We have seen a few former world champion boxers switch to the art of BKB quite recently – Paulie Malignaggi, for one, gave it a go – and it’s been reported how Austin Trout is the latest former champ to decide he wants to try his hands at BKB. Trout, the former WBA light middleweight champ who is 35-5-1(18) and last boxed back in July of this year, picking up a close decision win over Florin Cardos, has signed a multi-fight deal with BKFC.
Trout has an absolute ton of ring experience., having been in with the likes of Canelo Alvarez, Miguel Cotto, Erislandy Lara, and Jermall and Jermell Charlo – but will this help him in the world of bare knuckle fighting? Malignaggi and others have found out how different, how tough, how dangerous bare knuckle fighting really is. Cuts and bruises and commonplace, as are broken bones. Will Trout’s hands hold up to the punishment he is about to inflict on them, to say nothing of his facial bones?
Bare Knuckle boxing, to some fans a brutal entity, has been growing and growing in popularity over recent years, and the addition of a big name like Trout will no doubt give the sport yet more publicity. It will be interesting to see when Trout has his BKFC debut and where, and who the guy in the opposing corner will be. Trout could end up having just one bare knuckle bout and deciding that it’s not for him. We will see.
When we think of bare knuckle fighting, we instantly picture in our minds legends like John L. Sullivan, Jem Belcher, Tom Molineaux, James Figg, Tom Cribb and others. But here in 2023, and beyond, modern greats are still fighting fights the old fashioned way!
During his ring career, Trout showed great skills along with durability, with him being stopped just the one time. But how far can “No Doubt” Trout go when it comes to bare knuckle fighting?