Rosado takes boxing in ‘the pit’ seriously

When Gabe Rosado won the inaugural Big Knockout Boxing middleweight title Aug. 16 at Mandalay Bay, he made a promise to himself.

As long as there was a BKB and he was still the champion, he would defend his title.

“I took it very seriously,” said Rosado, who will make his first defense of that belt tonight against Curtis Stevens in the seven-round main event of BKB 2 at Mandalay Bay. “I always said if BKB came back, I’d be back. I want to be the face of BKB.”

Rosado, 29, who is from Philadelphia and has a record of 21-9 with 13 knockouts in traditional boxing, won the title by knocking out Bryan Vera in the sixth round of their seven-round bout. He intends to do the same to Stevens, who is 27-5 with 20 KOs in traditional boxing and making his BKB debut.

“I promise you, I am knocking him the (expletive) out,” Rosado said. “I’ve got the experience (fighting in BKB), and he’s been talking a lot of (expletive). He’s trying to build himself up, but he’s washed up. He has no idea what he’s in for.”

The hybrid of traditional boxing is fought in a 17-foot circle area called “the pit” with safety ramps surrounding the circle. If a boxer steps onto the ramp, it is considered a knockdown. There are no ropes, and rounds are two minutes long instead of three in traditional boxing. BKB fights are five or seven rounds.

All fighters competing tonight will have a sensor embedded in their gloves to measure the velocity and impact of their punches. The graphics displaying the data will be used on the pay-per-view telecast, which begins at 6 p.m. and will be available for purchase via cable or satellite providers for $29.95.

Stevens, 30, from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been trained by former world champion Sugar Shane Mosley for his BKB debut. He said he’s going to fight his fight and stay on top of Rosado.

“It’s a phone-booth fight,” Stevens said. “I’m going to take away his space and do what I do.”

There’s some bad blood between the fighters. At a news conference Thursday, Rosado and Stevens jawed at each other and nearly came to blows when they posed for photographers. Greg Hackett, who trains Rosado, got into a heated exchange with the Stevens entourage.

Rosado said fighting in the pit is tricky when it comes to footwork, and he believes his experience of having fought a BKB fight gives him a huge edge.

“I tried to act like I was in the middle of the ring when I fought Vera because there’s not a lot of room in the pit to move around,” Rosado said. “But the key was staying busy. You’ve got to let your hands go because the rounds are only two minutes long. There’s no time to rest during the round. You’ve got to throw punches. If you’re delayed in your reaction, it’s going to be a problem.”

Rosado said he has one other incentive besides keeping his title. The winner would get a $30,000 bonus for a knockout.

“I see a short fight,” Rosado said. “I want that knockout and that $30,000.”

The card includes BKB’s first female fight, with Las Vegas’ Layla McCarter facing Australia’s Diana Prazak in a seven-round bout for the BKB lightweight championship. The first bell is at 5 p.m.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.