 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 1, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA (Regular) super welterweight title | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trout wins via 12–round unanimous decision (119–109, 117–111, 117–111) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Miguel Cotto vs. Austin Trout , billed as Showdown, was a professional boxing match contested on December 1, 2012 for the WBA (Regular) super welterweight title. [1]
After losing the "super" version of the WBA super welterweight title to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May 2012, Miguel Cotto announced his return to the ring at the beginning of September to challenge Austin Trout, the holder of the "regular" WBA super welterweight title, on 1 December at Madison Square Garden, in what would be his eighth fight at the venue where he was a perfect 7–0. Before settling on Trout, Cotto and his camp had discussions with Manny Pacquiao about a rematch of their 2009 fight, but the two sides could not agree on what weight the fight would be held at and Cotto instead pivoted to Trout. [2]
The featured undercard bout was originally scheduled to feature reigning IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib defending his crown against undefeated prospect Jayson Vélez, who was promoted by Cotto. However, the fight was cancelled when Dib's promoter, rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, had a falling out with Mayweather Jr., who was then co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, who were also co-promoting the Cotto–Trout fight. As a result of the rift between Mayweather and 50 Cent, Golden Boy Promotions and Mayweather's manager Al Haymon allegedly pressured Showtime to drop Dib from the card. Showtime relented and Dib was subsequently replaced with Salvador Sánchez II. [3]
Prior to the televised event, a memorial 10-count was held for Puerto Rican boxing legend Héctor Camacho. Camacho, who had been raised in New York City, had been shot and killed in his native Puerto Rico roughly a week before on November 24, 2012. [4]
Trout was ranked as the 7th best Light middleweight by TBRB with Cotto ranked 2nd.
Despite entering the fight as an underdog and Cotto's perceived home advantage, Trout cruised to a lopsided unanimous decision winning all but one round on one official scorecard (119–109), while taking the other two scorecards 117–111 (nine rounds to three). Trout got off to a good start, wobbling Cotto with a left in the first round and winning the first two rounds decisively. Cotto performed better in the third and took three of the next four rounds on two of the judge's scorecards, but Trout regained control in the seventh and won every round but one on the scorecards thereafter to take the victory. [5]
Using his height and reach advantage, Trout kept Cotto at bay for most of the fight and landed more jabs (46 to 29), power punches (192 to 154) and overall punches (238 to 183). [6]
Confirmed bouts: [7]
| Weight Class | Weight | vs. | Method | Round | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Welterweight | 154 lbs. | Austin Trout (c) | def. | Miguel Cotto | UD | 12/12 | note 1 |
| Featherweight | 126 lbs. | Jayson Vélez | def. | Salvador Sánchez II | TKO | 3/10 | note 2 |
| Super Lightweight | 140 lbs. | Michael Perez | def. | Fernando Carcamo | UD | 8/8 | |
| Super Middleweight | 168 lbs. | Daniel Jacobs | def. | Chris Fitzpatrick | RTD | 5/8 | |
| Middleweight | 160 lbs. | Jorge Melendez | def. | James Winchester | TKO | 4/8 | |
| Light Middleweight | 154 lbs. | Eddie Gomez | def. | Luis Hernandez | UD | 6/6 | |
| Featherweight | 126 lbs. | Jorge Diaz | def. | Victor Sanchez | UD | 6/6 | |
| Lightweight | 135 lbs. | Jeffrey Fontanez | def. | Pedro Arcos | TKO | 2/6 | |
| Middleweight | 160 lbs. | John Thompson | def. | Elie Augustama | UD | 6/6 |
^Note 1 For WBA Super Welterweight Title
^Note 2 For Vacant WBC Silver Featherweight Interim Title
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Australia | Main Event |
 Denmark | TV 2 Sport |
 United Kingdom | BoxNation |
 United States | Showtime |