Austin Trout Offers Miguel Cotto a Chance for Revenge in Rematch
Apr 5, 2017 • 12:29 AM ET
By Miguel Rivera
If he wants to go in that direction, former four division world champion Miguel Cotto has the opportunity to avenge one of his five career defeats.
On December 1, 2012, the Puerto Rican superstar lost a unanimous decision to then World Boxing Association (WBA) 154-pounds champion Austin Trout, in what was Cotto's first career defeat at New York's Madison Square Garden of Manhattan.
It was a surprise for Cotto, who was coming off one of the best performances of his career when he lost a competitive twelve round decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5 of that same year.
Cotto was very upset the scores he received in the Trout loss. They all saw him as a wide winner, with tallies of 117-111, 117-111 and 119-109. Then he took 10 months off, before returning in the middleweight division.
He never mentioned Trout again. But now Trout is mentioning him.
"I would absolutely give him the rematch. And more so right now that he doesn't have anyone to fight," Trout told Jose Sanchez. "I can make the weight. Absolutely. And if he wants to fight in June, I would be more than ready by that date."
"I do not know why he does not want the rematch. I think [Cottos trainer] Freddie Roach is an intelligent man. I think Freddie is the one who keeps him away from me."
Cotto is hunting for a new opponent, after his ring return on Feb. 25 in Texas was canceled after scheduled opponent James Kirkland withdrew with a fractired nose.
One possible obstacle to the Cotto-Trout rematch was the cold war between Cotto's promoter, the Roc Nation Sports, and Trout's adviser Al Haymon. The differences emerged years ago, when Haymon was a music entrepreneur and was sued by Beyonce, who is the wife of Roc Nation owner Jay-Z.
But according to Trout's manager, Bob Spagnola, the agreement between Trout and Haymon expired on March 31.
"Some time ago we approached representatives of Miguel Cotto regarding a rematch, but they told us they were not interested," said Spagnola. "But if the obstacle was Al Haymon, that's already settled."
