Jeison Rosario message after knockout loss to Jermell Charlo

By Boxing News - 09/28/2020 - Comments

By Barry Holbrook: Former IBF/WBA junior middleweight champion Jeison ‘Banana’ Rosario vows to keep getting up and not quitting following his 8th round knockout loss to WBC 154-lb champion Jermell Charlo (31-0, 18 KOs) last Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The punch from Charlo knocked the air out of Rosario, and he couldn’t recover.

Rosario, 25, was stopped by a spearing jab from Charlo to the body in the 8th round, and he was unable to get back up from the punch. It was one of those unavoidable things that happen in boxing where a fighter gets hit with the type of shot where they can’t continue fighting.

The punch appeared to catch the hard-hitting Rosario by surprise as he was on the outside, and he likely wasn’t expected Jermell to jab to the body.

The good news is that Rosario is OK after the loss, and he’s saying he’ll be back. Rosario (20-2-1, 14 KOs) has the power and the talent to come back from this loss and recapture his lost world titles. But it’s going to be a while before Rosario is given a rematch with Charlo, and he’s going to have to get some victories his belt before he is given a rematch.

Rosario was giving Charlo problems

Going into the 8th round, Rosario trailed Charlo by the scores 67-64, 67-64, and 66-65. Despite being behind in the fight, the contest was still very much up for grabs for Rosario.

Jeison had been knocked down in rounds one and six, but he’d controlled the fight in rounds 2, 3, 4, and 5, with his pressure. If Rosario could handle Charlo’s punching power, he probably would have gone on to defeat him last Saturday, and boxing fans would be celebrating him today.

Image: Jeison Rosario message after knockout loss to Jermell Charlo

“I am sorry if things didn’t go as expected but God does things for a reason. Blessings and thank you all for all the love and support. Champions don’t become champions by never losing. They become champions by never quitting”.

It was a strange knockout that Rosario suffered because he laid on his back after getting hit with the body shot from Jermell, and he didn’t move. Typically, when fighters get hurt to the body, they roll around on the canvas. The way that Jeison laid on his back, it seemed unusual.

The time of the stoppage was at 0:21 of round eight at the time referee Harvey Dock halted the contest. It’s a good thing the fight was stopped. If Rosario had gotten back up, Charlo would have gone right back to his body and put him down again.

Jermell says it was his “destiny”

“It’s Lions Only forever,” Jermell said after the fight. “We’ve been doing this for a long time. Dreams do come true. This is a part of my dream and a part of my destiny. “I knew that he was going to keep coming after the first knockdown.

“He kept pressing for four or five rounds until I floored him again. I’m growing and learning that the knockout just comes. I know that I have explosive power in both hands. I utilized my jab more than any other punch in this fight and that’s what got me these straps.”

Israil Madriimov fight looming at #1 with WBA

With Charlo’s win, he added Rosario’s IBF and WBA 154lb titles to his collection, and he now holds three belts. That sounds good, but it also means that Jermell now has #1 WBA contender Israil Madrimov that will be ordered to face him soon.

That’s going to be a brutal fight for Jermell, as the Uzbekistan fighter Madrimov (6-0, 5 KOs) has looked impressive since turning professional in 2018. What we saw from Jermell in his fights against Tony Harrison and Jeison Rosario is a fighter that loses rounds and struggles when dealing with pressure.

Image: Jeison Rosario message after knockout loss to Jermell Charlo

Like his twin brother Jermall Charlo, Jermell doesn’t throw many punches, and he’s easy to hit. If Madrimov can land as often as Harrison and Rosario did against Jermell, he’ll have a good chance of knocking him out. That could bring an early end to Charlo’s reign as the new IBF/WBA 154-lb champion.