Former Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez opponent, Austin Trout, has issued a warning to Jermell Charlo ahead of his fight with the Mexican superstar this autumn.
Trout lost out to Alvarez via decision in their super welterweight unification bout all the way back in 2013. Canelo’s next fight was a majority loss to Floyd Mayweather.
Following that, he went sixteen straight undefeated, the one blemish being a draw with Gennady Golovkin.
He lost a unanimous decision to Dmitry Bivol in an attempt at a second light heavyweight title in 2022 before returning with two wins, Golovkin in their trilogy bout and John Ryder, both unanimous decisions.
Speaking to FightHype, Trout admitted he was sceptical of Charlo’s chances of getting the nod on the cards, even if he does get the better of Alvarez.
“I’m going with Canelo. Even if Charlo puts up a great fight and edges it out, you think he’s going to get a decision?”
“That’s how I feel. I hope Charlo shocks them.”
“If I was a betting man, I’d say bet on Canelo. Because I think it’ll be hard for Charlo to get the decision, and it’ll be hard for him to knock Canelo out.”
Alvarez has held all the marbles at 168lbs since his 2021 knockout win over Caleb Plant, whereas Charlo stopped Brian Castano to be crowned undisputed at super welterweight, 14lbs and two weight classes below Canelo, earlier in 2023.
Canelo had been expected to take on Charlo’s twin brother Jermall, however he withdrew from negotiations at the last hour and ‘Mell stepped in.
Despite the weight classes between them, the two both fought at 154lbs at the same time and there is a view amongst some in the sport that the size differential may not be as significant as it would appear on the surface.
Couple that with the fact many in the sport believe the Mexican is a fighter on the decline, it would be foolish to completely write off the chances of Charlo at the T-Mobile Arena on September 20 – even if Trout does believe the odds to be stacked against him.