Bethlehem, PA—Powerful junior middleweight contender King Gabriel Rosado, of Philadelphia, PA, says he should be the one to fight Saul Canelo Alvarez in September.
“Let Canelo step up to the plate and fight a real man,” Rosado (left) said after his impressive ninth-round knockout over world-ranked Sechew Powell, of Brooklyn, NY, on Friday night at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem
“They keep going over the same old names. Carlos Quintana? Please, give me a break. Carlos Molina? Get real! Those guys can’t hurt my sister. Maybe Canelo wants to play it safe for awhile.
Rosado’s win over Powell, which was televised as part of the NBC Sports Network Fight Series, should push Rosado to the top of the class at 154 pounds.
It was Rosado’s sixth straight win, fourth by knockout, and improved his record to 20-5, 12 K0s.
Going into the fight, Rosado was ranked No. 5 by the IBF, No. 9 by the WBC. He should also pick up a WBO ranking now that he has won the vacant WBO Inter-Continental junior middleweight belt.
“A lot of guys talk tough, but don’t back it up,” Rosado added. “I’ve fought tough guys every step of the way. My record may not be all that glittering to look at, but check out the guys I’ve fought. Name me another junior middleweight who came up the old-fashioned way like the old-timers did.
“Why should Canelo be afraid? He’s got one of those pretty records (40-0, 29 K0s). I should look like a piece of cake to him.
“If TV wants action, I’m their man. If they’re just looking for a pretty face with a pretty record, then they can choose one of those phony contenders. My day will come!”
Alvarez, the WBC champ at 154 pounds, was signed to defend against Paul Williams on Sept. 15 in Las Vegas before Williams was severely injured in a motorcycle accident last weekend in Georgia.
James Kirkland was the first choice to replace Williams, but that matchup fell apart.
“Stop playing around!” Rosado added. “I’m ready and I’m willing. Too many promoters play it safe with their fighters and want to keep everything in-house. That way they keep control, regardless of who wins. Let’s break that mold and make a real fight fans’ fight!”
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
