There is no doubt that Austin Trout still has more fights left in him.
The 39-year-old Trout, a former junior middleweight titleholder who scrapped with some of the best of his era, is now moonlighting as a bare knuckle fighter for the fast-ascending, Conor McGregor-backed Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Trout – 37-5-1 (18 KOs) in boxing – is 2-0 in the BKFC and has already picked up the promotional company’s 165-pound title, and he’ll be defending his crown for the first time against Rico Franco on Saturday in Marbella, Spain, on DAZN.
“No, I have not officially retired from boxing,” Trout told BoxingScene. “As the BKFC champion, I feel like I do have a certain responsibility to make the BKFC my main piece, as pimps would say. But I still love boxing, and if they have an opportunity for me, and if it fits my BKFC schedule, why not? But boxing hasn’t had any opportunities for me, even though I’m still looking. The call has not been made yet. So I’m just going to keep bare knuckle fighting until I get the best opportunities.”
Trout made his bare knuckle fighting debut in February 2023 and scored a fourth-round TKO win against Diego Sanchez. In February of this year, Trout was already fighting for the vacant title, scoring a five-round unanimous decision against Luis Palomino.
His boxing career is much more decorated. Trout became a 154-pound titleholder in 2011 by beating Rigoberto Alvarez, the brother of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. He defended the title four times, with wins against the likes of Miguel Cotto and Delvin Rodriguez, before losing to Canelo in 2013 in a competitive clash.
“I can still make 154 pounds in boxing,” said Trout. “I fight at 165 pounds for the BKFC, but the plan is to come down to 155 pounds and take that belt, too, to become double champ.”
Doing so will make Trout even more marketable for the BKFC and perhaps interest McGregor, who became the first UFC fighter to earn double-champ status during his heyday, to fight him.
In April, McGregor became a co-owner of BKFC and has already teased fighting in the discipline himself.
“Conor is taking bare knuckle fighting to the next level, for sure,” said Trout. “We’ve seen it with the buzz. There is a lot of momentum, and I am proud to be a part of it. It’s a perfect time to be a champion of the sport that’s about to break through ceilings. I think 2025 is going to be great as we reap what we are setting up now.
“Conor has teased us plenty of times, saying that he’s willing to fight in the BKFC – and I don’t doubt it. He knows what it would do to his investment. He’s a big fan of it. I assume it’s going to be hard sitting on the sidelines watching your baby grow. It seems like a good idea.
“Y’all already know me. I’m more than happy to do that fight. But I am going to ruin everyone’s plans, you know what I am saying? It wouldn’t be the smartest fight [for McGregor], but I would love to take it.”
Trout has not scored a significant boxing win since his career-defining conquest against Cotto nearly 12 years ago at Madison Square Garden in New York. Defeats in several title fights followed. He last fought in a boxing match in October 2023 in Germany, scoring an eighth-round unanimous decision win against journeyman Omir Rodriguez.
However, with a revamped diet and newfound discipline, the native Texan feels that he has found the fountain of youth in bare knuckle fighting, and he can’t wait to prove it again in boxing, too.
“I’m getting better as I keep going,” said Trout.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.