Cue up the old Kanye song because back in 2012 you couldnt tell Austin “No Doubt” Trout nothing.
He had ridden his unbeaten record into champion status by besting David Alonso Lopez to become the WBA World super welterweight champion. He successfully defended it four times with a big end-of-year win over Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden.
In the New Year, he met Canelo Alvarez in an attempt to unify the WBC and WBA super welterweight titles and came up short on the judges cards. Then he faced Erislandy Lara for the interim belt he lost and again came up short on the cards. That spelled the end of his 2013.
Now back and against current IBF World super welterweight Jermall Charlo (23-0) this Saturday, Trout is ready to get back to the belt business.
This is the most important fight of my life right now because of what has happened, said Trout in our TSL Power Hour interview. Charlos young, hes strong, hes hungry and all those factors make him a huge threat.
(Jermall Charlo & Austin Trout Face-Off, Photo Credit: Stephanie Trapp/Mayweather Promotions)
Does he bring anything to the table that I havent seen before? No. But does that mean that he hasnt evolved as a fighter? Yes, hes gotten better. To say hes the biggest test, no Erislandy Lara is by far probably the most fiercest fight Ive had as far as not knowing what to do.
Headlining the card is Lara, who also was a victim of the Canelo Alvarez train after Trouts loss to Cinnamon and has since rebounded as the current IBO and WBA super welterweight champion. The card is stacked and Trout knows this moment is pivotal for his growth. Hes currently on a four-fight win streak with his last win being a 6th round knockout over Joey Hernandez.
The power was feeling good and Im starting to feel that man strength that people were telling me about that was going to come in my late twenties, early thirties, laughs Trout, Im trying to just keep the momentum. Thats the first KO that Ive had since 2011, but its also my third knockout in a row the previous two fights ended in TKO. Im feeling like I just want to keep this momentum going, keep the train moving.
This weekend Trout (30-2) looks to be crowned as the new champion, erasing any doubt about his ability.
(Austin Trout, Photo Credit: Stephanie Trapp/Mayweather Promotions)
I feel like Ive worked too hard to get where Im at, I dont think (Charlo) can say the same about himself,” said Trout. “I had to go through the fire and hell to get to the top and then I lost that top spot. I had to go through fire and hell to get back. Im not going to let all that grit that I had to go through go to waste.
