The theme of Brooklyn heritage runs deep in Saturday’s boxing card at Barclays Center. Zab Judah and Paulie Malignaggi, who will meet in the main event, were both born and honed their boxing skills in Brooklyn. But it’s Austin Trout who might carry the most emotional connection to the borough when he enters the ring to regain the WBA junior middleweight title.
Trout was born in Texas and raised in Las Cruces, N.M., but his grandmother Wilhelmina Ann Johnson was a native of Brooklyn, as was Trout’s mother and a host of other relatives. He would visit the borough, often spending as much time as he could with the grandmother he cherished.
When Trout lost his WBA junior middleweight title to Canelo Alvarez last April before 40,000 in San Antonio, Trout’s grandmother was in a coma after suffering a heart attack. But a month later and following some difficult rehabilitation, she was back on her feet. Her goal was to attend her grandson’s wedding in May in New Mexico.
“She told my mother if she didn’t make it to the wedding she would have never forgiven herself,” Trout told The Post. “She watched me say my vows and then she walked back and died in the bathroom. The fighter that she was, she made it to the place that she wanted to be. It was the utmost honor to me that her last dying wish was to make it to my wedding.” Wilhelmia Johnson was 69.
Trout (26-1, 14 KOs) doesn’t think it’s a coincidence his first fight since the passing of his grandmother is in Brooklyn, where he’ll meet Erislandy Lara (18-1-2, 12 KOs) of Cuba for the title Alvarez vacated to fight Floyd Mayweather in September.
“Losing my grandmother made the loss to Canelo look like nothing,” Trout said. “I was very close to my grandmother. To come back to her hometown for my next fight where she was born and raised to get my belt back, I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Trout’s matchup with Lara is one of four bouts that will be televised on Showtime beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
In addition to the battle for Brooklyn between Judah and Malignaggi, Devon Alexander (25-1, 14 KOs) of St. Louis defends his IBF welterweight title against Shawn Porter (22-0-1, 14 KOs) of Akron, Ohio, and Anthony Dirrell (26-0, 22 KOs) of Flint, Mich., challenges Sakio Bika (32-5-1, 21 KOs) of Sydney, Australia, for his WBC super middleweight belt. Former Olympians Sadam Ali of Brooklyn (17-0, 10 KO’s) and Marcus Browne of Staten Island (7-0, 6 KO’s) are also on the card in separate bouts.
Trout plans on drawing inspiration from his grandmother in more ways than one. “Wilhelmenia means guardian and I feel like she’s in a better position now to guard over me,” he said. “It’s gold to feel good to know that she’s watching.”
Meanwhile, Malignaggi (32-5, 7 KOs) doesn’t think his friendship with Judah (42-8, 29 KOs) will affect the fight.
“When the bell rings, all I’m looking at is a body,” he said. “I don’t see a name or person, all I see is a body and I have to perform against that body.”
Judah’s take: “This isn’t a game for me. People keep saying this fight is friendly but at the end of the day these are the old Roman days. Only thing different is I can’t behead him, so I’m going to knock him out.”
HBO will televise a triple-header from Atlantic City Saturday night beginning at 9:45 p.m. In the main event, Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KOs) of Cuba defends his super bantamweight titles again Ghana native Joseph Agbeko (29-4, 22 KOs).
James Kirkland of Austin, Texas, ends a two-year lay-off by taking on Glen Tapia of Passaic, N.J. (20-0, 12 KOs), and Matthew Macklin of England (29-5, 20 KOs) challenges Lamar Russ (14-0, 7 KOs) of Wilmington, N.C.