Philly’s Gabriel Rosado punched through a wall at the Blue Horizon and learned how to win in defeat

Gabriel Rosado pushed carts at ShopRite, was a maintenance man at Father Judge High School, changed trash bags at the Plymouth Meeting Mall, worked the overnight shift at a Home Depot, and dug holes for a water company.

He dropped out of Roxborough High School before the end of his freshman year with the plan to become a professional boxer. And he was willing to do whatever it took to fund his dream.

“Boxing had to work out,” Rosado said.

So that’s why he punched through a wall in October 2006 after leaving the ring at the Blue Horizon. He suffered the first loss of his career — “It was a robbery,” Rosado said — and the career he needed suddenly felt uncertain.

In boxing, one loss is enough for a prospect to be cast aside. For Rosado, that one loss was the start of a long career that has proved there’s a way to win in defeat.

Rosado (26-16-1, 15 knockouts) has lost his last three fights and has won just twice since 2017, yet the 37-year-old continues to land prime fights. His next bout is Saturday’s super-middleweight rematch against Bektemir Melikuziev (11-1, nine KOs) on the Showtime pay-per-view undercard of Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia’s showdown of two of boxing’s most popular fighters.

The event in Las Vegas is considered to be the biggest fight card of the year. And it will include Rosado, who has 13 more losses than the seven other fighters on the PPV telecast combined. Promoters and network executives know that there’s more to the fighter than his unappealing win-loss record.

His fights are rarely boring, as the boxer who grew up at 5th Street and Sedgley Avenue is known to push the action. He isn’t afraid of a challenge as most of his losses have come against top foes. Even when he loses, Rosado tends to find a way to win over fans like when he refused to quit in 2013 against Gennady Golovkin despite an eye shut and his face bludgeoned.

Rosado — as his record shows — does not always win. But he holds his own and puts on a show. That’s enough to keep him near the top of the sport.

“I think it’s a unique route that I’ve taken. I’m probably the only one that’s taken this route,” Rosado said. “In boxing, a lot of guys play it safe. I don’t think it’s necessarily the fighters playing it safe. I think it’s more of the handlers. You can win a fight and put on a boring performance, and no one wants to see it. You never want to lose, but you can lose a fight and put on a brave performance or you can get robbed. At the end of the day, it’s an entertainment business. If you put on a show, the networks want you, the promoters want you, and the fans want to see you again.

“It’s hard in this sport. One loss is a major setback. But I’ve always had that Philly mentality where I just don’t quit. I think people resonate with that. I’m just a blue-collar guy and I give it my all in the ring. It’s kind of like the Rocky story, right?”

Rosado was supposed to headline a card last month in Los Angeles on DAZN, but the bout was scrapped a day before when his opponent — Gilberto Ramírez — failed to make the 175-pound weight limit. The disappointment didn’t last long as Golden Boy Promotions called a week later to see if he wanted to fight Melikuziev, whom Rosado knocked out in the third round of their June 2021 bout for his most recent win.

Rosado, who does not have a promoter or manager, was in. He lost his main event in L.A. — where Rosado has lived since 2014 — but he now had a prime spot on a bigger card. Rosado’s record didn’t stop him from securing a place.

“Fans want to see great fights,” Rosado said. “Look at fighters from the old-school era. Joe Frazier had losses [32-4-1], but he’s Joe Frazier. Roberto Duran, you can’t say how many losses Roberto Duran had [16, against 103 wins], but you know he’s a legend. Now the undefeated thing is the Mayweather effect, and everyone wants to blueprint what Floyd did. But that’s Floyd. I don’t think anyone can do what Floyd did, but I think that’s what you see nowadays where promoters and managers are scared for their guys to lose because of what that can do. I think I’m proof that if you just give a good show, the fans are going to want to see you.”

Rosado said his goal is to have one more shot at a world title, which he last fought for in 2013 when he challenged for the middleweight title. A win over Melikuziev could help position him for that. The 27-year-old Melikuziev won a silver medal for Uzbekistan at the 2016 Olympics and was a top prospect before Rosado flattened him in 2021 with what was later named the Knockout of the Year by Ring Magazine.

Melikuziev has since won four straight, three of which came by stoppage. The lone blemish for “The Bully” is the overhand right Rosado stunned him with. But it wasn’t a surprise to Rosado. Freddie Roach, Rosado’s Hall of Fame trainer and the former cornerman for Manny Pacquaio, had prepared him in training camp for that exact shot.

“You can see the celebration immediately as I landed it,” Rosado said. “It was like, ‘That’s it. That’s the money shot.’ It was like punching through air. I didn’t even feel the shot. It landed so crisp. He went down. It was dead weight when he fell. Like hitting a home run.

“It’s important that you look good in your fights, but at this stage I have to win. I have to win this fight. I’m motivated to prove that the knockout wasn’t a fluke. In his mind, he probably thinks it was a lucky shot.”

Rosado was working at a Home Depot in South Jersey when he positioned himself for his first world-title shot. He trained in the morning at the Rivera Recreation Center at 5th and Allegheny, ran in the afternoon, and drove over the bridge to work the late-night shift. It was a grind, but Rosado said he enjoyed the people he worked with.

And now he’s living in L.A., training at a iconic gym with a famous trainer, and fighting on boxing’s biggest stage. The dream he thought was slipping away when he punched through the wall — “I left my mark at the Blue Horizon,” he said — is now his life. The losses didn’t stop him.

“The older I get, the more I actually appreciate this,” Rosado said. “It’s like, ‘Man.’ I’m young, but I guess for boxing they say I’m old. But I think you take things for granted in your 20s. Now I’m able to realize, ‘Wow. I’ve had an 18-year pro career. That is crazy.’ To have 10 years as a pro, you’re lucky. Anything past that is a blessing. For me to headline Madison Square Garden and fight at the MGM and Mandalay Bay and go overseas to Liverpool, I’ve had a great career. I’m enjoying it. But I’m not satisfied yet. I definitely want one more shot at the title.”