Trout Out-Boxed Cotto Better Than Mayweather Did

Published

12 years ago

December 3, 2012

Lee Wylie

Saturday night, in what was one of the biggest upsets of 2012, Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto {37-4 with 30 Kos} tasted defeat at Madison Square Garden for the first time in his boxing career after being out slicked and outpointed by unbeaten American Austin Trout {26-0 with 14 Kos}.

To say Miguel Cotto lost this fight because he grew old overnight would be criminal. Austin Trout defeated Miguel Cotto because of strategy and technique. Let me ask– was there any mention of physical decline regarding Miguel Cotto prior to the fight? As a matter of fact, most of the talk heading in was that the untested Austin Trout may indeed be in well over his head, so much so that many were already contemplating and plotting Miguel Cotto’s next opponent.

To blame Cotto’s defeat on anything other than a superb show of boxing skill really does take away from a masterful display by Austin Trout. For that reason, I’m going to highlight some of the techniques that Austin Trout performed brilliantly in defeating Miguel Cotto.

While I thought Austin Trout won this fight based on a superior set of skills and a better game plan, his physical attributes must be addressed.

Miguel Cotto vs Austin Trout

Notice the difference in height between Austin Trout and Miguel Cotto. It’s not often you see a height differential like this outside of watching the Klitschko brothers feast on smaller heavyweights.

At 5’10’’ and with a 73’’ reach, Austin Trout was at a huge physical advantage over Miguel Cotto, who at 5’ 7’’ with only a 67’’ reach, was always going to have to try and get inside on his larger opponent. It mustn’t be forgotten that not too long ago, Miguel Cotto was competing at 140 pounds. Cotto has moved into the junior middleweight division with age. During his physical prime, he was either a natural junior welterweight or a natural welterweight. On the other hand, Austin Trout is a natural junior middleweight, with wide shoulders and a wide back, who’s fought in the division all his life. Because he’s still only 27 years-old, it’s not inconceivable to think that he could one day fight as a middleweight. Add to this the fact that Cotto fights small –hunched over on his lead foot- then he really was up against it physically. However, Trout’s size would have counted for nothing if he didn’t know how to put it to good use.

Left hand to the stomach

Right from the opening bell, Austin Trout began working behind his southpaw jab, as well as throwing a straight left hand into the pit of Miguel Cotto’s stomach. First, Trout would be on his back foot, looking to maintain the distance using his jab. As Cotto came forward looking to get inside, Trout would first occupy him with either a feint or a right hand, before dropping low and firing his straight left hand.

Miguel Cotto vs Austin Trout

Cotto is standing flat footed inside his usual high guard. Notice how Trout first occupies Cotto with his right jab before dropping low and landing his straight left hand between Cotto’s elbows. It was never Trout’s intention to land his right jab, only to take the eye away from the real attack.

Again, Cotto is standing in his usual high guard. Trout throws his right jab up top to first occupy Cotto, before dropping low and landing his straight left hand.

Here’s Cotto in his high guard again. Trout taps Cotto’s gloves with a right jab to keep Cotto’s guard high and tight. With Cotto still peeking out behind his high gloves, Trout drops low and fires another left hand into Cotto’s stomach. This time, Trout has changed the arc of the shot. Instead of it coming in straight, he swept it around. Trout continued to make little adjustments to his offense throughout the fight.

Here’s one last look at that left hand to the stomach

Cotto contiuned to peek out from behind a very high guard, and Trout continued to take advantage. Again, Trout dropped low and swept his left hand between Cotto’s elbows and deep into his stomach.

The importance of Trout’s left hand to the stomach cannot be over stressed. For me, this was the key to Trout’s success. The straight left hand to Cotto’s body did two things.

It wore Cotto down and sapped his stamina. Cotto seemed to fade towards the final stretch. Trout’s left hand to the stomach was the reason why.
Because Trout set an early attack pattern of going low, once he began to bring his attack back upstairs, Cotto wasn’t ready for it. This is something Floyd Mayweather does extremely well. Although they may not be aware of it, an opponent will usually make slight adjustments to their stance or guard in order to compensate for a low body attack. Once they do, it makes it easier to for an opponent to land an attack back up top and more difficult for the recipient of the attack to read it

The uppercut

As the fight progressed and Cotto began to slow down some, Trout started to throw well-timed uppercuts through Cotto’s guard.

Miguel Cotto vs Austin Trout

Trout used the same method of attack as before. First, Trout occupied Cotto with a right jab, before threading his left uppercut through the center. Cotto’s high guard leaves him vulnerable to uppercuts. This tactical adjustment was an astute observation from Trout.

Here’s another variation of Trout’s uppercut. Cotto’s in his high guard. This time, Trout occupies Cotto with a lead left hand. Just as Trout’s left hand is extended, he comes back with a right uppercut/shovel hook {the angle is slightly different, but what’s important is that it’s still coming from underneath} before dropping his left hook into Cotto’s stomach. At this stage in the fight, Trout’s attack variety was outstanding.

This next sequence captures Austin Trout’s punch variation perfectly.

Here, Trout lands a left uppercut before bringing the same arm back and landing a left hook. Mike Tyson was famous for landing the hook to the body followed by an uppercut through the center, but this is an even tougher combination to pull off. Sure, Cotto’s high guard gives him more time, but this type of attack still requires a lot of hand speed and precision.

Although Trout began to land with some pretty unconventional combinations {on display above} the technique involved in the simple things he did was also noteworthy.

Screen shot 2012-12-03 at 12.18.07 PM

Notice Trout’s left glove as he’s threading his jab through Cotto’s high guard. If Cotto tries to counter with a right hand, Trout’s left glove is in position to block it. Also, notice how Trout is moving to his right to gain an outside angle for his straight left hand. As both men release their shots at the same time, Trout’s straight left hand finds the target whereas Cotto’s left jab sails wide.

Defense

It wasn’t just offensively where Austin Trout shone Saturday night. He also did an excellent job on defense. Miguel Cotto is a converted southpaw in that his power hand is actually his left hand but he chooses to lead with it out of an orthodox stance. Therefore, Cotto’s primary offensive weapon is his left hand and in particular, his left hook the head and body. For the most part, Austin Trout did a terrific job of eliminating Cotto’s left hook threat.

Miguel Cotto vs Austin Trout

Here, Trout is on his back foot while Cotto is looking to close the distance and land his left hook. As Cotto throws his left, Trout catches him on the way in with a right hook before reversing his direction and retreating. This tactic was a favorite of another slick southpaw, Pernell Whitaker.

Screen shot 2012-12-03 at 12.20.45 PM

Here, Trout uses his right hand to gauge the distance between himself and Cotto. As Cotto tries to land a left hook, Trout simply takes a step back and allows Cotto’s left hook to fall short. Cotto was well out of range, but because Trout was touching him, he felt that Trout was hittable. This is a tactic often used by Wladimir Klitschko.

As I mentioned earlier, Cotto is a converted southpaw. Because his lead hand is his power hand, he seldom uses his non dominant hand -his right- and if he does, he’s not all that effective with it. As almost anyone with an incline of boxing knowledge will tell you, the best weapon against the southpaw is the straight right hand. This hurt Cotto a lot Saturday night.

Screen shot 2012-12-03 at 12.21.58 PM

This is an excellent sequence highlighting a few things. First, notice Cotto’s body shape as he’s firing the jab. He’s standing upright and his head is central. By contrast, Trout is dipping low and has taken his head away from the center line and to the outside of Cotto’s jab. As Trout lands his straight left and Cotto’s jab misses the target, take a look at what Trout does next. He rolls under and out to the right of Cotto. This is a stroke of tactical genius against a converted southpaw. Usually, a southpaw will move to his right, away from an orthodox fighter’s right hand. Here, Trout is moving to his left, away from Cotto’s power left. Throughout the fight, Trout spent a lot of time moving to his left to avoid Cotto’s left hand.

In this sequence, Trout is occupying Cotto with his right hand before gaining a dominant angle yet again for his straight left hand. As Cotto is throwing his jab, Trout manages to get his lead foot on the outside of Cotto’s lead foot and fires a straight left hand. Because Trout has the outside position, his straight left lands whereas Cotto’s jab missed the target. After connecting, Trout rolls under and out towards Cotto’s right. Even though Cotto throws a right hand as Trout is rolling under, Trout knows that there’s less danger present by exiting towards Cotto’s right instead of his left. Manny Pacquiao also had a lot of success against Cotto by employing this tactic.

All in all, I thought this was a remarkable display from Austin Trout. Sure, Miguel Cotto had his moments, namely when he landed a left hook that seemed to wobble Trout momentarily and also there were a few occasions during the fight when he managed to pin Trout up on the ropes and get in a few good shots, but for me, this was Austin Trout’s night. Even when Trout was up on the ropes, he did a good job of rolling and slipping Cotto’s shots.

From where I was looking, the biggest problem Cotto was faced with was he needs to set himself and plant his feet in order to let his shots go. Yes, Cotto does plenty of bouncing around between punches, but he struggles to let his hands go unless his opponent is either pinned up on the ropes or is right in front of him. Most of the time, Cotto’s weight is over on his front foot. Because of this, should a fighter move off quickly, Cotto struggles to get off.

Needless to say, because Trout was always backing up and moving side to side, Cotto found it tough to get set, and in turn, get off. When Cotto did manage to close the distance and was just about to throw, Trout would either feint him into covering up or occupy him with the jab before landing some shots of his own, or he would simply move off to a different angle. Either way, Trout prevented Cotto from landing with any regularity.

Miguel Cotto has been beaten before. But I’ve never seen him out slicked like this. Not even Floyd Mayweather managed to out box Miguel Cotto the way Austin Trout did Saturday night. And that’s saying something.

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Lee Wylie

Women’s Prizefighting Year End Review: The Best of the Best in 2024

Published

11 hours ago

December 24, 2024

David A. Avila

Women’s Prizefighting Year End Review: The Best of the Best in 2024

It’s the end of the year.

Here are our awards for the best in women’s boxing. But first, a rundown on the state of the sport.

Maybe its my imagination but it seems that fewer female fights of magnitude took place in 2024 than in previous years.

A few promoters like 360 Promotions increased their involvement in women’s boxing while others such as Matchroom Boxing and Golden Boy Promotions seem stagnant. They are still staging female bouts but are not signing new additions.

American-based promotion company Top Rank, actually lost 50 percent of their female fighter roster when Seniesa Estrada, the undisputed minimumweight champion, retired recently. They still have Mikaela Mayer.

A promotion company making headlines and creating sparks in the boxing world is Most Valuable Promotions led by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian. They signed Amanda Serrano and have invested in staging other female fights

This year, the top streaming company Netflix gambled on sponsoring Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson, along with Amanda Serrano versus Katie Taylor and hit a monster home run. According to Netflix metrics an estimated 74 million viewers watched the event that took place on Nov. 16 at Arlington, Texas.

“Breaking records like this is exactly what MVP was built to do – bring the biggest, most electrifying events to fans worldwide,” said Nakisa Bidarian co-founder of MVP.

History was made in viewership and at the gate where more than 70,000 fans packed AT&T Stadium for a record-setting $17.8 million in ticket sales outside of Las Vegas. It was the grand finale moment of the year.

Here are the major contributors to women’s boxing in 2024.

Fighter of the Year: Amanda Serrano

Other candidates: Katie Taylor, Claressa Shields, Franchon Crews, Dina Thorslund, and Yesica Nery Plata.

Amanda Serrano was chosen for not only taking part in the most viewed female title fight in history, but also for willingly sacrificing the health of her eye after suffering a massive cut during her brutal war with Taylor. She could have quit, walked away with tons of money and be given the technical decision after four rounds. She was ahead on the scorecards at that moment.

Instead, Serrano took more punches, more head butts and slugged her way through 10 magnificent and brilliant rounds against the great Taylor. Fans worldwide were captivated by their performance. Many women who had never watched a female fight were mesmerized and inspired.

Serrano once again proved that she would die in the ring rather than quit. Women and men were awed by her performance and grit. It was a moment blazed in the memories of millions.

Amanda Serrano is the Fighter of the Year.

Best Fight of the Year – Amanda Serrano versus Katie Taylor 2

Their first fight that took place two years ago in Madison Square Garden was the greatest female fight I had ever witnessed. The second fight surpassed it.

When you have two of the best warriors in the world willing to showcase their talent for entertainment regardless of the outcome, it’s like rubbing two sticks of dynamite together.

Serrano jumped on Taylor immediately and for about 20 seconds it looked like the Irish fighter would not make the end of the first round. Not quite. Taylor rallied behind her stubborn determination and pulled out every tool in her possession: elbows, head butts, low blows, whatever was needed to survive, Taylor used.

It reminded me of an old world title fight in 2005 between Jose Luis Castillo a master of fighting dirty and Julio Diaz. I asked about the dirty tactics by Castillo and Diaz simply said, “It’s a fight. It’s not chess. You do what you have to do.”

Taylor did what she had to do to win and the world saw a magnificent fight.

Other candidates: Seniesa Estrada versus Yokasta Valle, Mikaela Mayer versus Sandy Ryan, and Ginny Fuchs vs Adelaida Ruiz.

KO of the Year – Lauren Price KO3 Bexcy Mateus.

Dec. 14, in Liverpool, England.

The IBO welterweight titlist lowered the boom on Bexcy Mateus sending her to the floor thrice. She ended the fight with a one-two combination that left Mateus frozen while standing along the ropes. Another left cross rocket blasted her to the ground. Devastating.

Other candidates: Claressa Shields KO of Vanessa LePage-Joanisse, Gabriela Fundora KO of Gabriela Alaniz, Dina Thorslund vs Mary Romero, Amanda Serrano KO of Stevie Morgan.

Pro’s Pro Award – Jessica Camara

Jessica Camara defeated Hyun Mi Choi in South Korea to win the WBA gold title on April 27, 2024. The match took place in Suwon where Canada’s Camara defeated Choi by split decision after 10 rounds.

Camara, who is managed by Brian Cohen, has fought numerous champions including Kali Reis, Heather Hardy and Melissa St. Vil. She has become a pro fighter that you know will be involved in a good and entertaining fight and is always in search of elite competition. She eagerly accepted the fight in South Korea against Choi. Few fighters are willing to do that.

Next up for Camara is WBC titlist Caroline Dubois set for Jan. 11, in Sheffield, England.

Electric Fighters Club

These are women who never fail to provide excitement and drama when they step in the prize ring. When you only have two-minute rounds there’s no time to run around the boxing ring.

Here are some of the fighters that take advantage of every second and they do it with skill:

Gabriela Fundora, Mizuki Hiruta, Ellie Scotney, Lauren Price, Clara Lescurat, Adelaida Ruiz, Ginny Fuchs, Mikaela Mayer, Yokasta Valle, Sandy Ryan, Chantelle Cameron, Ebanie Bridges, Tsunami Tenkai, Dina Thorslund, Evelin Bermudez, Gabriela Alaniz, Caroline Dubois, Beatriz Ferreira, and LeAnna Cruz.

Claressa Shields Movie and More

A motion picture based on Claressa Shields titled “The Fire Inside” debuts on Wednesday, Dec. 25, nationwide. Most boxing fans know that Shields has world titles in various weight divisions. But they don’t know about her childhood and how she rose to fame.

Also, Shields (15-0, 3 KOs) will be fighting Danielle Perkins (5-0, 2 KOs) for the undisputed heavyweight world championship on Sunday Feb. 2, at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. DAZN will stream the Salita Promotions fight card.

“Claressa Shields is shining a spotlight on Flint – first on the big screen and then in the ring on Sunday, February 2,” said event promoter Dmitriy Salita, president of Salita Promotions. “Claressa leads by example. She is a trailblazer and has been an advocate for equality since she was a young lady. This event promises to be one of the most significant sporting and cultural events of the year. You don’t want to miss it, either live, in person or live on DAZN.”

Shields is only 29 years old and turns 30 next March. What more can she accomplish?

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Lucas Bahdi Forged the TSS 2024 Knockout of the Year

Published

1 day ago

December 23, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Lucas-Bahdi-Forged-he-RSS-2024-Knockout-of-the-Year

A Knockout of the Year doesn’t have to be a one-punch knockout, but it must arrive with the suddenness of a thunderclap on a clear day and the punch or punches must be so harsh as to obviate the need for a “10-count.” And, if rendered by an underdog, that makes the KO resonate more loudly.

Within these parameters, Lucas Bahdi’s knockout of Ashton “H2O” Sylva still jumped off the page. The thunderclap happened on July 20 in Tampa, Florida, on a show promoted by Jake Paul with Paul and the great Amanda Serrano sharing the bill against soft opponents in the featured bouts.

The 30-year-old Bahdi (16-0, 14 KOs) and the 20-year-old Sylva (11-0, 9 KOs) were both undefeated, but Bahdi was accorded scant chance of defeating Jake Paul’s house fighter.

Sylva was 18 years old and had seven pro fights under his belt, winning all inside the distance, when he signed with Paul’s company, Most Valuable Promotions, in 2022. “We believe that Ashton has that talent, that flashiness, that style, that knockout power, that charisma to really be a massive, massive, superstar…” said the “Problem Child” when announcing that Sylva had signed with his company.

Jake Paul was so confident that his protege would accomplish big things that he matched Sylva with Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield. Currently 18-0 and ranked #2 by the WBA, Schofield was further along than Sylva in the pantheon of hot lightweight prospects. But Schofield backed out, alleging an injury, opening the door to a substitute.

Enter Lucas Bahdi who despite his eye-catching record was a virtual unknown. This would be his first outing on U.S. soil. All of his previous bouts were staged in Mexico or in Canada, mostly in his native Ontario province. “My opponent may have changed,” said Sylva who hails from Long Beach, California, “but the result will be the same, I will get the W and continue my path to greatness.”

The first five rounds were all Sylva. The Canadian had no antidote for Sylva’s speed and quickness. He was outclassed.

Then, in round six, it all came unglued for the precocious California. Out of the blue, Bahdi stiffened him with a hard right hand. Another right quickly followed, knocking Sylva unconscious. A third punch, a sweeping left, was superfluous. Jake Paul’s phenom was already out cold.

Sylva landed face-first on the canvas. He lay still as his handlers and medics rushed to his aid. It was scarifying. “May God restore him,” said ring announcer Joe Martinez as he was being stretchered out of the ring.

The good news is that Ashton “H2O” Silva will be able to resume his career. He is expected back in the ring as early as February. As for Lucas Bahdi, architect of the Knockout of the Year, he has added one more win to his ledger, winning a 10-round decision on the undercard of the Paul vs Tyson spectacle, and we will presumably be hearing a lot more about him.

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Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Published

3 days ago

December 21, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.

The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds – the next five to some observers – were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.

Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.

The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.

An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.

Moses Itauma

Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another “wow” performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.

His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.

Photo (c): Mark Robinson

Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10^th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.

Bohachuk-Davis

In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.

Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.

Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.

Fisher-Allen

In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.

Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.

In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.

He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Other Bouts of Note

In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotland’s Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.

A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.

In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.

McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.

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