[BOXING]
After all that was said and done the “Cinderella Man” of the W.B.A. Super Welterweights, Austin “No Doubt” Trout, will be defending his world crown and trying to unify both the W.B.A. and W.B.C. Super Welterweight Titles in a mega fight with the other defending Champion, Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez.
The Championship fight will be held on Saturday, April 20, at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas. The venue holds a capacity crowd of 58,891 fans. Let’s see the turnout.
Alvarez,W.B.C. Super Welterweight Champion, boasts a 41-0-1, 30 k.o.’s record; he will be fighting his toughest boxing career opponent in Trout, W.B.A. Super Welterweight Champion, who sports a 26-0, 14 k.o.’s resume. Since both champs are undefeated, as the saying goes: “Somebody’s ‘0’ is going to go”, unless the fight judges for some strange reason call the fight a draw.
The boxing experts feel that although Trout is a relative unknown, he is the better fighter because he defeated 4-time world champ, Miguel Cotto last year in Madison Square Garden, New York, when he was expected to be just a “tune-up” opponent for Cotto who was well on his way to fight Alvarez.
Others speculate that Cotto was already a journeyman fighter with limited skills from too many ring wars. So although Trout, a south paw, is the newest favorite of the ring, there are still doubts that he could beat a hard- hitting young bull like Alvarez who has scored 30 k.o.’s in his career and most of them in the early rounds.
The question mark about Alvarez is that he has fought less challenging opponents such as Carlos Baldomir, Josesito Lopez and shop-worn veteran, Shane Mosley. When he won his W.B.C. Crown he fought non-threatening Mathew Hatton, Ricky Hatton’s older brother and he had to go the distance.
For Canelo, he also get to avenge his brother Rigoberto Alvarez’s loss to Trout by decision in 2011, a bout in which he also lost the W.B.A. title now held by Trout.
“Revenge is in my mind and blood, this is personal, and I will get even win and give my brother his belt back to keep them both in the Alvarez family like they belong,” proclaims the fighter.
Is it possible he could achieve that task? My point of view is: Alvarez is very young at 22 yet he’s a strong come- at-you hard-punching vicious punishing body puncher. He has a decent strong jab, speed, and good defense.
Can Trout, 27, control that offense and defense round-by-round, for 12 rounds and have the stamina to win? At the last press conference Trout boasted that he would knockout Alvarez by the round 9 and take both titles home to Las Cruses, New Mexico “where they really belong; and I will retain my 0”; meaning his unblemished record.
“I am already used to fighting in my opponent’s home towns and hearing the boos,” he brags. “In fact, I rather like it because it gives me more incentive and an adrenaline rush to beat the home town hero. Those 60, 000 fans expected to show up and root for Alvarez will go home very disappointed.”
Canelo Alvarez will win this championship fight by decision although not ruling out a knockout. Trout’s biggest coming out fight was with a diminished Cotto who at times did rock Austin, who had to hold on to avoid further punishment.
Will Trout control a raging-bull-like Alvarez, who’s bent on familial revenge and who at times does remind you of Jake La Motta of the original “Raging Bull”?
That question will be answered Saturday.
