A few notes from around the boxing world:
- Middleweight Gabriel Rosado would have preferred to fight for a world title on the Canelo Alvarez-Liam Smith undercard Sept. 17 (HBO PPV, 9 p.m. ET) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but he quickly adjusted when that fight fell through.
“Originally, I was supposed to [challenge] Billy Joe Saunders in a world title fight on this card. I was very excited,” Rosado said. “[Trainer] Fernando [Vargas] and I started camp right away. Things, for whatever reason, went south with that fight and Golden Boy gave me options on who to fight next. Once we changed the opponent, we got focused on someone else.”
Saunders turned down the fight after being close to a deal, and Rosado (23-9, 13 KOs) was matched with another opponent Saunders also rejected, fellow former title challenger Willie Monroe Jr. (20-2, 6 KOs).
“I think Monroe is a decent fighter, but I’m going to show that he is not on my level as far as experience,” said Rosado, who like Monroe was stopped by Gennady Golovkin in a world title fight. “I think I’m a young veteran. I’ve beat top names and lost to top names, but I’m bringing more to the table.”
- Lightweight prospect Ryan “Blue Chip” Martin (15-0, 9 KOs), 23, of Cleveland, will face a new opponent on short notice Saturday night on the undercard of flyweight champion and pound-for-pound king Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez’s move up in weight to challenge junior bantamweight world titleholder Carlos Cuadras on Sept. 10 (HBO) at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Martin was due to face Fermin De Los Santos (28-15-2, 18 KOs), 32, of Mexico, in an eight-rounder on the international telecast, but De Los Santos was stopped at the border and not allowed into the U.S. for the fight, according to Martin manager Tim VanNewhouse. Instead, Martin will face Cesar Villarraga (9-1, 4 KOs), a 31-year-old 2012 Colombian Olympian.
- Vito Mielnicki of GH3 Promotions announced he has struck a multiyear deal with One World Sports, which is available on DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, Verizon Fios and Charter, among other systems, for a series of boxing cards, which will kick off Nov. 12 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The main event will feature junior featherweight prospect Adam Lopez (15-0-1, 7 KOs) against an opponent to be determined in a 10-round fight. Welterweight prospect Ed Brown (18-0, 15 KOs) will face an opponent to be named in the eight-round cofeature.
“We are incredibly pleased to announce this partnership with One World Sports across all of its national platforms,” Mielnicki said. “This series will help create and grow new stars of boxing. With the diversity of fighters featured thanks to our relationships with many different promoters, such as Victory Boxing Promotions, who will co-promote the first show, each show will showcase quality fighters and provide top-notch entertainment.”
More News
Liu Gang, Brico Santig Join Forces
Highland’s Double Impact: August 18 at Lumpinee
Balajadia, Atencio in Action in Thailand