Jermell Charlo successfully defends title against veteran Austin Trout

Jermell Charlo defended his WBC super welterweight title against veteran Austin Trout. He controlled the action, but Trout gave it his all.

Jermell Charlo, half of the famed Charlo twins, met the battle-tested Austin Trout for the third defense of his WBC super welterweight title. He successfully defended his title and looked like the best super welterweight in the world.

Charlo came out to the ring in flamboyant fashion dressed as a lion. He had a lion’s head for a hat and a robe imitating a lion’s fur. It looked more cute than ferocious, but Charlo was anything but tame.

The first round started slow. Trout landed several right jabs to Charlo but nothing damaging. Charlo tripped on Trout’s feet several times due to his orthodox style and Trout’s southpaw stance.

Charlo was very passive and looked the opposite of his first round against Erickson Lubin in 2017, where he knocked out Lubin. Trout had a good round and did enough to win it.

The crowd grew restless in round two, as both men were quiet in the opening round. Charlo tried to pick up the pace slightly throwing some combinations, but there was a lot of time between flurries. Charlo won the round, but only because Trout forgot how to punch.

Trout flicked out his jab at the start of the third, but he was on his back foot for most of the round. Charlo stayed patient as if he was looking for one punch to hurt Trout. His patience paid off as he knocked down Trout with a left hook. Trout wasn’t hurt badly, but he lost a point and Charlo started to make his power punches felt.

Charlo continued to stay patient to start the fourth round, but he jumped all over Trout a little more than a minute into the round. He landed several meaningful shots before Trout backed out of range. It was another Charlo round as the score started to become lopsided.

Charlo started the fifth round with a clean straight right to Trout’s jaw. Trout stayed on the outside and circled, but Charlo caught Trout with a combination that hurt. Trout’s defense was eroding due to fatigue. His constant movement took a toll on his stamina. Trout’s hopes of pulling an upset were quickly fading away.

Charlo opened the sixth with haymakers—several landed. He landed accurately with powerful hooks, but Trout ate them well. Trout landed a pushing left that put Charlo off balance, but it was mostly due to crossing feet. Regardless, Trout showed more signs of life than the previous rounds.

Charlo and Trout exchanged punches early in the seventh. The round started competitively and Trout continued to establish more momentum. Charlo boxed intelligently but was countered by Trout throughout the round. It was a difficult round to score, but I gave it to Trout. He counter-boxed effectively.

Trout came out confidently in the eighth, throwing punches, but Charlo hit him with several punches moving him back. Things settled down in the middle of the round and Trout rediscovered his jab. It kept Charlo away. Neither man did much to control the round. It could have gone either way.

Charlo sent Trout to the canvas quickly at the start of the ninth. He was more off balance than hurt and quickly got to his feet. Charlo did hurt Trout a little later with a straight right that sent him back to the ropes. Charlo dominated the round and added several points to his column. Trout was hurt several times and started taking real punishment.

Charlo continued to tee-off on Trout in the 10th round. Trout’s defense disappeared. Charlo was more active and accurate. The fight was spiraling out of Trout’s grasp. He tried to fight back, but the younger man timed his punches. A left hook from Charlo hurt Trout and his legs looked bad after that. It was an ugly round for Trout.

Miraculously, Trout showed signs of life in the 11th. His legs returned and he was able to move around the ring and avoided Charlo for much of the round. Charlo won the round, but Trout looked much better than the previous round.

The final round was anticlimactic. Trout threw some jabs, but he needed a knockout to win the fight. He didn’t fight like a desperate fighter. Unfortunately, Charlo was secure with his point lead and didn’t press the action. It was the smart thing for Charlo to do, but it wasn’t crowd-pleasing. Charlo played it safe.

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Shockingly, the bout was ruled a majority decision. One judge scored the bout 114-114. The other two cards had it widely for the winner Jermell Charlo. Charlo looked impressive and should be regarded as the best super welterweight in the world. Hopefully, we will see him matched up against Jarrett Hurd in the near future. It’s the only fight that makes sense for both boxers and it’s the fight that fight fans want.