You could make the case for former WBA light-middleweight champion Austin Trout as being one of the most successful boxers to have tried their hand at bareknuckle fighting. Certainly, Trout has managed to become a world champion in bareknuckle in a very rapid period of time, this after just two fights.
Southpaw Trout, who had his bareknuckle debut in October, defeated Luis Palomino this past weekend, his five round unanimous decision victory seeing him win the BKFC welterweight title. This was an upset, even though Trout, aged 38 , is five years younger than Palomino. But Palomino of Lima in Peru, was considered by many to be the pound-for-pound best bareknuckle fighter in the world.
Trout of El Paso, Texas didn’t let this reputation faze him in the slightest, either before or during the fight in Hollywood, Florida. Trout, who defeated Diego Sanchez by third round TKO in his bareknuckle debut, boxed quite brilliantly against Palomino, with the man who holds a win over the great Miguel Cotto to his name sticking and moving and never letting Palomino get set.
Trout was credited with a knockdown in round four and he made Palomino miss whenever he went on the attack. Palomino really went for it in the final round, but Trout taunted him and showcased his sharp defensive skills. In the end, Trout won via wide scores of 49-45 on all three official cards. Now 2-0(1) as a bareknuckle fighter, Trout says he plans to stick around in his second sport for some time – “I’m going to be here for a long time,” Trout said in a post-fight interview. “You can get tired of me, but I’m not going anywhere.”
Palomino suffered his first ever defeat in bareknuckle boxing and he is now 9-1(3).
It will be interesting seeing who Trout faces next, this as he gets busy defending his BKFC welterweight title. Trout finished his boxing career with a 37-5-1(18) record. His skills and experience have clearly made the transition to bareknuckle fighting.