Photo by Tom Casino/Showtime
In the co-featured bout of last nights Lamont Peterson vs. Dierry Jean championship bout, rugged Philadelphia fighter Gabriel Rosado (21-8, 13 KOs) took on undefeated up-and-comer, Jermell Charlo (23-0, 11 KOs) for the WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight Title.
Rosado–looking to take the judges out of the equation–came out the aggressor in Round 1, backing Charlo against the ropes and looking set on making his presence felt early.
Charlo didn’t need too much time to settle in and establish his primary weapon—the left hook—early and often, though Rosado did do enough to take the first round.
In Round 2, Charlo took over with sharp punching and intelligent boxing, backing up but still landing meaningful combinations. Rosado walked the champion down, but he didn’t land anything clean or effective and got tagged numerous times coming in.
The second round also saw Rosado starting to swell from Charlo’s accurate punching and you could almost see a cut coming, which has been Rosado’s trademark as of late.
The next few rounds were controlled by Charlo, but it was Round 5 that was the most telling and one-sided for “Iron Man” as he teed off numerous times on Rosado—who suffered a cut due to an accidental head butt.
Regardless of the cut it was Charlo’s conditioning which really distanced him from Rosado as he never really seemed gassed in the bout despite exerting a lot of energy and moving throughout.
In Round 8 Rosado showed life as he found success with the left hook and was able to work the body of Charlo against the ropes.
In the 10th and final round, it was obvious that Rosado needed a knockout to win and he continued to come forward throwing his best combinations.
Photo by Tom Casino/Showtime
Unfortunately for the Philly fighter, he was met with lead left hooks, straight rights and an educated jab all night. The way Charlo slipped punches and used angles was really impressive as Rosado only nine percent of his jabs and 18 percent of his overall punches.
Charlo on the other hand landed an impressive 62 percent of his power punches—138 of 222—and a whopping 50 percent overall.
In the end, Charlo earned a well-deserved unanimous decision victory with scores of 97-93, 99-91 and 100-90.
In the post-fight interview with Jim Gray, Rosado called his cuts his “Achilles heel,” but it was more than just blood that kept him from winning this bout.
Rosado alluded to the fact that he had to employ a different style than he would’ve liked to because the judges always give him a raw deal.
Whether a different style would have helped Rosado against Charlo on Saturday night is debatable.
Meanwhile, Charlo told Gray that this fight was about conditioning and that as soon as he saw the eye was cut [on Rosado] he knew he had to keep going.
With the victory, Charlo (23-0, 11 KOs) remains undefeated, keeps his WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight Title and solidifies himself as a true contender in the Super Welterweight division.
Rosado falls to 21-8, 13 KOs and will have to take a long look in the mirror regarding his career. Perhaps an extended break would do him well and allow the tissue around his eye to heal.
Either way, it will be a tough road back for Rosado who is now 0-3 with one no contest in his last four fights.
Photo by Tom Casino/Showtime
Showtime Championship Boxing Replays: Sunday, January 26, 2014 at 9 pm, EST on Showtime, Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at 10 pm, EST.
