Well that was supposed to be a tune-up bout for Austin! After consecutive defeats to both Canelo Alvarez and Erislandy Lara, Trout found himself going backwards from premium subscription networks to ESPN Friday Night Fights in what was supposed to be a bounce back fight for him. In that match-up, he was taking on lightly-regarded Daniel Dawson (40-4-1, 26 KOs) who really hasn't faced any upper-echelon opponents since a TKO loss to Serhiy Dzinziruk back in 2010.
This fight was supposed to be a showcase where Trout promised to make people realize he was still a force at 154lbs. Instead, although he ended up winning the fight, it looks like his performance begged more questions than answers about his future in the sport.
At one point, in the third round, I thought I was witnessing the prompt demise of a once promising career. It wasn't that long ago when Trout had just beaten Miguel Cotto and was viewed as one of the most dangerous fighters in the 154lb division. Now, about a year and a half later, Trout was getting dropped multiple times against an opponent that most have never heard of, in a fight that was supposed to make him look good.
"I wasn't hurt, but he is strong," Trout said after the fight. "I just have to stop being overanxious. It was the same thing that I did in the Alvarez and Lara fights. Those knockdowns woke me up."
To his credit, Trout did overcome the early adversity and battled back to win a fairly comfortable decision against Dawson (all three judges scored it 97-90 for Trout). The problem being, though, that because he looked so vulnerable during moments of that showcase fight, what are we supposed to expect of him if he ends up back in with the division's elite? It surely doesn't seem like he's primed to be the force he assured us he would be again at 154lbs. The real question is where does Trout go from here. He, himself, has some ideas.
"I need to shake some rust off," he said. "I believe I need another mid-tier fight to correct some mistakes. I don't want any layoffs. The busier I am the best of Austin Trout you will see."
Will another mid-tier fight help Austin get back on track or just put him right back into another precarious position? Or, is it simply the case to say that we've already seen Trout at his apex and now he's just an ESPN-level fighter?