Abel Sanchez, “Rosado’s just another step on the journey to super stardom for Golovkin”

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    1995

    Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 knockouts) has become a fight fans favorite for his willing to fight all comers. Has he bitten off more than he can chew by accepting a fight with hard nose, battle tested Puerto Rico’s Gabriel Rosado (21-5, 13 KOs) on Jan. 19 ?

    Experts and fans alike maybe quick to write off Rosado’s chances at winning let alone being competitive but Abel Sanchez trainer of Golovkin doesn’t think so he feels this is as dangerous fight as any. “Of course we’re worried. In the press conference I mentioned we’re going down to 58 and he’s (Rosado) going up to 58 [catch weight of 158 lbs]; we’re giving him another 4lbs. As a coach I’m not going to say that worries me but that just tells me ok this kid is not going to have to sacrifice to make 54 [154 lbs, Rosado’s pervious weight class]. So since he was good at 54 he is going to be a little bit better and a little bit stronger; a little more nourished because he didn’t have to sacrifice to get down to 54. So of course I’m thinking about that and I have to take that into consideration and of course he has power at 54, so with 4 more pounds and no sacrifice, he’s going to have a little more power,” Sanchez said.

    Gennady Golovkin is adored by executives at HBO. Let’s be realistic Gregorz Proksa was approved before a Gabriel Rosado or a fighter like Rosado. Golovkin was allowed the liberty to showcase his talents in front of the millions of HBO subscribers as to introduce this knockout sensation to the boxing public. That luxury is no more as the approval of the Golovkin’s opponents have become a more tedious and strenuous task by both HBO and his handlers. “There were a couple guys that were approved by the network, HBO. First of all, there was a list of about twenty guys that they gave me and I approved all of them. From number 1 to 15 I approved all of them.” Did HBO approve all of them? Sanchez continued, “No HBO approved Rosado and Fernando Guerrero.”

    Matchmaking, buying quality fights, fights that the fans can relate to, accept, and want to see; possibly purchase if need be on a pay-per-view must be a difficult task for any one man or group of people. How did we get here? Here being Golovkin vs. Rosado; where a champion has to fight at a catch weight to make a fight. Why a catch weight anyway? Fernando Guerrero is 160 lb fighter is he not? I’ll tell you how, it’s about who’s marketable in that venue on that date, and more importantly on your television screen.

    Guerrero is a draw in his hometown of Salisbury, Maryland but not outside of that. In Salisbury, Guerrero can pack close to 8000 plus, but outside of Salisbury who knows Guerrero? The hardcore’s know him but they also know him for being knocked out in his step up fight against an old Grady Brewer. Rosado has his down side; he’s lost five fights with the most memorable being knocked out in the first round against Alfredo Angulo.

    Since that lost he’s went (9-1-6 KOs). “Martin Murray obviously is not available because he’s going to Argentina [Facing Sergio Martinez]. Darren Barker was fighting over in England. Some of these guys are not available in rankings when they gave me all those names but I approved all of them, it’s just who they can get. There were other names besides the names in the [WBA] rankings and there were some names in the 154lb. [division], and some names at 168lbs that I said ok to. When I did, they went out with Tom Loefler from K2, our promoter, to try to make some kind of offer, some kind of deal with one of those guys,” stated Sanchez.

    Sanchez went on saying, “They came back with the only two guys that were available and that HBO would approve were Rosado and Guerrero. They [HBO] didn’t want a blow out, they wanted a competitive fight. Not only a competitive fight but they wanted a guy in there with Golovkin that was known in the US. They wanted a guy that had marketability and a good run going. Rosado seemed to be the one who has that. I guess he’s been fighting on NBC [Sports Network] and has had like 7 fights in a row with 5 knockouts on TV in the US. So he was the most marketable out there for HBO. So when they said Rosado, I said fine I approved him already so it didn’t matter.”

    Rosado’s size and in ring experience on a pro level may pose some serious threats to Golovkin. Standing tall at 6 feet and with a reach of 78 inches, Rosado has the ability to become a thorn in the plans of the HBO Golovkin hype train. The 30-year-old is riding high off a win streak of 10 consecutive knockouts, including four successful defenses of the WBA middleweight belt he won in Kazakhstan in 2010.

    Golovkin has 350 amateur fights under his belt to go along with all the international experience. His extensive amateur background includes boasting wins over Andre Dirrell and Andy Lee, while knocking out Lucian Bute in the amateur ranks “Gennady had 350 amateur fights, he fought at 75 kilos in the Olympics. Bute was bigger than Rosado; Rosado’s just another step on the journey to super stardom. He’s going to prepare just like he was going to prepare for a shorter guy. It doesn’t matter once they get in there with Golovkin they find out that he’s like Wladimir Klitschko, he’s that big,” expressed Sanchez.