Canelo vs Trout: Austin Trout wants to be pound-for-pound king, starting with win over Canelo

Four months ago, Austin Trout was gearing up for the biggest fight of his career, a shot at Miguel Cotto in Madison Square Garden, where the Puerto Rican superstar had been undefeated in his pro career.

Trout won convincingly that night, arriving on the world stage with an impressive performance that made Cotto look slow, a little old, and too small to be effective against true 154-pound fighters. But how much further could the New Mexico southpaw go?

After some negotiating, and some supposed reluctance from Golden Boy Promotions, we'll find out on April 20 in San Antonio, when Trout faces fellow titlist Canelo Alvarez at the Alamodome, live on Showtime. Once again, it's the biggest opportunity of his career. Against Cotto, Trout knocked off an established, but aging, big name fighter. This time, he has the chance to fell a rising phenomenon, one of the most popular fighters in the world, a 22-year-old kid who is being groomed as the center piece of boxing's immediate future.

Tonight, Trout appeared on Boxing Scene Radio to discuss that fight, his ambitions, and the revenge angle that Canelo is pushing. Here are a few quick quotes:

On what he expects from Canelo: "(Canelo) is good, I haven't fought anybody as good as him or as explosive as him, which is why we have an explosive camp. I don't think he's going to be hard to figure out, but we've still got to overcome this beast called Canelo."

On facing Floyd Mayweather if he beats Canelo: "It would be nice. When we get to that, we'll definitely figure out which way to go. But I want to be the best, the pound-for-pound best. Who does everybody consider to be the pound-for-pound best? Floyd Mayweather. That's where we need to go. nothing's gonna happen if I don't get past Saul, so we'll cross that bridge when we get there. There's plenty of names. We don't want to wait. (Floyd) only fights once a year. I'm down to fight Maravilla, who's in that pound-for-pound list. I'm down to fight anybody."

On his standing at 154 pounds: "I already feel like I'm the best 154-pound champ, but beating Canelo will prove I'm the best 154-pound champ."

On fighting again as the B-side: "I'm not uncomfortable as the B-side, but I guarantee you I'm more comfortable as the A-side. I actually can't wait to get that kind of motivation."

On having a fight in his hometown: "It would be major to be able to fight in my city. I'd love to bring a defense down to Las Cruces, even El Paso, which is 30 minutes away. That's a big fight town. As far as I'm concerned, and from what I've seen, for Las Cruces, you have to conquer the world first before they get excited. It's very humbling, I'm not dissing my city. They've supported me tremendously."

On expectations for fight night: "The crowd's going to be crazy. We'll have an explosive fight. If he can take it, we can go 12 rounds, if not, I'll knock him out. Either way, my hand's going to be raised."

On Canelo saying he's out for revenge: "It's funny, his brother's got three other losses. Maybe he can go get revenge against that punk (Anthony) Mundine or (Marco Antonio) Rubio."