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ROSADO RETURNS TO PHILLY WITH TKO
In the second fight of the night, Lamont Barnes, Kensington, halted Zeferino Albino, Southwest Philly, at 2:09 of round two with three knockdowns. Barnes overcame what looked like an insecure start by suddenly leveling Albino early in the second round. Needless to say, this turned things around in a hurry. Barnes hustled along, threw countless punches, and managed the additional two knockdowns needed for an automatic stoppage.
South Philadelphia High School continues to be a fine boxing venue. This was just the second card ever held there. One wonders how is wasn't discovered sooner. Unlike the packed crowd of the first show back in January, a smallish crowd of about 600 came out on this night. Certainly Villanova's appearance in the college basketball final four hurt the gate of the fight. Next up for South Philly High and Bionic Bull Productions is a May 9th card featuring the return of Brian Cohen, who headlined the January show. |
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It
was almost one year ago that prospect Gabriel Rosado last
appeared in a Philadelphia ring. Since that bout at the New
Alhambra last May, Rosado fought in New York and Maryland,
and served as the prime sparring partner for both Bernard
Hopkins (in Miami) and Shane Mosley (in Big Bear). It was in
New York last June when Rosado posted his best career win
when he dropped and decisioned a then-undefeated prospect
named James Moore before a national TV audience on ESPN2. It
was a win that came on the heels of a particularly active
stretch for Gabe. But instead of immediately capitalizing on
that high-profile victory, Rosado packed his bags and headed
out for two back-to-back training
camp
gigs, helping both Hopkins and Mosley prepare for two of the
best wins of their respective careers. Although he helped
both of these stars win big, Rosado let his own career go inactive for eight months,
a mortal sin for a young and rising prospect, and in doing
so probably helped himself lose his next big test. That
fight was a disappointing start against the highly regarded
Fernando Guerrero. Rosado did well in the bout, even
dropping Guerrero with a booming right early on, but he
wasn't able to sustain the pace he'd set in the first half
of the fight and went on to lose the decision. It was a
fight that if he'd won, would have sent out a loud message
to the elite of his division. But instead, Rosado had to
cope with the various would-have, could-have scenarios that
always follow a loss. To his credit, Rosado immediately set
his sights on the one thing that he needed most - a busy
boxing schedule. After the bout he said that he wanted to
put together six more fights before 2009's end - squeezing
them in between his wedding and the birth of his first
child. It was a plan that sounded just right. 
Rosado
began that quest Saturday night at South Philadelphia High
School, one week to the day after his wedding to Jennifer,
the new Mrs. Rosado. In his successful return to the rings
of Philadelphia he faced and defeated Ariel Espinal of
Brooklyn with a fifth round technical knockout in their
scheduled six-round middle-weight bout. Espinal was tough and
scrappy, but Rosado served up a consistent beating for five
full rounds. In the fifth round, after being wobbled by a Rosado onslaught, Espinal took a knee and looked ready to
call it a day. But he did bravely rise and finish the round.
However, just a few seconds into the rest period, Espinal's
corner decided their fighter had had enough. It was a
workmanlike first step back for Gabe. Nothing too flashy,
just a good solid win that raised his record to 11-3 with 7
KOs. He expects to fight again in one month, back at the
same South Philly venue on May 9th. It was the sixth straight
loss for Espinal who's record worsened to 6-8-2. 
One
of the best things about seeing Rosado fight live is
watching his circuitous trip back to the dressing room. It
takes him forever to get there. First he's stopped by
ringside reporters, then by many fans, and finally he makes
his way over to the bleachers where his large family and
cheering section is seated. Like a Wimbledon champion,
Rosado climbs up the stands to greet his clan. As he does,
a queue of additional fans come toward him, offering
congratulations and shaking his hand. He welcomes them all
and shows a warmth that is nowhere to be found while still
in the ring. 
Rosado shared the promotion's spotlight
Saturday night with Kensington's Dennis Hasson, who had the
other co-feature bout of the evening which closed the show.
Hasson went up against Johnny Hayes of Atlantic City in a
super middleweight six rounder. It was Hasson's first go as
a main-event attraction and he won his bout by a wide margin
on all the judges cards. In fact all three officials called
the fight the same, a 60-53 shutout. Hasson served up a
steady menu of long jabs, straight right hands and whipping
left hooks. But no matter how much he plastered Hayes, he
could not get him out of there. Hasson hurt him in round
four and floored him the fifth. In the sixth and final
round, Dennis appeared to drop his foe again, but referee
Hurley McCall ruled Hayes' meeting with the canvas a slip.
This angered Hasson who really wanted to impress. None the less, Dennis won his bout by a mile
and improved to 8-0. Hayes fell to 6-5-1.
The evening started with a scheduled
4-round lightweight brawl between Gustavo Dailey of
Philadelphia and Travis Thompson of Pottstown, PA. These two
could not have thrown more punches during the brief
slugfest. They took turns rocking each other with one wild
power shot after another in a rowdy and thrilling punch out.
After one hectic round, Dailey trapped Thompson on the ropes
and fired away until referee Blair Talmadge jumped in at 34
seconds of round two. Dailey scored his first knockout and
improved to 3-5. Thompson lost his third straight and fell
to 3-5-1. 
South
Philadelphia heavyweight John Mercurio won his second fight
in a row with a second round TKO over Derrick Allen of
Wilson, NC. Mercurio made his pro debut at the same venue
back in January, and repeated tonight with another quick win
before a strong cheering contingent. The two big men went at
it over the first round but the action was suddenly stopped
in the second when a nasty cut over Allen's left eye left
the officials squeamish enough to call a halt at 1:10.
Referee Talmadge asked the doctor to have a look and the
bout was immediately stopped. Although the gaping gash
looked like something that might have been caused by a head
butt, no such call was made and the result went down as a
technical knockout. 
The
final preliminary bout was a hectic affair that featured the
pro debut of "Lightning" Lonnie Jackson against an 0-4 pro
named Soumana Nandou Abdoulaye of New York. Going in,
southpaw Jackson had all the bravado of an established
veteran, and was as cocky and brash as could be until the
first bell sounded. But once his inaugural fight started,
Jackson learned that posting a win isn't as easy as it
sometimes looks. In the four
round
lightweight bout, Jackson went to the canvas in every round.
Although his first trip down was ruled a slip by referee
McCall, there was no question that the following trips were
legit. To his credit, Jackson managed to return the
knockdown favors of Abdoulaye, dropping him in rounds two,
three and four. The ring action was total chaos with the
pair exchanging knockdowns in three of the four
rounds.
The scrap must have been a real puzzle to score, and the
judge's official ballots were split, 38-37 for Jackson,
37-35 for Abdoulaye, and 39-36 for Jackson. I'm not quite
sure how you score a four round fight containing seven
knockouts (six acknowledged by the ref). It felt like
Abdoulaye had the better of it, and he looked absolutely
heart broken by the verdict. The loss dropped his record to
an awful 0-5. Jackson escaped 1-0, and by now I'm sure his
good-natured cockiness has returned.