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Veteran gatekeeper Gabriel “The King” Rosado (25-13-1, 14 KOs) vows a stoppage win in his fight versus Bektemir “The Bek Bully” Melikuziev (7-0, 6 KOs), which is penciled to take place on June 19 as a part of the undercard to the Jaime Munguia vs. Kamil Szeremeta showdown.
Rosado, 35, a long-time contender in the light middleweight, middleweight and super middleweight division, comes off one of his finest performances in recent years – a close, split decision loss to former champion Daniel Jacobs in November 2020.
“Get your tickets! I promise you a knockout, [the fight] won’t go to the scorecards, and I’m gonna knock this young kid out”, shouted Rosado in his mini-video gig.
“I’m fighting a young Bull on June 19th. Really eager to see if this kid a champion but I promise your this: if a fight ever broke between us, I’d put his run on hold. I like the kid but he definitely is not ready for me, [he] will hit a speed bump. It’ll be a learning process. He will learn from me – hopefully – and move on to better things but it’ll be a speed bump, trust me”, continued Rosado.
“Bektemir, he is a one-trick pony, punches with one hand. I’m getting back on my cocky s…t. He will be taken to school really quick, just the way I did it with Daniel Jacobs. So Bektemir, he is strong, [but he is] a one-trick pony, has just one punch in his pocket, [he] will be gassed out by the sixth”.
The Bek Bully answered the different way.
“I have nothing but an outmost respect for Gabriel Rosado, and I wish him to successfully come into the fight fully fit, injury-free and without any disturbs. I expect him to present me with really difficult tasks in the coming fight”, commented Melikuziev.
Rosado fought a who’s who of the middleweight division and neighboring weight classes and was stopped just four times in his career – only against proven knockout artists: Alfredo Angulo in 2009, Gennady Golovkin and Peter Quillin in 2013 and David Lemieux in 2014.
Rosado’s ledger lists former beltholders Kassim Ouma, Humberto Gutierrez and Joshua Clottey among his victims. He has also defeated some other known names – James Moore, Saul Roman, Jesus Soto Karras, Sechew Powell and Glen Tapia.
Melikuziev, 25, is by far less experienced as a pro, having debuted just two years ago. Rosado will be his toughest career test to date, but Melikuziev has tons of amateur experience to back up his aspirations. The Uzbek amateur star captured silver medals in the amateur world championship in 2015 and the 2016 Rio Olympics. He is also a two-time (2015 and 2017) Asian amateur champion.