By Peter Lim
According to Austin Trout's crystal ball, Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12KOs) will defeat Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (43-1-1, 31KOs) in their July 12 PPV showdown in Las Vegas. A former WBA junior middleweight titleholder, Trout is the only man to have fought both Lara and Alvarez.
"Lara is the better boxer," Trout said, in between mingling with fans at a local Savarese Boxing Promotions card at the Houston Athletic Fencing Center. "Canelo may be strong but I don't think he'll be able to land on Lara. I've got Lara by unanimous decision."
Trout (26-2, 14 KOs) shot into the spotlight in 2012 by outpointing Miguel Cotto, who defeated Sergio Martinez for the middleweight championship of the world earlier this month. But Trout was dropped and outpointed by both Alvarez and Lara in back-to-back losses in 2013. Like Lara, Trout is a slick southpaw.
"Lara's got hell of a footwork, he's got a quick left hand and that left hand is going to find a home early," Trout said.
Trout, 28, is scheduled to return to the ring in August.
