Austin Trout vs. Joey Hernandez
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
Joey Hernandez has struggled in recent fights, losing two out of his last three.
Austin Trout, on the other hand, continues to fight for legitimacy. In a forgettable 2013, he was beaten soundly by Lara and lost a unanimous decision to Canelo Alvarez. Many observes felt the judges scores in the Alvarez fight were way off base and that the fight was much closer.
All that aside, Trout is simply the better of the two fighters. He has better skills and has fought a better class of fighters.
Two southpaws will enter and one will exit with the W.
I like Trout.
Prediction: Trout
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
When Austin Trout was fighting guys like Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto on Showtime, he left something to be desired in the entertainment category. Now that he’s been relegated to ESPN broadcasts, he’s a blast to watch.
The reason is because Trout has slipped quite a bit and now gets dropped like third period French. But he also has some serious guile, climbing out of hell to secure three straight wins since his loss to Erislandy Lara.
Joey Hernandez is a fellow southpaw, so this thing might get ugly, and fast. Either way, Trout should have enough left in the tank to win here. Trout by decision.
Prediction: Trout
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Austin Trout and Joey Hernandez have been tabbed to headline the first Premier Boxing Champions venture on Fox Sports 1. Will the PBC on FS1 fights be any more entertaining than Golden Boy Promotion’s “Golden Boy Live” series was? Only time will tell.
Trout hasn’t always been must-see TV, but in his last few bouts he has been more willing to engage and has shown the ability to recover from knockdowns as well. Trout is now training out of the Headbangers gym (home of Lamont Peterson) so I expect that he will look to be aggressive and push Hernandez to his limits.
I like Trout by stoppage.
Prediction: Trout
