SHOWDOWN: COTTO VS. TROUT AT THE MECCA OF BOXING
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 30 Nov 2012
?Showdown: Cotto vs. Trout? is a 12-round battle between four-time and three-division world champion Miguel Cotto and WBA superwelterweight world champion Austin Trout on December 1, 2012 at the Madison Square Garden, New York City.
Cotto is from Caguas, Puerto Rico, but he considers New York City his second home, since he was undefeated in nine fights in the Big Apple since 2001. Madison Square Garden, long time considered as the ?Mecca of Boxing,? welcomes one of its favorite boxers on Saturday as he faces the unbeaten titlist from Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA.
?I am really excited to come back to my second home,? said Cotto as told to SHOsports. ?Fighting at The Garden is always special for me and a true pleasure. There is something unique in the atmosphere and it means a lot to me every time I fight there because the energy of the fans gives me extra motivation. Austin Trout will be a challenge for me, but I will win my fifth world championship on December 1.?
?Miguel Cotto needs no introduction,? said Trout as quoted by FightFan. ?He?s a true champion and one of the best fighters of the last 10 years, but I?m the present and future of the sport and this is just the showcase I need to prove to the world that I?m one of the best, pound-for-pound. I can?t wait to fight in such a legendary place like Madison Square Garden; it?s every fighter?s dream.?
Cotto, 37-3 with 30 KO?s, won 16 of the 18 world championships he fought. He held the WBO junior welterweight title, defending it six times then grabbed the WBA welterweight crown. His loss to Antonio Margarito was marred by controversy and later won the WBO welterweight title over Michael Jennings. He lost the title but annexed the WBA superwelterweight title at the New York Yankee Stadium by stopping the previously undefeated Yuri Foreman.
Cotto later defeated Margarito during their rematch. He was given the rare privilege of fighting the top two pound-for-pound fighters of the Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao giving them their toughest battles before he bowed out. Mayweather won via unanimous decision and after the bout he told Cotto, "You are a hell of a champion ? the toughest guy I fought." Pacquiao defeated Cotto but not after skirmishing for more than eleven gruelling rounds.
?No Doubt? Trout, 25-0 with 14 KO?s, was the 2004 United States amateur champion. He later became WBA international, WBA Fedelatin, and WBC Continental Americas super welterweight champion. He won a world championship by defeating Rigoberto Alvarez, Canelo?s older brother, for the WBA interim superwelterweight world championship. He was later elevated to the full champion status.
Cotto was used to fighting welterweights while Trout is a natural junior middleweight. But the crowd in New York will favor the Puerto Rican future Hall of Famer. Trout is a young undefeated champion hungry for international recognition. A win by Cotto will cement his greatness and could bolster the Pacman and Money-like popularity he sought for. A victory by Trout would give him the opportunity for bigger paydays in his budding professional career. Cotto reportedly will receive $ 1 million, while Trout, the champion, will get a meager $ 240,000.
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