Trout (right) & Dawson (left) hearing the referee’s instructions before the bout

In his first fight since December former titleholder Austin Trout began his comeback with a tougher-than-expected decision victory over Daniel Dawson.

Trout (27-2, 14KO) started the fight well by displaying his superior speed and technique to counter Dawson and land nice left hands to the midsection of the Aussie. Dawson (40-4-1, 26KO) looked game but he appeared to be the safe comeback opponent Trout and his team wanted. He looked to bounce back to contender status after back-to-back decision losses to Canelo Alvarez and Erislandy Lara.

Just when things looked good for Trout disaster nearly struck in round 3 when he overextended himself trying to land a combination. This gave Dawson the opportunity to counter Trout with a right hand which dropped him. Trout rose and fought back but a brief moment where he left his left hand by his side allowed Dawson to hit him with another right hand, dropping Trout again.

Sensing a career-threatening loss in the works, Trout bounced back and began to settle into a groove by the middle rounds. He showed flashes of his talent by landing solid right hooks and left hands in combination and sliding or slipping to avoid Dawson’s shots.

Trout’s talent made an extra mark in round 8 when a three-punch combination dropped Dawson for the first time in his career. Dawson managed to survive the round but the difference in class began to show. The last two rounds were dominated by Trout and at certain points Dawson looked ready to be taken out. To his credit, Dawson survived to hear the final bell.

All three judges scored the bout 97-90 in favor of Trout.

Although Trout expressed desire to fight Alvarez and Lara again he also admitted to being rusty and said he would try to fight another second-tier opponent to correct any mistakes he made last Saturday against Dawson.

That would be wise considering the mistakes he made in round 3 particularly and the talented division he’s in right now. Trout can’t afford to be rusty against the likes of Alvarez, Lara, and Carlos Molina.