Jacobs-Rosado Finally Settle Things Friday Night

I don’t know if anyone told you all, but Daniel Jacobs and Gabe Rosado aren’t friendly rivals but just rivals. And, they finally get to settle their differences in the Seminole Hard Rock Casino’s closed confinement in Hollywood, Florida, Friday night to close out the latest card seen on the streaming service DAZN.

This fight goes back to potentially taking place last December when the cloud of controversy surrounding Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. took shape. Chavez Jr. came in overweight, and after five rounds and by all accounts from everyone in attendance, simply stopped fighting. That resulted in fans throwing beer and whatever they could into the ring.

Worth noting this was the last time we heard blow by blow man Brian Kenny call for the DAZN network, and his grand exit was being pelted by his own account a bottle of Bud Light.

Not exactly, the Lou Gerhig farewell speech on the way out for sure, but Rosado was slated to be the alternate opponent for Jacobs for that fight, but instead was the little-seen walkout bout against Gutierrez Ochoa, which he won by unanimous decision.

Rosado and Gutierrez Ochoa boxing in an empty arena. The arena staff have been allowed to stay and watch. Polite applause during their intros. pic.twitter.com/rRh5vSltKy

— Corey Erdman (@corey_erdman) December 21, 2019

The tense weigh-in on Thanksgiving wrapped, and both made weight, so that won’t be an issue. The issue out of all of this is based on who you ask. Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs) doesn’t think that Rosado (25-12-1,14 KOs) is on his level and said as much in the talk leading up to the fight.

“Understand your position,” the former IBF Middleweight champ Jacobs stated to Rosado in a very dismissive tone at the final press conference on Wednesday. “Levels. You know that. I could’ve fought world champions. I had opportunities. Eddie Hearn (Jacobs’ promoter) can tell you. He hated that I chose to fight you. Look at Instagram.

Look at Twitter. Everybody is bashing me for taking this fight.

“But for me, I still say that it’s an opportunity for me to shut a man’s mouth who has been speaking very bad about me over the past year. You and I both know the things you’ve been saying, the hate that you’ve been giving me over the years. Jealousy that resides within your heart.”

Rosado leading up to this fight, has flat out said that Jacobs isn’t world champion caliber and stated his past opportunities that Jacobs’ came up short.

“The competition he fought coming up was no big deal, no disrespect to those guys,” Rosado said at the final press conference. “When he had to step up, two times against Canelo and GGG, he fell short. I came up fighting the top guys. I had to learn on the job. He was groomed to be where he’s at, it’s different. But when he stepped up, he lost. It’s going to be a war on Friday, I promise you.”

“My self-belief and confidence, knowing I am willing to do whatever it takes, and I don’t think that he has that in him. There’s nothing he brings to the table that I haven’t seen already. I’m experienced. I have a great team and had a great camp, so I am locked in.”

While Rosado is confident in the upset, the gambling line over MyBookie isn’t, as they have him as of this writing as a 9 to 1 underdog. When this fight was originally mentioned, I kind of groaned at it because, just like many others, everyone has seen Rosado and doesn’t think he’ll be able to hang with Jacobs, given the battles Rosado has had over his career.

Rosado has talked this up and seizes the opportunity Friday night to prove me and many others wrong.