Gabriel Rosado (21-8, 13 KOs) has been winless in his previous four bouts, yet he only remains a slight underdog against the hard-hitting David Lemieux (32-2, 30 KOs). The reason why the odds are close is due to the fact Rosado has been involved in misfortunate mishaps against Peter Quillin, and J’Leon Love. In both fights Rosado seemed to be on the cusp of winning till he suffered a TKO stoppage due to a grotesque cut over his eye against Quillin, and a questionable decision against Love who later tested positive for a banned substance.
Now Rosado plans to reinvigorate his career, and this is the perfect stage to do so. Lemieux also has the opportunity to crossover into stardom with a victory over Rosado. This bout involves two hungry fighters who have a lot on the line. Given the style of these two combatants, it certainly has the potential to become fight of the year.
Here is the Breakdown of the Fight
Size
Gabriel Rosado stands at 5’11½ with an arm length of 71½ inches. He will have a size advantage over David Lemieux who stands at 5’9½ with a 70 inch reach.
Style
Rosado
Rosado fights in two different styles. He can be the aggressor as he was against Peter Quillin, or be the one constantly moving backwards as he did against Gennady Golovkin.
The style that would suit him best for this fight would be as an aggressor. The reason being is due to the fact Lemieux has a difficult time fighting off his back foot. The only two losses Lemieux has ever suffered were against Marco Antonio Rubio and Joachim Alcine. In both fights as soon as he was forced to fight going backwards, he began losing rounds, or ended up being stopped. It is unclear what Rosado’s game plan may be, but this seems to be the most logical way to fight Lemieux.
Lemieux
Lemieux is an aggressive fighter who relies on his natural talent to force fighters to either hold, or to constantly move to keep out of the line of fire, thus winning rounds by having ring generalship. In order for Lemieux to win, he cannot allow Rosado to dictate the pace by forcing him to fight off his back foot.
Power/Chin
Rosado
Rosado is not known as a big puncher but certainly has enough power to gain respect from any opponent. He managed to knockout Brian Vera, and stun Peter Quillin. Knowing the fact Lemieux does not have the sturdiest chin, Rosado is more than capable of dropping Lemieux and possibly scoring a TKO victory.
Lemieux
Lemieux is a very strong dynamic puncher. Rosado has only been out on his feet once against Alfredo Angulo off a clinch, but managed to get back up and ended up being stopped later that round. Despite Rosado’s reputation of being a sturdy fighter, Lemieux is more than capable of knocking Rosado out, or getting a TKO victory.
Speed
Rosado
Rosado is faster on his feet than Lemeiux, which gives him the ability to utilize his legs in the ring to avoid punches, or to set up his shots.
Lemieux
Despite Rosado being quicker on his feet, Lemieux possesses the greater hand speed. This results in Lemieux being the more dynamic puncher, and possibly beating Rosado to the punch in exchanges.
Defense
Rosado
Rosado is by far the better the defensive fighter of the two. He knows how to utilize his legs, has a good tendency of always having his hands up, and is a very defensively aware fighter.
Lemieux
Lemieux has defensive lulls when he cannot overwhelm his opponent with his offense. He tends to shell up and not return fire, which causes him to lose the momentum in the fight and become more vulnerable to punishment.
When Lemieux’s offense is taking over the fight, he does not need to worry about return fire given the fact his power keeps his opponents gun shy. Rosado will probably not be a fighter who will be gun shy due to the fact he’s already been in there with top opposition such as Gennady Golovkin and Peter Quillin.
Despite this, Lemieux has shown good defensive moves from time to time, such as using subtle footwork to avoid shots, and blocking multiple punches with his high guard.
Combinations
Rosado
Rosado is not a fast starter. He prefers to measure his opponents in the first stages of the fight, and then begins to take more risks as the fight progresses. This will probably cause Lemieux to win the first stages of the fight, then to fade if Rosado can take him into deep waters.
Lemieux
Lemieux is not a slow starter. He strives to maintain a consistent offensive pace, but when tested his offensive output begins to drop. Even if the tide is turning away from him, he will still return fire but not with the same ferocity and conviction.
Intangibles
Rosado
Rosado tends to cut very easily and it has been his downfall in a certain number of fights in his career. If he gets cut at any stage of the fight, this will spell huge disaster for Rosado.
Lemeiux
Lemieux has shown signs of being discouraged when he can’t overwhelm his opponent with his offense. It will be very important for him to maintain his composure even if he begins to lose rounds.
Conclusion
After analyzing the two fighters, one cannot go wrong with either pick. There are many unknown factors that do not present themselves in every fight. Will Rosado behave as the aggressor or the boxer? If Rosado’s game plan is to force Lemieux to fight off his back foot, and take Lemieux into deep waters then the pick is Rosado.
Rosado should be able to withstand Lemeiux’s offensive attack in the early rounds, and begin picking up the pace and put Lemieux in an uncomfortable position. The first half of the fight should be won by Lemeiux, and in the second half Rosado should take over, thus ending the night with a split decision victory for Rosado.
