After a big, loud Saturday that saw Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr do their exhibition, Jake Paul lay out Nate Robinson, and — in actual high level boxing news — Joe Joyce score a big win over Daniel Dubois, Friday night’s fight between Daniel Jacobs and Gabriel Rosado has pretty much been lost in the shuffle already.
I mean, the fight was also miserable to watch, so that’s not too unexpected. Even fellow pros were deeply disappointed by the bout, especially the bizarrely flat performance from Jacobs, who eked out a split decision, certainly not without controversy.
Rosado (25-13-1, 14 KO) still firmly believes he won that fight, as you’d expect he would. It’s not his first time coming heartbreakingly close to what would have been a big win, and the fact that ring announcer Jeremiah Gallegos seemed to be announcing him as the winner — before correcting himself — probably only made it that much worse.
The 34-year-old Rosado definitely didn’t lose anything in terms of reputation or standing with the bout, and will likely get more chances like this going forward. His record isn’t pretty, he’s not a big name star, but Gabe can still fight and compete, and everyone knows it.
“All the smack this guy was talking and I kept him quiet using a busy jab and counter punches,” Rosado said on Instagram. “My defense was on point making him miss consistently. I controlled the pace of the fight like a seasoned pro. (Jacobs) expected me to jump in and fight reckless, but I fought a disciplined fight, boxing and applying pressure at the right times.
“January (marks) my 15th year as a pro. I been doing this for a while! I’m a student of the game and I know my craft. They don’t give me my credit for my ring IQ. The commentators always bringing up the fact that I cut easy, which is old news. I haven’t cut since 2014! They want war and don’t appreciate the fact that I’m able to reinvent myself so I can last in this tough sport and be able to count my money when I retire. I entered the sport for longevity, I paid my dues, let me add to my legacy!”
The fight could easily have gone to Rosado — to be clear, I had it 115-113 for Jacobs, but so many rounds were close enough that it came down to maybe a single shot, or just kind of blindly picking who got the 10-9, really. All three judges also had it 115-113, two for Jacobs and one for Rosado. But the question marks coming out of the fight are all on Jacobs. Rosado proved he’s still who he’s been, that there’s still some gas left in the tank after a long, tough career where he’s fought a lot of good and great fighters.