Canelo vs Austin Trout Marred By Open Scoring
Photos by Tom Casino for SHOWTIME
by Gautham Nagesh
On Saturday night, unbeaten junior middleweights Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Austin Trout fought for 12 close, thrilling rounds in San Antonio. Two young lions in their prime came together to unify their belts and determine the division’s top contender to challenge Floyd Mayweather. The fight started slowly, but steadily built toward what should have been a nail-biting conclusion in the championship rounds.
Instead, the open scoring format rendered the final third of the fight meaningless. It also showed that Hall of Fame referee Stanley Christodoulous has no business judging prize fights. Christodoulou scored the first eight rounds for Canelo, a mystifying scorecard that proves he had no interest in accurately scoring what happened inside the ring. The South African referee and WBA official is blind, senile, or corrupt, any of which should disqualify him from judging another professional fight.
Sadly, the inexcusable scorecard aside, this fight should have birthed a new superstar at a moment when boxing desperately needs on. Canelo and Trout both showed tremendous class, fighting with the skill and strategy that befits a truly world-class bout. The unanimous decision for Canelo was probably the appropriate result, especially after he floored Trout with a one-two combination in the 7th round. But Trout deserved far more respect than he got from both Christodoulou and Oren Shellenberger, who scored it 116-111 for Canelo. Rey Danseco was closer to reality with his card of 115-112.
[[MORE]]To his credit, Trout was reluctant to make excuses after the fight. He praised Canelo’s elusiveness and ability to slip punches, which helped the Mexican prodigy avoid Trout’s snapping jab for the second half of the fight. Canelo showed far more slickness than one would expect from the stocky Ginger, and even fought at times with his hands low and his chin sticking out. Trout was similarly slippery, but his punches didn’t make Canelo pay in the same way when they landed. At the end of the day, it was the extra power Alvarez carries that made the difference in the fight.
The fight was touch and go from the beginning, with both fighters showing plenty of respect for each other. Canelo’s bobbing and weaving managed to prevent the southpaw Trout from landing his left hand to the head, while Trout’s long reach and height advantage kept his chin clear of Canelo’s thumping right. So both fighters went to the body instead, leaning forward to throw power punches to the gut before ducking out of the way.
Neither fighter landed much of significance through the first half of the fight, and the rounds were tough to score for either fighter. Trout’s body work appeared to be catching up with Canelo in the sixth, but the Mexican came out sharp for the 7th. Trout relaxed for an instant after the bell, and it cost him. Canelo connected with a powerful straight right, and Trout wavered on jelly legs before collapsing to the canvas. It was the first knockdown of his career, and he handled it well. Trout got up, stood his ground, and fought back as a champion should.
Canelo inexplicably let off the steam and Trout rallied in the second half of the round, then appeared to control the 8th with ease. Canelo came back a bit in the 9th, but the fight had the feel of a barnburner heading into the final three rounds. At least it did before the Showtime announcers revealed that all three judges had Canelo winning easily, two by insurmountable margins. Suddenly all drama was lost, and Trout was forced to shift from master tactician to desperate puncher seeking a late miracle.
Canelo saved the running for the final round, but he didn’t open up as he usually does, thanks to his comfortable lead on the cards. Trout tried his best to march forward, but late knockouts are not a key part of his repertoire. Alvarez landed a few good shots, Trout unloaded some combinations, and just like that it was over, leaving those of us watching feeling like we had been robbed of an appropriate ending to an epic contest.
Alvarez has been a superstar in box office terms for some time now, but this win stamps him legitimate inside the ropes. Trout was a prime contender, ranked second only to Mayweather by the TBRB. Canelo showed championship mettle by out-boxing him over 12 rounds, and was especially impressive on defense. An autumn matchup between Canelo and Floyd would do massive business and crown a true junior middleweight champion of the world. Hopefully the handlers involved are smart enough to seize the opportunity and make the fight happen.
Trout deserved more than he got, but also lost to the better man. He would still be the favorite against almost anyone else in the junior middleweight division, where there is no shortage of talent. Trout doesn’t make for the most exciting fights, but his quality is undeniable. Hopefully a couple more good wins will get him another bite at the apple. Fighting the winner of Erislandy Lara vs Alfredo Angulo wouldn’t be a terrible way to re-establish his contender status.
As for the circumstances of the judging, suffice to say that if one were to list the three most heinous bodies in boxing at the moment, they would be the WBC, the WBA, and the Texas Boxing Commission. The sheer audacity these villainous organizations show at exploiting and mistreating men that fight for a living is shameful. If we ever get anything resembling a federal boxing commission or real boxing legislation, the first step should be to ban officials of all three organizations from the sport for life.
The televised opener saw Stiff Jab favorite Omar “Panterita” Figueroa Jr. (above left) mow down Abner Cotto in just 68 seconds with his trademark body attack. Figueroa’s preferred approach is to walk right at his opponent winging punches with both hands, then switching stances constantly while brawling on the inside. Cotto tried to stand and trade for a moment, and took a couple good shots upstairs for his efforts. But it was the hooks to the body that followed that put him down twice in under a minute.
Figueroa gets amazing leverage on his body punches, and never stops coming once he gets his man backing up. His power has held up as the competition improves, meaning he shows the signs of having truly heavy hands. Cotto found that out the hard way, going down twice on hard left hooks to the gut. He showed no interest in standing the second time, allowing the referee to count him out as Figueroa looked nonchalant about his latest thrilling stoppage.
The lightweight division is well, pretty light at the moment. Top dog Adrien Broner is busy training at Headbangers in D.C. for his June 22nd fight against Paulie Malignaggi in Brooklyn, for which he will move up to welterweight. No one else in the division really sets our hearts afire, though Cuban import Richar Abril is probably the best of the bunch. Someone like Hank Lundy or Baha Mamadjonov would be a logical next step for Figueroa.
Omar’s hell-for-leather style may eventually cost him, but man is it fun to watch until then.