Gabe Rosado wasn’t going to be anyone’s stepping stone on Saturday.
The veteran boxer scored one of the biggest upsets of the year at a Golden Boy Promotions show in El Paso, Texas, shocking undefeated super middleweight prospect Bektemir Melikuziev (7-1, 6 KOs) with a one-punch knockout in the third round.
Watch video of the KO blow above.
Rosado (26-13-1, 15 KOs) was actually in trouble in the first round, but he weathered the early offense of Melikuziev and battled back for the stunning third-round finish. Entering this contest, the 35-year-old Rosado was just 4-8-1 in his previous 13 appearances, which included a seventh-round TKO loss to world champion Gennady Golovkin.
With the win, Rosado captured Melikuziev’s WBA Continental Americas title and a vacant WBO International title.
This was the first pro loss for Melikuziev, 25, an Olympic silver medalist for Uzbekistan in 2016. His previous three opponents failed to make it past the first round. He holds a notable win over MMA veteran and current PFL lightweight contender Clay Collard.
See another angle of the spectacular finish here:
Our Spanish commentary team went WILD when Gabe Rosado KO’d Bek The Bully pic.twitter.com/LiQovw5wdD
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 19, 2021