Austin Trout Calls Out Canelo Alvarez For A BKFC Fight
Austin Trout has called out Canelo Alvarez for a bare-knuckle fight.
Trout has faced Canelo in the boxing ring, losing a unanimous decision win. That was the first defeat of Trout’s career. He would lose his next fight against Erislandy Lara, showing a tendency to fall short at the elite level. Further losses to Jermell Charlo, Jermall Charlo and Jarrett Hurd followed.
Trout’s last fight was a unanimous decision win against Omir Rodriguez in 2023. The win took his record to 37-5-1. Trout joined BKFC last year, knocking out former UFC fighter Diego Sanchez. He then secured the welterweight title by beating Luis Palomino in February. At 38, Trout could continue boxing further. However, he aims to avenge all his losses in bare-knuckle.
Trout On Canelo
“All of them, everybody I took a loss to I want to fight in the bare-knuckle ring. That means Canelo, [Jermall] Charlo, [Erislandy] Lara, the other Charlo (Jermell), [Jarret] Hurd, every one of those cats I would love to fight in the bare-knuckle ring, it’s different… Canelo if you want that rematch, let’s run it or anyone else that has a high-profile name. Danny Garcia is another one I’ve been calling out for a while, I’d love to get one of those fights,” Trout said
Canelo is still one of the biggest names in boxing. The purses on offer are much bigger in boxing than BKFC, meaning it would have to be a mega offer. Canelo has spoken about wanting to box Conor McGregor if the money was right.
That could be made if Canelo crossed over to BKFC, the organization where McGregor is a part-owner. That would offer a compromise between MMA and boxing, given McGregor has already had a boxing fight. Canelo wanted a boxing fight next year.
Canelo On McGregor
“Why not? And then we’ll show that boxing is better [than MMA]. Easy money. [I’ll knock him out] at the time I want. One round, two rounds, three rounds, whatever I want,” Canelo said
Oleksandr Usyk is another boxer who has expressed an interest in crossing over. Meanwhile, former world champion Paulie Malignaggi had a crossover bare-knuckle fight with Artem Lobov, showing there is enough demand for it. Trout felt Canelo would do well in BKFC, given his power and explosive nature.
“I do [think he’d do well in bare-knuckle], he’s not one of those guys that has hand problems. I mean he hits hard enough. He’s explosive without having to turn his whole body so that protects his hands.I think he would do fine, he is a student of the game so he would learn the type of standing grappling that’s needed to be able to box so I’m sure he’d figure that out,” Trout added
But before Trout thinks about Canelo, he must overcome his next opponent. He is scheduled to fight Ricardo Franco on October 12. Ricardo’s BKFC record stands at 9-2-0. He has won his last three fights via a knockout, making him a dangerous opponent. But if Trout continues winning, he may get the Canelo fight.
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