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Popular 26-16-1 veteran Gabriel Rosado laceted up his gloves again Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to face 11-1 Bektemir Melikuziev for the second time. The first time the two men met, Rosado brought the man out of him. Now, nearly two years later, on the undercard pay per view of the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia superfight, the 37-year-old Rosado was looking to impress once again. The match was scheduled for 10 at super middleweight.
The opening round was a slow affair, with each man essentially trying the other. The second round was also slow, as Rosado seemed unable to successfully find range of him. Round three ended up being essentially much the same. Every fighter was so concerned about getting it right that nothing was happening. By the fourth, Melikuziev’s left was starting to find a home. However, the fight remained largely uneventful. The fifth offered more of the same, apart from a left foot from Melikuziev that briefly wobbled Rosado. The sixth also didn’t offer much in the way of excitement.
Melikuziev bowled his left foot effectively in the seventh. The eighth made Rosado look old. At nearly forty, the man may simply not have been able to pull the figurative trigger anymore. Whatever the reason, Rosado certainly didn’t throw much. Melikuziev had good control in the ninth but the fight was certainly boring. Melikuziev banged pretty much at will in the tenth and final round. The judges ended up ruling in favor of him, awarding Melikuziev a unanimous decision victory.