Austin Dwayne Trout vs. Terrell Maurice Gausha

Headlining a PBC on FS1 card this Saturday from the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi. 10 rounds scheduled at 154lbs, in a crossroads showdown between a pair of the division's eminently talented but largely pushed-aside "nearly men".

I happen to believe their styles will mesh beautifully - not something one can easily predict between orthodox and southpaw. IMO this is a stroke of genius on the part of matchmaker Tom Brown, and the victor here will have the requisite momentum (and ranking) to be cherry-picked over-confidently for a title shot by any of the currently very flawed crop of light middleweight champions for whom they might prove harder work than expected (or even grab the big upset and the hardware, not beyond the realm of possibility in any of those conceivable match-ups..). Trout is currently ranked #6 by the WBC, yet absent from every other major org. Gausha is likewise WBA #13, and that's all.

 

@CST80

 

Damn...wow, that assessment of Gausha is a little harsher than I expected. I also favor Trout (and, I'm sure you've already guessed, like you, rooting like hell for our boy to make a statement and win big via KO)...but I was also prepared to give him some credit if he met or passed Lara's par. Gausha does have a hell of a pedigree in the amateurs ...plus there's no shame being shut out by the American Dream (who in 2017 still had more than merely a few vestiges of prime ability intact) especially when that's one's lone professional blemish... I think Austin is going to use the Cotto approach, come at Gausha with the aggression dialed way up in boxer-puncher mode, and take advantage of Gausha 1) not having the power to keep him off and 2) being susceptible to left hand leads and uppercuts as we saw against fellow southpaw Lara.

 

Really strange, five days out and still no published odds...

 

Chordale Booker vs. Oyewale Omotoso in an intriguing co-main event. Honestly this card will have my full undivided attention; ESPN's is nothing but extraordinary mismatches IMO. :nuseunse:

 

I think for Gausha it definitely is win or go home (who never quite fulfilled his amateur promise and hype). I know that seems odd as Trout has several more losses, but he also has many high-profile and memorable nationally televised appearances to his credit, something he could trade off in the future to still land quasi-meaningful fights...although it would almost certainly always be as the "opponent"/B-side if he picked up a mildly embarrassing loss here.

 

Alright, pretty sure the bookies are just trolling us at this point..

Odds are published for Booker vs. Omotoso and for Ahmed Elbiali vs. some random Brazilian named Marlos Eduardo Simôes on the undercard...but still not the main event.

 

He's everything Amir Khan deludes himself into thinking he is.