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The impressive rise of undefeated American light middleweight champion Austin Trout shows just how Anthony Mundine talks better than he fights.
Let me give you some background on Trout, for those not familiar with the American.
He hails from El Paso, Texas, and has a record of 26 wins from 26 fights, with 14 knockouts. The 27-year-old was the US national welterweight amateur champion and turned pro in 2005.
He claimed the vacant WBA International light middleweight title in 2009, and defeated Rigoberto Alvarez for the vacant WBA world light middleweight title.
Trout is currently ranked as the number two light (junior) middleweight fighter in the world, just behind his next opponent, Saul Alvarez, by the website BoxRec.
Trout’s tale intersects with Mundine back in 2011.
‘The Man’ had defeated former Trout victim Rigoberto Alvarez in Newcastle to win the WBA interim world light middleweight title, and earned a mandatory title shot at the WBA champion, which was Trout.
Negotiations were continuing, and after previously accusing Trout of ducking him, Mundine was confident of taking on the undefeated Yank. At the time he told The Sydney Morning Herald: “Trout is next, and he is a different style of fighter [to Rigoberto Alvarez]. He’s a boxer, he’s a mover and he’s got speed – just like me.”
But that’s about as close as the proposed fight got. Boxing politics, or whatever, supposedly intervened. Mundine and Trout engaged in a war of words, and the former St George Illawarra five-eighth branded the American as a ‘no-name’ with no pulling power.
The Mundine camp didn’t turn up to the WBA’s scheduled purse bid in April 2012, to make the Trout fight a reality, and so the WBA stripped Mundine of his light middleweight belt.
It’s here that Mundine’s career takes a slide and Trout’s goes into overdrive.
Mundine went public about his dream to conquer America and take on greats such as Floyd Mayweather Junior, Miguel Cotto and Saul Alavrez. He would go on to fight and beat the 41-year-old nobody Bronco McKart in Las Vegas in July 2012, making no real impression on the US market.
A month before the Mundine-McKart bout, Trout was demolishing Dominican Delvin Rodriguez in California in a unaminous points decision. Trout’s next opponent was – funnily enough – Miguel Cotto, one of Mundine’s targets and a loser to Mayweather in May 2012.
Trout was the underdog against Cotto, with the Puerto Rican the heavy favourite. But the southpaw showed his class, and his toughness, in front of a hostile crowd and upset Cotto.
He used his jab brilliantly to earn a unaminous points decision, shocking many, and now wants a shot at boxing’s new boy wonder, Alvarez. If Trout can defeat the ginger-haired Mexican, Mayweather is surely next.
So Trout has already knocked off one of Mundine’s dream opponents and is in line to fight another in Alvarez. The New Mexico resident’s career is flying high while Mundine talks, boasts, makes excuses, belittles Daniel Geale and grabs headlines.
Instead of talking a good fight, Trout is actually giving one. No bad for a “no-name” and a “desperate dude”. There is now no comparison between Trout’s pulling power in boxing circles in the US and Mundine’s.
In fact, the contrast between 27-year-old ‘No Doubt’ Trout and 37-year-old ‘The Man’ Mundine is glaring. One is at the end of his career in the ring while the other’s is reaching great heights.
It’s not hard to see why Mundine avoided Trout – he’s young, he’s quick, he has good defence, great footwork, is a lefty and has the world at his feet. His confidence is sky-high and the 10-year age gap between the two is vast.
But ducking him has just made Anthony Mundine’s words about greatness hollow. And Trout’s phenomenal ascension just makes Mundine’s statements and actions even more insignificant.
Follow John on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
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