Ex-Canelo Alvarez foe Austin Trout weighs in on Terence Crawford’s chances
Former opponent of Canelo Alvarez, Austin Trout, previews the upcoming big fight in Las Vegas against Terence Crawford.
BKFC champ Austin Trout understands more than most what Canelo Alvarez is capable of in the boxing ring.
In April 2013, Trout fought Canelo for the WBC super welterweight title. Although Canelo walked away the winner after a 12-round unanimous decision (118-109, 115-112, 116-111), Trout went toe-to-toe with one of the best boxers ever, which is something not many can say.
That experience allows Trout to offer a unique perspective on the upcoming megafight between Canelo and Terence Crawford, which takes place Saturday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (Netflix). Trout believes the fight will come down to the smallest of margins.
“I think it’s going to be a good fight, at least for a while,” Trout told MMA Junkie Radio. “I think Crawford is stronger than we are giving him credit for. Remember, that man is a wrestler. I have seen him manhandle heavyweight wrestlers before. Styles make fights and Crawford has a style to give Canelo problems.
“Canelo is just an amazing fighter all around, has great experience fighting all kinds of different fighters, and success in all the different styles. I think he will make his adjustments. It’s just really gonna see if Crawford is gonna be able to adjust to the adjustments.”
The size difference has been a key talking point, as Crawford is coming up two weight classes to fight Canelo. Trout understands why it’s such a prominent angle, but believes Crawford could have been fighting at a higher weight all along, while Canelo is not a massive guy for 168 pounds.
“Canelo, naturally, he’s not – his frame, his height, he’s not that big,” Trout said. “Crawford’s frame naturally, he’s much bigger than a 130-pounder really is, so we’ll see who put on the weight the right way.”
Over the years since their showdown, Trout has watched Canelo learn and grow as a fighter. He believes the version of Canelo we see today is a much more complete fighter than the fighter who stepped through the ropes against him and Floyd Mayweather right after. It’s that constant growth that could be a game-changer on Saturday against Crawford. However, at some point, Trout knows all of the wars will catch up.
“He learned a lot from those losses to Floyd and (Dmitrii) Bivol, and you can tell he tried to make sure his game became a little more bulletproof so something like that wouldn’t happen again,” Trout said. “At the same time, too, wear and tear may have taken a toll on his body as well. He may not be as fresh as he was at 23, but he doesn’t seem to show much sign of slowing down.”
Size, speed, technique, will and heart will all be key factors into determining the victor in Las Vegas. In some fights, those traits prevail early, which could indicate which fighter will continue to have success throughout the fight. In this case, Trout doesn’t believe that will be the case.
“I don’t think we’re gonna know what’s gonna happen until about the sixth, seventh round,” Trout said. “It might come all the way down to the ninth or tenth round that we can see the clear winner or not. I think this is going to be a close fight. I think it’s going to be hard to tell until we get to the later rounds. That’s where we’re going to know if Crawford is strong enough, or if Canelo is too strong.”
Trout, who won the BKFC welterweight title in his debut last February, is eyeing a return to action in December in a rematch against Luis Palomino.
