SAN ANTONIO – Gabriel Rosado and Shane Mosley Jr. failed to deliver on their promise of in-ring violence.
In a bout where both fighters desperately needed to win, it was Mosley who ultimately prevailed over Philadelphia’s Rosado by majority decision in a tepid ten-round super middleweight affair. Judge Angel Mendez (95-95) had the bout even, overruled by judges Tom Carusone (98-92) and Ruben Carrion (97-93) who had Mosley winning the co-feature bout Saturday evening at Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Action was slow out the gate, as the passionate crowd quick to offer their disapproving feedback. Boos rained down from the opening bell, which saw the Las Vegas-based Mosley Jr.—the son of Hall of Fame former three-division champion Shane Mosley Sr.—fight behind his jab as Rosado came forward but wasn’t able to do much even when able to close the gap.
Fans did their best to provide entertainment after failing to receive it in the ring, bringing back ‘The Wave’ which made its way around the venue several times while ignoring what was taking place in the ring. It didn’t seem to resonate with Rosado and Mosley, who remained on the hunt but with little in the way of sustained offense for much of the first half of the bout.
Mosley connected with a pair of body shots late in round five, while Rosado was falling short with his left hook and producing mixed results with his jab and right hand, Chants of ‘We want a fight’ boomed from the crowd in round six, which saw Mosley fight behind his jab during the moments when the two weren’t engaged in awkward clinches.
Rosado’s desire to force a fight left him open for a right hand to the temple more than a minute into round seven. The counter shot by Mosley was enough to briefly disrupt the jeers. Rosado tried to counter but was slow to the draw and his left hook continuing to miss the mark. The Philly-bred veteran worked behind his jab but couldn’t connect with his trailing right hand.
Mosley stayed the course in the final three rounds, sticking to what worked. Rosado remained on the hunt but often unable to let his hands go or even land anything of consequence once he made his way inside.
Rosado sold out and went for broke in the final minute of the fight. It resulted in his landing a pair of chopping right hands, though Mosley responded with power shots of his own. The two traded down the stretch, with Mosley shaking off right hands from Rosado to connect with a right uppercut. Rosado pawed at his eye at the end of the fight, as both found a turnbuckle to mount in belief they won the fight.
In the end, it was Mosley who claimed a much-needed win as he advances to 18-4 (10KOs). The fight was the first for the second-generation boxer since a narrow ten-round defeat to Ireland’s Jason Quigley last May.
Rosado suffers the third defeat in his last four fights as he falls to 26-15-1 (15KOs). The former title challenger and longtime cult favorite enjoyed a momentum swing in 2021 following his stunning third-round knockout of Bektemir Melikuziev and even garnering favorable press in his spirited twelve-round loss to Jaime Munguia last November. However, Saturday’s showing was not one for the scrapbook for the Freddie Roach-trained Rosado.
Mosley-Rosado served as the chief support of a four-fight DAZN telecast topped by the ring return of Victorville, California’s Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18KOs) who faces Ghana’s Emmanuel Tagoe (32-1, 15KO) in a scheduled 12-round battle of lightweight contenders.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox