Cotto vs Trout: Austin Trout says losing is not an option on Saturday night

In an interview with RingTV.com, Austin Trout discussed his upcoming Saturday night fight with Miguel Cotto, including dreams of beating great fighters he's had since he was a kid, whether or not he's worried about the judging on Cotto's turf in New York, and the great opportunity he has in this bout, facing a major star with a chance to break out.

Trout also believes that he simply cannot lose to Cotto, not because it would be devastating to lose to someone of Miguel Cotto's stature, but because if he does, he might not get another chance:

"Losing is really not an option for me. Even if I perform to the best of my ability. I believe that they wouldn't let me back in. They didn't really let me in anyway. I sort of had to climb through the window."

Trout (25-0, 14 KO) is defending the WBA "regular" junior middleweight title against Cotto (37-3, 30 KO), and has scrapped on the road to get here. But Cotto presents a new level of challenge for him, and Miguel Cotto is taking this fight because he believes he's going to win, and may believe he should win without much trouble.

Trout has advantages. He's bigger, younger, fresher, he's a southpaw. He's fighting on the road, but he doesn't seem the type to be intimidated by that, and to be perfectly honest, MSG likely isn't going to have a Cotto-Margarito II or Cotto-Judah or Cotto-Mosley vibe for this fight. It will be pro-Cotto, but the atmosphere might more closely resemble The Big House in Ann Arbor than it does Autzen Stadium.

This is Austin Trout's big shot, and he might be right. With his style -- difficult, and not flashy -- without a power promoter (though he does have Al Haymon in his corner now), Trout might be getting the one really big opportunity he'll ever receive. If he cashes in on it, he jumps into considerations to fight guys like Canelo Alvarez immediately. If he falls short, who knows? Maybe he would fall out of the race to face the other top guys at 154, for any number of reasons. And at any rate, that's how Trout should be treating this fight.