOs) returned to Madison Square Garden Saturday night and fought Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KOs) for Trout’s WBA world light middleweight title. Miguel Cotto was looking to regain a title, but this night belonged to Austin Trout.

Austin Trout came into this fight with and undefeated record and the advantage of being five years younger than Cotto.  The question mark surrounding Trout was his lack of experience against high-level opponents.

This proved to be a non-factor.

Austin Trout came out looking impressive within the first two rounds.  He was more active than Cotto and did a nice job of maintaining his distance with strong right jabs, which set up the straight left.

Rounds three and four were better rounds for Cotto.  He was able to cut down the distance and land his classic left hook.  He still wasn’t landing as often as Trout, but his hooks were stronger punches than Trout’s.

From there on the fight saw some great back-and-forth action. Cotto had a big sixth round and looked like he was starting to take control of the fight, but Trout had a very good seventh round where he started to cause swelling around Cotto’s eyes.

This fight started to resemble the pattern of the Cotto vs. Mayweather fight. Cotto played the role of aggressor, while Trout was the slick defensive counterpuncher.  Trout did his homework and did a nice job of mimicking Mayweather’s game plan.

The ninth round seemed to be the definitive turning point in the fight.  Trout landed a borderline low-blow punch that hurt Cotto.  Cotto then started to run.  I think the accumulation of Trout’s body shots started to take its toll.

Cotto tried his best, but Trout controlled the rest of the fight with his defensive skills and athleticism. 

Trout won this fight via unanimous decision and proved to the world that he is a legitimate champion.  The future looks very bright for Austin Trout.

Miguel Cotto is still a strong boxer, but he is on the decline.  His best days are behind him.

I think this fight was the springboard to superstardom that Trout was looking for.  Austin Trout is for real.  There is no doubt about that.