According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBA Super Welterweight champion Austin Trout will take on former three division champion Miguel Cotto on December 1st at Madison Square Garden.
“I officially announce that my fight on Dec. 1st at MSG will be with the undefeated WBA (junior middleweight titlist) Austin Trout,” Cotto wrote.
“I’m trying to put this legacy together and this is what I needed. I am ecstatic right now,” Trout told ESPN.com. “I get to check off a few things on my bucket list with this fight. I get to fight in the Garden, I get to fight a superstar in the Garden, and I get to fight on HBO, if that’s where this fight is.”
Both HBO and Showtime are negotiation to televise the fight.
“We are teaming up with Golden Boy for aspects of the promotion, but Miguel doesn’t have any promotional ties to any company and that’s the way it’s going to remain,” said Cotto’s attorney Gabriel Penagaricano.
“We explored the Pacquiao fight,” Penagaricano said. “We discussed it for several days but there was no agreement. The weight was an issue and we didn’t agree on all relevant aspects of the deal, so at the end, there was no agreement. After that didn’t work out, we had a had a short list of candidates and Miguel picked Trout.
“He’s undefeated, he’s a good challenge, he’s a world champion and that was attractive to Miguel. The world title aspect and the undefeated record were most attractive in making the selection.”
Trout found out that he had gotten the fight by phone from his promoter, Greg Cohen, on Friday and said he did not believe him at first.
“He told me and I said, ‘Get out of here,’ ” Trout said. “There had been talks before so I didn’t believe him. Greg said, ‘So how does “Trout-Cotto” sound to you?’ I said, ‘Great,’ but I didn’t think he was serious. He said, ‘This is happening.’ It’s a miracle for Cotto to take this kind of fight. I’m gonna take full advantage of this opportunity. I feel like going to train right now.”
“I don’t want to step on Cotto because the only night he can get the Garden is Dec. 1,” Arum said. “So that means we then take Dec. 8. Hopefully, Miguel winds up on HBO and we’ll go on pay-per-view the next week. That’s the idea.”
“I’ve done that before, going to other people’s house,” he said. “I went to Mexico twice for title fights and I will take that experience with me. I’m ready for it. I’ve been through the Mexican fans. The Puerto Rican fans are passionate as well, but I’ve had my seasoning.
“I am definitely a fan,” he said. “I watched him coming up with Top Rank. I’ve been watching him for a while. I will prepare for the Cotto that gave Mayweather his fight next to (the first fight he had with Jose Luis Castillo). I know the jab will be important. I’ll step around him. I saw how Pacquiao did it to him and I think I have better footwork than Pacquiao.
