By Ian S Palmer
Veteran Gabriel Rosado of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania takes on Ali Akhmedov of Kazakhstan on the undercard of the Gennadiy Golovkin vs Canelo Alvarez tilt this Saturday, September 17th. The 10-round super middleweight bout for the vacant IBF North American Super Middleweight Belt from Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live on DAZN in most nations. Rosado last fought in April when he dropped a 10-round majority decision to Shane Mosley Jr for the WBA Continental Americas Super Middleweight Title. Akhmedov last boxed in December when he stopped Paul Cuesta in the first round.
The 36-year-old Rosado carries a record of 26-15-1 with 15 Kos and has boxed 330 rounds since making his pro debut in 2006. He’s just shy of 6-feet tall and with a 71.5-inch. Rosado’s not really a powerful puncher despite his spectacular one-punch KO over Bektemir Melikuziev in June, 2021, as his current knockout ratio is just 34.9 per cent. And even though he’s been stopped four times, Rosado is known to possess a pretty solid chin.
Rosado has taken on the likes of world middleweight champions Peter Quillin and Gennady Golovkin in the past with Quillin stopping him in the 10th round on cuts and Golovkin halting him in seven. Rosado has also been beaten by Alfredo Angulo by second-round TKO, Derek Ennis by 10-round majority decision, Fernando Guerrero by eight-round unanimous decision, Joshua Onyango by eight-round unanimous decision, Chris Gray by six-round unanimous decision, Jermell Charlo by 10-round unanimous decision and David Lemieux by 10th-round stoppage.
He also dropped a 12-round split decision to Daniel Jacobs, a 12-round majority decision to Martin Murray, 12-round unanimous decisions to Jaime Munguia and Willie Monroe Jr and a 10-round unanimous nod to Maciej Sulecki. He lost a 10-round split-decision to J’Leon Love in 2013 but the result was changed to a no-contest after Love failed a drug test while his lone draw was a 12-round affair with Luis Arias in 2018.
Rosado has lost his fair share of fights but has taken on some pretty tough customers along the way and was competitive against just about all of them. His biggest wins have been against Melikuziev, Glen Tapia, Sechew Powell, Jesus Soto-Karass, Saul Roman, and Kassim Ouma. Rosado is a tough customer, but doesn’t have much power and that’s why he’s usually fallen short when stepping up in class. He has a lot of energy and heart and that’s what makes him a fan-friendly boxer.
As for the 27-year-old Akhmedov, he now fights out of California and enters the ring with an impressive 18-1 record with 14 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2016 following a pretty good amateur career and has boxed 76 rounds since. There’s no doubt Akhmedov has the edge in power as his current knockout ratio stands at 73.7 per cent. He also has the edge in height by 1.5-inches as he’s 6-feet-1-inch tall but he gives up 3.5-inches in reach to Rosado with a wingspan of 68 inches.
The lone loss on Akhmedov’s record came at the hands of Carlos Congora by way of a 12th-round stoppage in December, 2020 for a shot at the vacant IBO Super Middleweight Title. He’s taking a step up in class this weekend as his biggest wins have been against the likes of David Zegarra, Andrew Hernandez, Patrick Mendy and Marcus McDaniel. Since turning pro he’s captured the NABF Jr. Light Heavyweight Title, the WBC Youth World Light Heavyweight Title and the WBC International Silver Super Middleweight Belt.
Prediction…
Rosado has tons more experience and always comes to fight but isn’t the greatest defensive boxer. His power is somewhat underrated and he can often be relentless in attacking. Akhmedov is also an aggressive boxer and this could turn into quite an entertaining fight. Given the age difference here and Akhmedov’s power though I’m leaning towards him.
