Top Jr. Middleweight contender Austin Trout successfully
continued his comeback on Tuesday night in scoring an impressive sixth round
knockout over veteran contender Joey Hernandez at the Hollywood Palladium in
Hollywood, CA. Trout, who was fighting for the fourth time since returning to
the ring in August of last year following a decision loss to top contender
Erislandy Lara, entered the fight with Hernandez ranked number five in the
world by the World Boxing Association (WBA), number seven in the world by the
World Boxing Council (WBC), and number four in the world by the International
Boxing Federation (IBF).
The story of this fight was Trout’s ability to control
the tempo of the fight from the outset and use his jab as the focal point of
his offense. Trout gradually applied a systematic approach in throwing his jab
to the body and head of Hernandez to set up and land crisp combinations.
Trout’s superb offense complemented by his equally superb
defense as he was able to control distance and slip the majority of Hernandez’ offense.
The fight plan executed by Trout worked so well that Hernandez in a clear sign
of frustration of not being able to land cleanly on Trout, threw Trout to the
canvas with a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)-style takedown in round four. Hernandez
was subsequently penalized one point for the illegal maneuver.
Hernandez’ attempt to get under Trout’s skin however, was
not successful as Trout continued to execute his fight plan, despite being
thrown to the canvas in a manner that could have resulted in him suffering an
injury. Trout’s systematic approach would ultimately break Hernandez down as a
combination to Hernandez’ body dropped him in the closing seconds of round six.
The knockdown would end the evening for Hernandez, who was subsequently counted
out by Referee Jack Reiss. Official time of stoppage was 3: 00 of round six.
Austin Trout advances to 30-2, with 17 Knockouts. Joey Hernandez
falls to 24-4-1, with 14 Knockouts.
In all truth and honesty Austin Trout’s performance in
this fight was exactly the type of performance that a fighter who is on the
comeback trail needs to have as he attempts to reestablish himself as a player
in whatever division that fighter chooses to campaign. With four victories
under his belt in a little over one year, it will be interesting to see whether
Trout will face a top contender in his next fight.
It is important to remember that Austin Trout has
previously held interim/regular champion status in the WBA’s Jr. Middleweight
ratings and maintained that standing for two years between February 2011 and
April 2013. The only two fighters to defeat Trout were Saul Alvarez and
Erislandy Lara, who are widely regarded as the two best fighters in the
division with the exception of Floyd Mayweather, who is still recognized as a
unified world champion in the Jr. Middleweight division.
It is certainly a possibility that Trout could find
himself in position for a rematch against Lara at some point in the near
future, especially if Floyd Mayweather were to vacate the WBA Jr. Middleweight
world championship. Lara currently holds interim/regular champion status in the
WBA’s Jr. Middleweight ratings, which essentially makes him the number one
contender to that world championship. As this observer has speculated before it
is certainly a possibility that if Mayweather, who will defend his unified
WBC/WBA Welterweight world championship against Andre Berto on Saturday night,
does indeed decide to retire after that fight as he has stated that Lara could
be named world champion by the WBA in the Jr. Middleweight division or at
minimum be put into a fight for what would be a vacant world championship.
It may be logical to assume that if Mayweather decides to
hang up his gloves following his fight with Andre Berto that Trout could be a
likely opponent for Lara. If a potential world title shot is not in the
immediate future however, it will be interesting to see where Trout will fit
into the mix in what is a talented and deep Jr. Middleweight division.
Whether or not Austin Trout will find himself back in the
world championship picture in the near future remains to be seen. For now
however, Trout has done all you can ask of a fighter who is trying to
reestablish himself. He has not only been active, but he has looked impressive in
the first four fights in his comeback. If Trout is not back in the world
championship picture in the immediate future, but can remain active and more
importantly if he can continue to win, it will produce the best argument possible
for a potential world championship opportunity down the line.
“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”
The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau
Denison All Rights Reserved.
