Saturday night, Feb. 19, Gennady Golovkin (25-0) defeated Gabriel Rosado (21-6) with a 7th round TKO in which Rosado’s corner stopped the fight due to an extremely bloodied Rosado. The bout was for Golovkin’s WBA middleweight title and was televised on HBO.
For Golovkin, the bout showed that he should truly be considered a top contender in the middleweight division and will likely be in a mega fight in the very near future.
Throughout the fight, Golovkin applied a lot of pressure and landed some crisp punches that ended up having Rosado with a badly cut eye and bloodied face. With fighters such as Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in the middleweight picture, , it should be interesting to see who Golovkin takes on next as there are many notable names at 160 pounds that could pose as viable options for Golovkin.
From a marketing perspective, it seems that HBO is making an investment in Golovkin as they may believe he may be one of the next great middleweights. Nevertheless, if Golovkin can continue to put on impressive performances on U.S. television then he will likely get the mega fight he seeks against a world class opponent that could provide him with a significant payday.
On the other hand, Rosado will likely drop back down to his normal weight class at 154 pounds as he was moving up 6 pounds in weight to challenge Golovkin. Though, credit must be given to Rosado as he was a “game” opponent that came into the ring looking to win and raise his stock.
At times, Rosado was able to land punches that showed Golovkin can be hit and may have drawn in some middleweights to accept a challenge from Golovkin that prior to this fight would not have. Consequently, the boxing world should expect to see Rosado get another significant opportunity within the junior middleweight division.
Overall, the bout was another example for the boxing world to confirm that Golovkin is a major player at 160 pounds that poses a threat for any notable fighter in his weight class. It will be intriguing to see who decides to take on the challenge next as it is evident that Golovkin is willing and ready to take on any world class fighter that comes in his path.
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