In the co-featured bout of the Showtime Championship Boxing telecast on Saturday, June 9, 2018, WBC champion Jermell Charlo (31-0, 15 KOs) squared off against veteran Jr. Middleweight and former champion, Austin “No Doubt” Trout (31-5, 17 KOs).
Trout, a proven fighter in the division, came into this fight with a mission to clear his name in boxing by proving he could still compete at the elite level of competition. Charlo, on the other hand, came in looking to make a statement that he and only he, is the leader of the 154 division.
The fight kicked off with Charlo throwing blows with bad intentions behind every shot, and Trout fighting tactically as expected. Trout began to find a home a for a nice jab early on but failed to through any combinations off of it. In the third, Charlo pocketed an early lead with a knockdown over Trout, but nothing that hurt the former champion.
The rounds progressed with no fighter really landing any significant punches on the other but Charlo remained the aggressor in most, if not all the rounds. Trout held his own in many rounds and never made it easy on the champion. Despite the constant pressure from Jermell, Trout seemed to always find a way to just escape any real danger.
At the beginning of the ninth round, Trout was floored once more off of a check hook that landed behind the ear of Trout and caught him off balance. Entering the championship rounds Trout began to steal some rounds with effective combos but again, never causing any harm to the Houston native.
In the end, the self-proclaimed lion prevailed to a majority decision victory to the chagrin of the L.A. crowd that yearned to see a knockout.
Final scorecards read 113-113, 115-111, and 118-108 respectively. “I went fishing for a Trout but I just couldn’t get him on the hook,” said Charlo. While Trout survived the encounter, it’s hard to make a case that Trout still has enough in the tank to defeat the A-list fighters at Jr. Middleweight. “I still got now, and I don’t care who’s got next,” said Trout after the fight. “I’m here to stay, I’m not going anywhere.”
The obvious matchup blooming for Jermell is the fight between him and unified champion Jarrett Hurd (22-0, 15 KOs) and it’s a challenge he welcomes confidently.
“Trout survived today because he moved if Hurd stands here and takes those shots, I guarantee he doesn’t make it,” said Charlo.
Header photo by Stephanie Trapp/Showtime
