Combat sports: Trout wins decision, Waterson makes weight
Jul. 16—He was born in Texas and lives in Texas, but Austin Trout will always be Las Cruces' own.
Trout, the former WBA junior middleweight champion, defeated Romania's Florin Cardos by eight-round majority decision on Friday in Wuppertal, Germany.
One judge scored the 154-pound bout 79-73 for Trout, but another scored it a draw at 76-76. The third judge's card was announced as 78-76 for Trout, apparently with two rounds scored even — something that's rarely done.
The Journal scored it 78-74 for Trout, viewing the Fite.TV streaming of the bout.
Trout improved his record to 35-5-1 with 18 knockouts. Cardos is 21-4 (nine KOs).
In the ring afterward, Trout expressed some dissatisfaction with the judging and was mildly critical of his own performance.
"It seemed like the devil had his hand on some of the judges, but not all of them," Trout said. "... It's been almost a year since I last fought, and the ring rust, I felt it.
"I'm happy to come out and get the win. It wasn't my best performance. I didn't feel as sharp as I should have been, but it was sharp enough."
Born in El Paso, Trout has lived in Las Cruces for most of his 36 years, graduated from Mayfield High School and attended New Mexico State. He now lives and trains in Houston.
Last year, Trout — eight years after losing his WBA title — signed with German promoter Karim Akkar. Friday's bout was Trout's second under Akkar's Legacy Sports Management banner.
In Friday's bout, featuring two southpaws with similar styles, Trout used his right jab and ring experience to good effect. Other than one hard left hand at the end of the first round, Cardos struggled to land telling shots.
There were no knockdowns, and neither fighter ever appeared to be hurt.
Trout said pursuit of another world title remains his goal.
"Don't let this performance fool you," he said. "A busy Trout is a dangerous Trout, and if I get a fight in the next two months you'll see a different person."
MMA: Albuquerque's Michelle Waterson (18-9) weighed in successfully at the strawweight limit of 115 pounds for her fight on a UFC card Saturday against Brazil's Amanda Lemos in Elmont, New York.
Lemos (11-2-1) created some drama when she required an extended period of time to weigh in. When she finally did, she stripped nude — concealed by a towel — before tipping the scale at 116 pounds, the extra pound permitted for a non-title fight.
AMATEUR BOXING: No, Joscelyn Olayo-Muñoz has not pulled an Austin Trout.
She still lives in Las Cruces.
Friday in Wichita, Kansas, Olayo-Muñoz defeated Bella Gallegos of Las Vegas, Nevada, by unanimous decision in a 101-pound Junior Division semifinal bout at the USA Boxing Junior Olympics and Summer Boxing Festival.
Olayo-Muñoz, 14, will face Alania Artiga of Houston on Saturday for the title. The bout will be streamed at teamusa.org during a session scheduled to start at 11 a.m. MDT.
In material on the USA Boxing website, Olayo-Muñoz was listed this week as hailing from Cedar Hill, Texas. Her stepfather and coach, Danny Melendrez, posted on Facebook that the listing was a mistake.
"They got the hometown wrong, it's OK, we know where she's from," Melendrez wrote.
Olayo-Muñoz has been winning state, regional and national titles since she was 9 years old and weighed 55 pounds.
In defeating Gallegos on Friday, Olayo-Muñoz, punching with speed and accuracy, kept Gallegos on the defensive for most of three rounds. All three judges score all three rounds for the Las Cruces boxer.
Saturday
UFC on ABC 3: Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez, Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Lemos, several other fights. 12 p.m., ABC/espn+
