Billy Briscoe: “Rosado Dared To Be Different, Dared To Be Great.”

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    Billy Briscoe is currently preparing his fighter Gabriel Rosado for the biggest fight of his life against one of the most feared fighters in all of boxing WBA middleweight champion, Gennady Golovkin. Rosado is moving up from 154lbs to fight Golovkin for the middleweight crown. A few months ago this fight didn’t seem like it would be on the radar for either fighter, but both men are the kind of threats that detour the lucrative fights due to the fact that they are high risk/low reward guys. Now, with both men being blackballed in their respective divisions, they are forced to match up against one another.

    Many within the boxing community feel this fight isn’t the kind of opportunity Rosado can capitalize off of, but it appears as though this fight could be a win/win for Rosado who is the mandatory for Cornelius “K9” Bundrage’s IBF junior middleweight championship.

    Briscoe is confident heading into the fight and believes his fighter isn’t getting the recognition he deserves. As a trainer, Briscoe is also underrated and a Rosado win could go a long way in giving credit where credit is due. Briscoe has an old boxing soul and it’s apparent that he is wise beyond his years. He began in boxing at age 6 after his father got him started. His father passed away a year later and at age 7, Billy’s mother took on the responsibility of taking him to the gym where he was educated by the more seasoned boxing minds.

    Briscoe feels that there is some risk and reward in taking the Gennady fight, but he also feels that Gabe is a special athlete with a specific mindset.

    “Gabby is the biggest junior middleweight I’ve ever seen. He’s always been a middleweight that can make 154lbs. We could’ve waited because he did win the right to be the number 1 contender in the IBF when we beat Charles Whittaker, but he did it because he dared to be different, he dared to be great, and he’ll take the road less traveled. He wants the fights where nobody gives him a chance to win,” Briscoe told Thaboxingvoice.com.

    The bravery that Briscoe speaks of is what makes Gabe a likeable fighter and in the business of boxing it is rare to find a fighter like Gabe that isn’t afraid to put it all on the line. Briscoe says that he recognized that hunger in Gabe early on and mentioned that it was only a matter of bringing his fighter along the right way.

    “I believe in Gabby, I’ve believed in him since he first came into the gym. This kid had that swagger and he just needed to be groomed, he needed the experience and you can’t rush experience, you can only cultivate it because it kicks in when it kicks in.”

    It is always a risk when a fighter moves up, but Briscoe feels that the move won’t affect Gabe’s chances in the fight.

    “He’s in tremendous condition; we got a very good strength and conditioning man named Jason Fergus and he’s added to his development as far as the conditioning. I really believe we can beat [Golovkin]. When they came to ask me ‘what do you think’ I think he can beat him because styles make fights and what you see is what you get. This guy is full speed ahead and he doesn’t have a plan B, he never backs up. I feel that plays into Gabby’s style real well. I believe we’ll find a way to win.”

    Briscoe has a sharp boxing mind and he is confident that they will prepare the right game plan come fight night.

    “You talk about taking [Golovkin] into deep water, that’s one scenario that we’re experimenting with, but I believe we can get this guy out the same way he can get us out. It’s not always about how hard these guys punch, if you go back in history there were murderous punchers, but they weren’t able to execute the game plan. I don’t want to get too much into what we’re going to do to neutralize his strengths and capitalize on his weakness, but I believe we can beat him on the outside or in the pocket,” Briscoe said.

    Regardless of the fight odds or the perception of fans and media the fight will likely be an entertaining one. Both fighters possess fan friendly styles and Gabe has made some interesting fights in the past. Briscoe feels that Gabe can fight a smart fight while simultaneously making it entertaining.

    “Just because you’re a counter puncher doesn’t mean you have to wait to look for the shot, there are aggressive counter punchers. Aggressive counter punchers are the ones that force you to punch and then punch with you.”

    Although Golovkin is considered one of boxing’s most dangerous, there are those who feel he hasn’t been adequately tested, that is not a sentiment shared by Billy.

    “I’m impressed; you don’t get to where you’re at in the amateur game by not being able to fight. The man can fight and some people say ‘this man ain’t fought nobody and he ain’t do that,’ no that’s not how we see it. This dude can fight, he’s a beast, an animal, a machine, whatever term you want to apply to an individual that signifies the quality of fighter he is lets go with that, he’s all that and then some. But at the end of the day my man is going to find a way to win.

    “I don’t want to belittle this guy and then at the end they say ‘oh Rosado beat him, but he was an unproven commodity,’ but a minute ago he was the hottest thing since sliced bread. So now you want to belittle my guy because we beat him, but if he beats us he’s a beast? He’s the real life Ivan Drago.”

    This is a solid fight all around and if Rosado can turn in a competitive outing then the outcome doesn’t matter because he can raise his stock in a manner that will entice the networks to bring him back. Gabe has an out; he can return to the 154lb division and get a title shot. However, if he can pull off the upset then it will shake the dynamic of the middleweight division indefinitely.