(Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp/SHOWTIME) By Donald Crisp: The mudslingers are abound. Perhaps Dan Ambrose and the usual suspects were disappointed to learn that they are neither prophets nor knowledgeable when it comes to boxing analysis. They predicted a lopsided Austin Trout victory. over WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, and of course, they were wrong. But that’s not the point. To make the point about them would amount to aggrandizing their acuteness., but in all fairness to the naysayers, claims that the judge’s scorecards were exaggerated are reasonable. The fight was indeed closer than the official scorecards let on. But the outcome was correct and we need not go further than the best judge of the match, Austin Trout, to validate that result.
We can spend all the time we want bickering about the fight and how it should have been scored. We can argue about what the division of rounds should have legitimately looked like. But the true and only judge of the fight is the other person that was in the ring: Austin Trout. His words matter most. His words carry the most authority.
Austin Trout’s boxing tonight was impressive. I said in an earlier article that no matter who won, both fighters are world-class fighters. Trout showed that. Trout hit the canvass for the first time in his professional career, but unlike most, he was able to bounce back and dominate the rest of the round. To me, that showed heart, courage, resolve, and will-power. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez showed Trout the respect he deserved. Where most boxers would have tried to go for the kill, Canelo was cognizant of Trout’s ability and remained reserved. The match was a class act on both ends.
Many rounds were tight. They could have gone either way. But when you look at the match as a whole, Canelo did more damage, landed more power shots, knocked Trout down, and managed the pace of the fight. The result was just. Austin summed it up better than we can: “He was the better man; he was quicker, he was stronger, I have no excuses for tonight.”
We can all learn a thing or two from Austin Trout. Austin taught us about humility, about heart, will, effort, perseverance, and acceptance. I would pay any day to see a man like Trout box. He is a class act. Take notes guys; take notes.
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