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Jeison Rosario has a hard time embracing the concept that he is at the high point of the career, if only to dismiss the suggestion that the best is yet to come.
Next up for the Miami-based WBA/IBF 154-pound titlist is a September 26 clash with two-time and current WBC titleholder Jermell Charlo, in a three-belt unification bout to determine junior middleweight supremacy. The win comes on the heels of his best performance to date, scoring a 5th round knockout of Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams (27-2-1, 16KOs) to win the belts this past January on the road in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“This fight really means a lot to me, It’s the most important fight so far in my career,” Rosario noted during a virtual press conference on Tuesday to promote their Showtime Pay-Per-View headliner. “It’s a defining moment in my career.
“Some people think I will win, some don’t. Some people think it will be a boring fight but I know it will be an electric night.”
The aforementioned knockout win over Williams ran Rosario’s unbeaten streak to nine in a row since the lone loss of his career. The moment came in the U.S. debut for Rosario (20-1-1, 14KOs) , a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic who suffered a 6th round knockout at the hands of Nathaniel Gallimore in April 2017.
Naturally, boxing fans quickly grew dismissive of Rosario’s chances to make any noise in the always talent-rich junior middleweight division. The perception slowly began to change beginning back-to-back impressive wins over Justin DeLoach and then-unbeaten Jamontay Clark in 2018. Still, he entered the fight with Williams as a considerable underdog—a status he used to his advantage in taking out the division’s top-rated boxer in the world at the time.
There is now less of a chance of his sneaking up on Houston’s Charlo (33-1, 17KOs) in the same fashion, although his chances are still somewhat discounted in the eyes of oddsmakers. FoxBet has Charlo as a -400 betting favorite, with Rosario at a +275 underdog.
In a sense, it still leaves Rosario as the hunter—a scenario he much rather prefers considering the alternative.
“It’s an interesting situation. Charlo has his “Lions Only Promotions and lions, of course, are hunters,” observes Rosario. “I consider this to be my time. Empires fall. Presidents fall. Kingdoms fall. We will find out in this fight, though, who is the hunter and who is the hunted.
“I am ready to fight. I am a warrior and I’m prepared to fight to win. We are really going to see on that night, who truly is the hunter and who becomes the prey.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox