Miguel Cotto vs Austin Trout: Fight Is Official For December 1 at Madison Square Garden

Miguel Cotto will look to regain a junior middleweight title in his next fight on December 1, as he'll be facing unbeaten WBA "regular" titlist Austin Trout at Madison Square Garden.

Cotto (37-3, 30 KO) is coming off of a May 5 loss to Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, but realistically I think it only raised interest in Cotto's continuing career, as he gave a good performance against the best boxer on the planet.

Cotto could have chosen an easier opponent than this. Instead, he's taking on one of the better young fighters in his division. And to the surprise of only a few, this means you can officially scratch off Cotto as a potential Pacquiao opponent for this fall.

(Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime)

Trout (25-0, 14 KO) is a risky opponent for Cotto, a tricky boxer who doesn't always put in the most pleasing performances, but can't be overlooked here. When you really look at Trout here, and don't just focus on his less-than-thrilling outing against Delvin Rodriguez in June, you're going to see a guy who is 26 years old, a southpaw who can box, and is a legit junior middleweight in terms of size. He's going to have notable height and reach advantages here.

For Austin Trout, needless to say, this is the opportunity to make his name in the sport of boxing. For Miguel Cotto, it's showing some big balls taking on a tough opponent when he didn't really have to do so. Trout didn't get Canelo Alvarez on September 15, but he's closing 2012 on December 1 against the man who is still probably the biggest fish in the 154-pound division.

One would think the fight will be on HBO, but don't count out Showtime here. With Cotto working with Golden Boy on this event, they'll be in the running unless they just can't afford it.

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