Trout Angling To Hook A Whopper In Cotto

Published

11 years ago

November 21, 2012

To the less-than-fully-informed boxing fan, “Austin Trout” sounds like something a fisherman has reeled in from a lake in close proximity to Texas’ capital city.

Oh, sure, Austin “No Doubt” Trout has been the holder of the WBA’s “regular” super welterweight championship for nearly two years, and he has a distinctive and easily remembered name, in the manner of, say, former Major League Baseball slugger Darryl Strawberry. But, his bejeweled belt notwithstanding, the 27-year-old southpaw from Las Cruces, N.M., still hasn’t made the breakthrough from intriguing curiosity item to full-fledged star, a situation that could be remedied on Dec. 1, when Trout angles to land one of boxing’s legitimate whoppers, Puerto Rican icon Miguel Cotto.

The Showtime-televised main event in Madison Square Garden marks the eighth appearance in Madison Square Garden (and the 10^th in New York, including one bout each in the Hammerstein Ballroom and Yankee Stadium) for the hugely popular Cotto (37-3, 30 KOs), who will be bidding for his fifth world title. As was noted in the premiere episode of Showtime’s “All Access” presentations that have been airing in advance of the event, Cotto, 32, has actually sold more tickets in boxing’s Mecca than did the great Muhammad Ali in a like number of turns in the Garden.

But venturing into a veritable lion’s den is nothing new for road warrior Trout, who actually believes that fighting before unfriendly audiences gives him something of a mental edge. He has beaten a Panamanian in Panama, a Canadian in Canada, a Mexican in Mexico. He looks forward to stilling the cheers of a pro-Cotto crowd in much the same manner that he did on those other successful excursions onto the other guy’s turf.

“This is not my first time being in a hostile environment,” Trout said of what awaits him at the opening bell, and until such time that he is able to seize control of the bout and thus turn down the crowd volume. “I know how to use it to my advantage. Just another walk in the park.

“My goal is to make the Garden go silent, except for maybe 20 New Mexicans who are coming to cheer for me. The funny thing is, I have a lot of family in New York. Actually, most of my family comes from New York. I have two sets of grandparents who live there (in Brooklyn and in Harlem). So it will be kind of a homecoming for me, although not nearly as big as the one for Cotto. Obviously, there are a bunch of Puerto Ricans living in New York. Those are Cotto’s people.”

Anyone who tuned in to the Oct. 20 rematch between WBA/WBC super lightweight champion Danny “Swift” Garcia and Mexican legend Erik Morales, the first boxing show in Brooklyn’s spanking-new Barclays Center, already knows that Trout at the very least talks a good fight. He was part of the Showtime commentary team for Garcia’s fourth-round knockout victory, along with Mauro Ranallo, Al Bernstein and Joe Cortez. He earned generally high marks for his glibness and the quality of his analysis, suggesting a bright future in the broadcasting business.

Trout is quick to point out that boxing for the most part is a young man’s game, with aging and familiar names eventually obliged to yield to fresh and lesser-known ones, as was the case in Garcia’s pummeling of Morales into likely retirement.

“I told Danny Garcia after his fight that I’m trying to keep that same trend going that he is a part of,” Trout said. “Out with the old and in with the new. I don’t believe Cotto is a shot fighter like Erik Morales. Cotto is still hungry. But, man, I’m starving.

“Miguel Cotto is a warrior who’s never backed away from any challenge, and I’ve always had the utmost respect for him as one of the best representatives of our sport. I am very grateful for the opportunity to fight him. But that said … he messed up. I honestly don’t see how I can lose.

“I just feel that I will be the faster, stronger, taller and better technical fighter on that night. I know he is a very good puncher and a smart fighter with a lot of experience, but he’s also 5’7” with a short reach. I didn’t know he was short as he is until we stood next to each other at the press conference to announce the fight. (Trout is 5’9½”.) I just have to believe the size difference is going to be a factor.”

Trout and his longtime trainer, Louie Burke, have the confidence that might be expected of a collaborative unit that has yet to taste defeat together. They also should have reason to be leery. Although Cotto has more than a few miles on his pugilistic odometer, and admits to imagining the end of an almost certain Hall of Fame career, in his last fight he gave boxing’s finest pound-for-pound practitioner, Floyd Mayweather Jr., one of his tougher tests in dropping a 12-round, unanimous decision at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 5, bloodying “Money’s” lip in the process. A number of boxing experts continue to rate Cotto as one of the top 10 fighters regardless of weight class.

He is, in other words, just the sort of trophy catch Trout needs if he, too, is to attain whopper status.

“I’ve been under the radar,” Trout acknowledged. “This is what Louie and I have been working for, this magnitude of fight. When they asked me if I wanted to fight Cotto, I didn’t believe it. And since we’re fantasizing, I wish I there was some way could fight Sugar Ray Leonard, too. It’s always been a dream of mine to beat up the legends. That’s how you become a legend.”

Trout admits to being just a bit irked when the news leaked that Cotto, provided he got won on Dec. 1, was looking to make his first defense of his newly won title against another young stud, WBC super welter champ Saul “Canelo” Alvarez during Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2013.

If Canelo is hot to fight on that date, Trout reasons, why not against him? After all, he already is 1-0 against the Alvarez family, having captured the vacant WBA 154-pound crown on a unanimous decision over Rigoberto Alvarez in the Alvarezes’ hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico, on Feb. 5, 2011.

“If Cotto and is team are going to overlook me, that’s their problem. They’re going to be unpleasantly surprised,” Trout said. “When next May rolls around, I’m very confident it’s going to be my name that’s in the running to face Canelo, if he chooses to take the fight.

“I remember being in Mexico fighting Rigoberto Alvarez for the WBA title. That’s Canelo’s big brother. In fact, Canelo was in the other corner, biting his nails the whole time.”

Beating Rigoberto Alvarez is not the same as beating Canelo Alvarez, however, just as beating the fighters Trout did in his first three championship defenses – David Lopez, Frank LoPorto and Delvin Rodriguez – isn’t the same as notching a win over someone with as big a rep as Cotto.

“Cotto’s got the name, he’s got the recognition,” Trout said. “I have the title. I got the title so I could get the name and the recognition. I’ve been champion going on two years now, but it seemed like I wasn’t getting those names that I was looking for. But this fight, this is why I wanted to be champion. Used to be, you needed the name to get the title. Now, you got to get the title to get the name.”

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Bernard Fernandez

Ramon Cardenas Channels Micky Ward and KOs Eduardo Ramirez on ProBox

Published

12 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Ramon-Cardenas-Channels-Micky-Ward-and-KOs-Eduardo-Ramirez-on-ProBox

The Wednesday night bi-monthly series of fights on the ProBox TV platform is the best deal in boxing; the livestream is free with no strings attached! Tonight’s episode was headlined by a super bantamweight match between San Antonio’s Ramon Cardenas and Eduardo Ramirez who brought a caravan of rooters from his hometown in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.

Cardenas, coached by Joel Diaz, entered the contest ranked #4 by the WBA. He was expected to handle Ramirez with little difficulty, but this was a close, tactical fight through eight frames when lightning struck in the form of a left hook to the liver from Cardenas. Ramirez went down on one knee and wasn’t able to beat the count. It was as if Cardenas summoned the ghost of Micky Ward who had a penchant for terminating fights with the same punch that arrived out of the blue.

The official time was 1:37 of round nine. Cardenas improved to 25-1 with his14th win inside the distance. Ramirez, who was stopped in the opening round by Nick “Wrecking” Ball in London in his lone previous fight outside Mexico, falls to 23-3-3.

Co-Feature

In an upset, Tijuana super welterweight Damian Sosa won a split decision over previously undefeated Marques Valle, a local area fighter who was stepping up in class in his first 10-round go. Sosa was the aggressor, repeatedly backing his taller opponent into the ropes where Valle was unable to get good leverage behind his punches.

The 25-year-old Valle, managed by the influential David McWater, was the house fighter. This was his 10^th appearance in this building. He brought a 10-0 (7) record and was hoping to emulate the success of his younger brother Dominic Valle who scored a second-round stoppage of his opponent in this ring two weeks ago, improving to 9-0. But Sosa, who brought a 24-2 record, proved to be a bridge too high.

The judges had it 97-93 and 96-94 for the Tijuana invader and a disgraceful 98-92 for the house fighter.

Also

In a fight whose abrupt ending would be echoed by the main event, 34-year-old SoCal featherweight Ronny Rios, now training in Las Vegas, returned to the ring after a 22-month hiatus and scored a fifth-round stoppage over Nicolas Polanco of the Dominican Republic.

A three-punch combo climaxed by a left hook to the liver took the breath out of Polanco who slumped to his knees and was counted out. A two-time world title challenger, Rios advanced to 34-4 (17 KOs). Polanco, 34, declined to 21-6-1. The official time was 0:54 of round five.

—

The next ProBox show (Wednesday, May 8) will have an international cast with fighters from Kazakhstan, Japan, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom. In the main event, Liverpool’s Robbie Davies Jr will make his U.S. debut against the California-based Kazakh Sergey Lipinets.

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Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Haney-Garcia-Redux-with-the-Focus-on-Harvey-Dock

Saturday’s skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.

Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.

The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.

In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.

Stephen A. Smith, reputedly America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.

Harvey Dock

Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jersey’s Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.

A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.

Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.

On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.

Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few “premature stoppages” were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.

With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dock’s Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)

Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

The Haney-Garcia fight wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.

Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.

FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie “Blazing Saddles,” described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.

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In a Shocker, Ryan Garcia Confounds the Experts and Upsets Devin Haney

Published

4 days ago

April 21, 2024

David A. Avila

In-a-Shocker-Ryan-Garcia-Confounds-the-Experts-and-Upsets-Devin-Haney

Its good to be crazy. Like a fox.

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia knocked down WBC super lightweight titlist Devin Haney three times to remind everyone of his fighting abilities in winning by majority decision on Saturday.

“I just knew what I could do,” Garcia said.

Fans will not forget the lanky kid from Victorville, California now.

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) fooled everyone in playing crazy weeks before the fight, then showed shocking power to hand Haney (30-1, 15 KOs) his first loss as a professional at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Haney’s WBC super lightweight title was not at stake for Garcia because he weighed three pounds over the limit.

After Garcia seemingly acting out of control on social media, Haney’s guard must have slipped in the first round during the first few seconds as Garcia connected with that hellish left hook and Haney, with a look of shock in his eyes, almost went down. He barely survived the first round.

“He caught me with it,” said Haney.

During the next few rounds, Haney proceeded to advance toward Garcia seemingly fully aware of the lethal left hook. He used feints and rights to score with a busier approach as Garcia seemed cocked and ready to counter with a left hook.

In the fourth round it seemed Haney was confident he had regained control of the fight, but every time he opened up with more than a two-punch combination Garcia reminded him whose hands were faster and more dangerous.

Though Garcia seldom jabbed he seemed bent on looking for the right moment to unleash his deadly left hook. And every time the Southern California fighter opened up with a combination he scored and Haney dare not exchange.

A few times Haney smiled as if signifying he escaped.

In the seventh round Haney looked to punish Garcia’s body and instead was met with a three-punch combination included a left hook to the chin and down went Haney slumped on the ground. He managed to beat the count and as soon as Garcia came within reach Haney wrapped his arms around him with a python grip. Despite the warnings by referee Harvey Dock, the fallen fighter would not release and Garcia impatiently fired a weak punch during the break. The referee deducted a point from Garcia though he could have deducted a point from Haney for not obeying his instructions to release his hold. Haney actually went down three times in the round but only one was counted by the referee.

From that point on Haney was very cautious but still looking to win by decision.

Though Garcia kept using a shoulder-roll defense that left his body exposed, he would retaliate with three and four punch combinations that usually Haney could defend against other fighters.. But Garcia’s blazing combinations were too fast to defend.

In the 10^th round Haney looked to attack and was countered by Garcia’s right and a blinding left hook to the chin and another two blows that sent the former undisputed lightweight champion to the floor again.

It didn’t look good for Haney to survive.

Garcia walked into the 11^th round still composed and never out-of-control He dared Haney to exchange and when within striking distance Garcia unleashed another lightning combination and down went Haney again with a defeated look.

Both fighters had fought each other as amateurs six times so there were no surprises between them. But Garcia’s power and speed were superior and that was the difference in a professional fight.

In the final round both were cautious with Garcia’s combination punching proving too dangerous for Haney to open up. Garcia celebrated early as the round ended confident of victory.

After 12 rounds Garcia was seen the victor by majority decision 112-112, 114-110, 115-109.

“You really thought I was crazy,” Garcia told the interviewer and the crowd. “You guys hated on me.”

Other Bouts

Arnold Barboza (30-0) won a curious split decision victory over United Kingdom’s Sean McComb (18-2) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. McComb’s long reach and busy southpaw style gave Barboza trouble. But he managed to win the fight though the crowd was not pleased.

Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) defeated France’s Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1) by technical decision after eight rounds due to a cut on his eye from an accidental head butt. It was a very competitive super middleweight fight.

Costa Rica’s David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked John “Scrappy Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round scrap to upset the Los Angeles based fighter. After a few close rounds Jimenez simply bullied his way inside and forced Ramirez against the ropes and unloaded his guns.

After 12 rounds two judges saw it 117-111 and 116-114 all for Jimenez.

“I’m a hard-working man from Cartago I come from nothing,” said Jimenez. “My corner told me I had to work inside.”

Charles Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) stepped on the gas early with vicious body shots and uppercuts and blasted through the resilient Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs) for several rounds. After a brutal fifth and sixth round the referee halted the one-side beating in favor of Conwell who was fighting for the first time under the Golden Boy banner.

Another winner was Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5) by decision over Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1) in a super middleweight match.

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