Austin Trout knows if he is going to defeat Miguel Cotto Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, he has to take the fight to the Puerto Rican superstar.
“I know I’m going to have to put a lot of leather on him in order to get a decision win in Madison Square Garden,” Trout said recently, “so a totally defensive fight is not going to necessarily be the key to victory for me.”
Trout (25-0, 14 KOs), of Las Cruces, N.M., defends his WBA junior middleweight championship against Cotto, who is seeking to regain the belt he first won with a victory over Yuri Foreman at Yankee Stadium in 2010. That was one of nine fights Cotto (37-3, 30 KOs) has had in New York, making him the top ticket seller for boxing in the city’s history.
“I’m just happy to be here again,” said Cotto, whose last Garden fight a year ago resulted in an emotional victory over hated rival Antonio Margarito. “People here have supported my whole career, and I know [tonight] is going to be the same: a lot of people there shouting for me, being there to watch an entertaining fight. I’m ready.”
Trout said he isn’t concerned about the crowd. In building his career, he fought amid hostile crowds in Mexico, Panama and Canada. He feels a bond with New York. His mother was born in Brooklyn and he has returned often to visit his grandmother.
“If practice makes perfect, this is not my first time doing it, so I feel like I’ll be pretty comfortable being in the hostile territory,” Trout said. “Really the crowd can only do one thing, and that’s make noise. They can’t help him get up. They can’t help him punch harder. They can’t help him punch faster.
“I’m expecting and I’m preparing for Miguel to be at his absolute best anyway, so it’s not like they can make him better than his best. And I’ve done all the preparation now, and really the only thing I’m focused on is Miguel Cotto in that ring.”
Trained by former super featherweight contender Louie Burke, Trout is a southpaw boxer-puncher, whose style might prove a bit awkward for Cotto, 32, to solve. Trout, 27, works behind a stiff right jab that scores points and keeps his opponent off-balance.
“I’m going to have to keep him away from me, and there’s no better measuring stick than the jab and I have a pretty good jab,” Trout said. “So using the jab is definitely going to be a key. Just as he has a good jab and he’s going to try and use it, I’m going to have to use my jab as well.”
Two southpaws, Carlos Quintana and Zab Judah, gave Cotto problems before he rallied to win their fights. Cotto said he doesn’t expect solving Trout to be much of a problem.
“I’m not giving up any details,” Cotto said. “But I can tell you that it has been carefully planned over weeks of training. The Miguel Cotto that you are going to see is probably the best Cotto you’ve ever seen.”
PREDICTION: Cotto will lose rounds early trying to solve Trout’s southpaw style. Cotto will have to be aggressive and make his body punching become a factor late. If Trout can survive, he can win on points. Trout by split decision.
Showtime will televise the bout. The undercard features Salvador Sanchez II (30-4-3, 18 KOs) of Mexico fighting Jayson Velez (19-0, 14 KOs) of Puerto Rico for the vacant WBC Silver featherweight title, and Brooklyn middleweight Danny Jacobs (23-1, 20 KOs) takes on Chris Fitzpatrick (15-2, 6 KOs) in an eight-round bout. Tickets from $500 to $50 remain available.