By Dan Ambrose: Former world title challenger Gabriel Rosado is giving Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) a really good shot of beating IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) in their fight on HBO PPV on March 18 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Rosado (23-10, 13 KOs) has shared the ring with Triple G before four years ago in 2013, and he has firsthand knowledge of how good he is. Golovkin knocked Rosado out in seven rounds. Rosado had a good 5th round. Golovkin hurt Rosado in the 6th with a tremendous uppercut. The fight was halted in the 7th.
Rosado rates Jacobs’ punching power, talent and athleticism highly, and that’s why he feels he’s got a good chance of handing GGG his first loss of his career.
Rosado, 30, thinks it could ultimately come down to which of the two middleweights can take the better punch. Rosado suspects that Golovkin might have the better chin, because Jacobs has been hurt in the past in his fights. When you show that you can be hurt, it usually means you could have further problems if you get hit on the right spot.
Rosado said this to esnewsreporting.com about the Golovkin-Jacobs fight:
“I think Triple G has a slight edge; only because Danny has showed that he’s been hurt before,” said Rosado. “Talent-wise, I think they both got skills. I think they both can definitely punch. It’s a matter of who can take the better punch, but I think Danny has got a good shot [at winning]. I think Triple G has got a challenge. I think Danny’s going to bring it. So we’ll see how that plays out,” said Rosado.
What hurts Jacobs’ chances of winning is the way he struggles when he’s pressured and forced to back up. Jacobs loses his power when he’s throwing shots without setting his feet. When Jacobs is in the panic mode, his form breaks down, and he’s throwing shots that are little more than arm punches. Jacobs seems to get stressed out. If that happens to Jacobs against Golovkin, he’ll get taken out quickly. It’ll be a mismatch. Jacobs has got to stay together and try and hold his ground.
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Rosado is picking IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) to defeat former champ Wladimir Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs) on April 29 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Rosado thinks the 27-year-old Joshua will have too much youth, boxing skills and punching power for Wladimir to deal with. Rosado says that Klitschko showed age in his last fight against Tyson Fury in 2015. Wladimir lost that fight by a 12 round unanimous decision.
Speaking about the Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko fight, Rosado said, “I think Joshua wins. You know, Klitschko showed age in his last fight with [Tyson] Fury. So I think Joshua with the youth and power. I think he’s looking decent.”
Wladimir has got a puncher’s chance of beating Joshua, but only if he lets his hands go If Wladimir fights like he’s afraid to throw punches, then he’ll get knocked out quickly. Wladimir has to throw shots for him to have any kind of chance of winning. Can he do that at his age? It’s doubtful.
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When asked what his thoughts are on a unification fight against Deontay Wilder and Joshua, Rosado said, “That’s a pick ‘em fight, because you know both guys throw bombs. They’re both big. They’re both solid. They both got good power. That fight could go either way,” said Rosado.
Deontay Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) has the punching power to knockout anybody in the heavyweight division if he lands one of his right hands. It doesn’t matter how good Joshua is. If he gets hit by Wilder’s right hand clean, it’ll be all over. Wilder has that kind of punching power. His hand speed and size is also quite good.
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Rosado is picking WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia to beat WBA champion Keith Thurman in their fight on March 4 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Rosado thinks Garcia could knockout Thurman.
“I got Danny winning that fight,” said Rosado about a fight between Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman. “I got him possibly stopping Thurman. I think Danny comes out with a win.”