On a night where there was knockout after knockout and guys were getting blasted out in a minute or less, it may have seemed that Austin Trout was in the wrong place. The former WBA super welterweight champion is not known as a slugger but gained a well-earned reputation as one of the smartest and slickest boxers in the world.
He won his first BKFC fight last year when he stopped ex-UFC star Diego Sanchez, but he stepped it up big-time on Friday in the main event of BKFC 57 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Facing reigning champion and No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, Luis Palomino, Trout reminded the sell-out crowd of nearly 6,000 that, as Floyd Mayweather often says, "skills pays the bills."
Trout put on a show against Palomino, out-landing him by a better than 2-to-1 margin and became the first professional boxer to win a BKFC title when he won a unanimous decision by scores of 49-45 on all cards. Trout used all of the ring, catching Palomino repeatedly with his jab and working him over to the body.
He dropped Palomino after landing a left, though it appeared he may have flung the former champion to the mat. Still, referee Andrew Glenn called it a knockdown as Trout build an insurmountable lead.
"Listen, two-time, two-sport world champion and my second fight [was on] 2/2/2024," Trout said. "The numbers have already spoken. I am him."
Palomino entered the fight at 9-0 and had held championships at lightweight and welterweight. But Trout made him look ordinary, using the ring, picking his shots and making them count when he landed them. He stressed that accuracy was more important than power before the fight and he went out and was connecting on most everything he threw.
He connected on an astounding 64 percent of his total strikes, landing 99 of 155 total punches. He landed five more punches than Palomino threw. He was 35 of 37 to the body and it was those punches that kept Palomino from walking in and physically mauling Trout on the inside.
Trout's performance grabbed the attention of BKFC president Dave Feldman, who had noted boxers usually struggle when transitioning to BKFC.
"I thought it was a very tactical fight [for a while] and then it became a very, very exciting main event," Feldman said. "You know, boxers haven't fared very well in bare knuckle fighting. They haven't found a way to transfer [their skills] over, but tonight, I think Austin Trout showed he could do that. I think he performed very well.
"Luis Palomino knew he was down on the cards and he really pushed the action in the fifth round to try to retain his title. He wasn't able to do that, but he's going to be back. But it was an awesome event."
Trout is a highly credentialed boxer who defeated Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto and was in with the likes of Canelo Alvarez, Jarret Hurd and Jermell and Jermall Charlo. His days at the top of boxing are done, but he seems reinvigorated in a new sport.
He said he wanted to take on all comers as champion and predicted he'd hold the belt for a long time. He lavished his coaches with praise and said they had him ready for anything that might have occurred Friday.
"They got me strong, they got me sharp and if I had to sit there and fight the whole time, I could have done that," Trout said. "I could have, but I have the skills so I didn't have to."
He made it look easy against one of the best BKFC could put in front of him. Feldman has promised some significant talent upgrade in the near future, but perhaps his biggest was when he signed Trout.
Courtesy BKFC
Austin Trout (R) lands a jab on Luis Palomino en route to winning the BKFC welterweight title.