Trout hands Cotto first loss at Madison Square Garden
- Austin Trout (26-0-14 KOs) retained his WBA super welterweight belt
- Miguel Cotto lost at Madison Square Garden for the first time in eight fights
- Trout eyes Canelo Alvarez for next fight
All good things must end, they say, and so it was for Miguel Cotto Saturday night.
On a night when there was a memorial 10-count for late Puerto Rican fighter Hector "Macho" Camacho, his countryman Cotto's perfect 7-0 record at Madison Square Garden ended. Austin "No Doubt" Trout remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision before a raucous pro-Cotto crowd of 13,096.
There certainly was no doubt in the scoring of the judges, as Adelaide Byrd scored it 119-109 for Trout, and Steve Weisfeld and John Poturaj had it 117-111 in a fight that seemed more evenly matched than that.
Trout (26-0-14 KOs) retained his WBA super welterweight belt and said afterward he would like to fight undefeated WBC champion Canelo Alvarez, who watched the fight from ringside.
Camacho was buried in the Bronx Saturday morning, and the heavily Puerto Rican crowd was behind Cotto. And while Cotto put up a good fight against Trout, the champion was just too strong, especially during the later rounds.
Trout started strong, winning the first couple rounds before Cotto found his range and began doing what he does so well, pounding Trout's body but never seeming to hurt the champion.
Then Trout came back strong in the later rounds and took the fight to Cotto, showing that he was more than a slick-boxing defensive fighter as he has shown in past fights. He easily outlanded Cotto, according to CompuBox.
Asked if he was upset by the scoring, Cotto, who has a rematch clause in his contract, said, "If I agree or not, that was the decision."
The 32-year-old (37-4 30 KOs) said he would "probably" fight again.
"I'm going to take the winter to rest and think," Cotto said. "I'm not finished. Boxing is still on my mind."
Cotto was impressed by his younger opponent. "He knew how to move in the ring. His shoulder kept catching my hooks. He's talented," Cotto said about Trout.
Trout: who outlanded Cotto in power punches (192-154) and overall punches (238-193), said he was proud to defeat the four-time, three-division champion.
"Miguel Cotto is a great champion, a great fighter, and I'm honored to be in the ring with him. and it's an even greater honor to beat the man who's been so great in New York.
"To have my hand raised with a kingpin like Miguel Cotto is a dream come true."
Trout said he had to take the fight to Cotto because the former champion made him. "I felt like I was the bigger man and I wanted to prove that and push him back," he said. "To be honest, I had to do what I had to do. He wouldn't let me box him, so I had to push back."
Trout said he would like a shot at Alvarez.
"It's time to unify this division. There's a lot of good fighters and a lot of champions and I want to be the best," the 27-year-old Trout said.
Undercard: Jayson Velez, 24, of Puerto Rico remained undefeated when he knocked out Salvador Sanchez II, nephew of the great Mexican fighter Salvador Sanchez, in the third round.
Velez (20-0, 15 KOs) ) knocked Sanchez down once in the second round and again in the third before landing a combination against the dazed Sanchez, before referee Harvey Dock stopped it 38 seconds into the round.
Sanchez came out wearing the robe and trunks his uncle wore 30 years ago when he fought at Madison Square Garden and won a 15-round slugfest against undefeated. Azumah Nelson for the featherweight title. It would be his last fight. Three weeks later, on August 12, 1982, Sanchez was killed when his white Porsche was hit head-on by a truck as he tried to pass another car.
Sanchez II (30-5-3) looked nothing like his uncle. He was outlanded by Velez in both power punches (65-6) and total punches, 81-11.
"It's an exciting moment. I have been working so hard for this moment. I feel very happy," Velez said. "I said I was not fighting against the uniform."