As a boxer, Austin Trout fought Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto as well as future Hall of Famer Canelo Alvarez. In addition to those stars, he also faced both Charlo brothers, Jermall and Jermell, as well as Erislandy Lara, Jarret Hurd and Terrel Gausha, among others. There were few elite boxers in his weight class that he didn't face.
He went 37-5-1 with 18 KOs as a boxer and isn't done yet. Though he's no longer a championship contender in boxing, he fought on Oct. 14 when he won a decision in an eight-rounder over Omir Rodriguez.
But Trout is embarking upon another journey, one that he hopes will keep him pulling in those big paychecks for a while longer. On Friday in Hollywood, Fla., in the main event of BKFC 57, Trout will challenge Luis Palomino for the organization's welterweight belt. He's 1-0 in BKFC after scoring a fourth-round stoppage of ex-UFC star Diego Sanchez on Feb. 17, 2023, in Sanchez's hometown of Albuquerque, N.M.
Trout isn't ready to walk away from fighting, but noted that there are few opportunities available for boxers with fewer media companies airing boxing. Showtime Sports pulled out of boxing at the end of last year, and though the Premier Boxing Champions reached a deal with Amazon Prime Video to carry its fights, it's not going to carry as many bouts as Showtime did.
That, Trout said, could lead to many fighters choosing to go to BKFC, like he did. BKFC founder Dave Feldman told KevinIole.com he's in talks with several prominent boxers to join the organization.
Trout saw a BKFC fight when it was first created and said he'd love to give it a try if the pay ever got to a decent level. That, he said, has been reached and it's going to be a great alternative for boxers who are looking for fights and to earn a significant income.
"The way I see it, Dave Feldman has positioned himself into a great space," Trout said. " ... Boxers are looking for opportunities. Showtime just shut down. All that's left right now is ESPN and DAZN. Amazon's going to do some [Premier Boxing Champions] fights, but it seems like boxing is scrounging for a home. ... That means a lot of boxers scrounging to get a home. There are going to be a lot of boxers because, from what I understand of this Prime deal, they don't have too many dates [and need the exposure of a televised fight].
"It's not like there are a lot of dates coming from Prime so there's a lot of boxers who need fights. There are a lot of boxers in their primes who need fights. It seems to me like [BKFC] is the only home they can go to that's outside of boxing. You know how hard the politics [in boxing] make it to get anything done outside of BKFC and Team Combat League. So we're going to see a lot of fighters coming to these outlets and that's going to change the came, I think."
Sanchez called out Trout for their BKFC fight. Trout said that several years prior, he was watching a BKFC fight and said he'd be willing to do it if the pay was right. He didn't hesitate when he received his offer.
"We're from New Mexico and I did a lot of fighting without gloves back in the day," he said, grinning.
So now, he's taking the big step of fighting for the BKFC title. It's a different form of fighting and Trout said fighters can't sit down on every punch they throw because of the potential of injuring their hands. He learned against Sanchez that trying to throw with full power on everything can cause issues.
He said he has had to learn to pick his shots better and sit down on them when the situation calls for it.
"In my first fight, I was probably like 50/50 [in terms of sitting down on my punches] and I was like, 'Yeah, I should probably not sit on every punch that I throw,' " he said. "My hands were a little sore. I didn't break anything, but they were so for probably two weeks after. And I was like, 'Damn, I need to condition these more.' "
He's clearly learning the ropes in BKFC. Palomino is 9-0 and has the edge in bare knuckle experience, though that doesn't concern Trout. He hopes to defeat Palomino to win the welterweight championship and then move up to challenge Mike Perry, the BKFC's middleweight champion who has, somewhat surprisingly, morphed into the BKFC's cash cow.
"I mean, you saw with my man, Mike Perry, he made more in his last fight than he did his whole UFC career," Trout said. "They're not paying over-the-top, ridiculous amounts, but they're paying a fair wage and you can't be mad at anybody there. They're not undercutting anybody. They're in a sense offering more than fair wages as far as I'm concerned and I'm looking to get to that Mike Perry status myself."