Trout heads south of border for his next bout
Las Cruces southpaw, 3-0 in Mexico, to fight on Feb. 6, versus Garcia in Chihuahua
Mexico has been good to Austin Trout. The slick, left-handed Las Cruces boxer is 3-0 in fights held south of the border, including his February 2011 victory over Rigoberto Alvarez for the WBA junior middleweight world title.
And so, at age 35 and having fought just twice in the past 18 months, Trout (32-5-1,18 knockouts) is heading back to Mexico. He’s scheduled to face Juan Armando Garcia (21-7-2, 12 KOs) in Chihuahua on Feb. 6.
The bout, scheduled for 10 rounds, is the main event of an eight-bout card planned by Mexican promoters Franco Gabaldon and Mauricio Madero.
Since his victory over Alvarez in Guadalajara, Trout is 6-5-1. All of his five losses have come against current or future world champions.
In March 2012, Trout signed with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions. While that relationship was productive, fight opportunities amid PBC’s crowded roster eventually began to dry up.
Last February at the Inn of the Mountain Gods in Mescalero, Trout defeated Rosbel Montoya by second-round TKO on a card staged by Impact Network, a faith-based TV network based in Detroit. But COVID-19 derailed whatever additional plans Impact might have had for Trout or for boxing.
Meanwhile, Madero, the co-promoter of the Feb. 6 card, has been undeterred by the pandemic. He staged four cards in 2020, most recently in Chihuahua on Dec. 12. Gabaldon, his co-promoter on Feb. 6, also promoted four times last
year.
Garcia, Trout’s scheduled opponent, is 21-1-2 while fighting in his native Mexico but is 0-6 in Canada. He has been idle since June 2018, when he lost by first-round TKO to Jessie Willcox (then 9-02, now 15-0-2 with nine KOs) in Willcox’s hometown of Hamilton, Ontario.
PEREZ BROTHERS: Albuquerque featherweight Aaron Angel Perez (10-0, 6 KOs) has signed to fight on a March 13 card headlined by a super flyweight title fight between WBC champion Juan Francisco Estrada and WBA champion Roman Gonzalez.
No opponent has been announced for Perez, and no site has been announced for the card.
Perez last fought Nov. 19 at Tingley Coliseum on a card promoted by his father, Aaron, and his uncle, Jordan. The Perezes’ Legacy Promotions has since been sidelined by COVID-19 since then.
Meanwhile, flyweight Abraham Perez, Aaron Angel’s younger brother, has a site, a date and an opponent for his pro debut.
The 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials champion is scheduled to face Mexico’s Cesar Sustaita (3-6, three KOs) on Feb. 27 in Lubbock, Texas.
The promoter is Hobbs’ Isidro Castillo, who has been Legacy Promotions’ primary matchmaker.