By Jake Donovan

It’s a scenario that Gabriel Rosado has lived through before and can’t believe is happening again.

The part-time actor and full-time resurgent middleweight was believed to be on the verge of landing a dream opportunity. In queue was a promised crack at unbeaten titlist Billy Joe Saunders of Great Britain, with the proposed bout budgeted for the supporting cast of the September 17 pay-per-view at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, headlined by Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in pursuit of another unbeaten titlist from the U.K. in Liam Smith.

The matchup itself is intriguing, more so in its placement as it would serve as an unofficial eliminator for a much bigger opportunity in the very near future. With a win, Saunders was guaranteed a lucrative showdown with Alvarez, which was targeted for a December date on HBO prime. An upset win by Rosado would’ve likely landed the Philadelphia-bred, Los Angeles-based boxer the same opportunity.

For the moment it’s a moot point. Saunders – who has been inactive since outpointing Andy Lee to win his middleweight strap last December – decided that the opportunity wasn’t enticing enough to prompt his stateside debut. One website quoted the Brit as claiming his displeasure with the opponent selection, that Rosado was merely an alternative to an unnamed challenger he believed would better raise his profile.

Whatever reasons are offered, Rosado sees them as nothing but petty excuses while sorting out his own future.

“I can’t believe I’m going through this all over again,” Rosado told BoxingScene.com on Thursday of the drastic change in plans. “This same exact thing happened with James Kirkland, where I kept signing contracts to take a fight that never happened. Now I’m going through the same thing with (Saunders).

“In my mind, this fight was a done deal 10 days ago. I went to Wild Card Gym to begin training. We hired sparring partners. Now all of a sudden we get word that he turned down the fight, giving the lamest excuses. He claims that a fight with me does nothing for him.”

There was a time when Rosado (23-9-0-1NC, 13KOs) would consider accepting such logic as a viable excuse. The 30-year old hit a rough patch in his career, going five straight fights without a win even if at least two such bouts ended in controversy.

He’s since turned things around, changing training locations from Philly to Los Angeles – a move that brought aboard former two-time super welterweight titlist Fernando Vargas – and having since won two straight along with his newfound fame in Hollywood film circles, including a gut-check win over Mexico's Antonio Gutierrez in June. The hulking figure (by middleweight standards) landed a guest starring role last year’s critically acclaimed Creed, the latest spinoff in the now 40-year-old Rocky franchise.

What’s going on his pro career currently rivals the fictitious roles he’s been offered to portray in Hollywood in recent months. Sadly, it’s not at all make believe, but in fact déjà vu for the middleweight hopeful.

“Last year I thought I was gonna get my big break and fight James Kirkland on HBO,” Rosado said in comparing this current scenario to his last high-profile fight. “He kept taking the fight, turning down the fight – it worked out because I still got to fight and beat Joshua Clottey (on HBO Latino last December).

“But this – I can’t wrap my head around it. Dude, the winner of our fight will get Canelo in December. I mean, who cares who you fight to get there. You can fight whoever you want. The winner gets Canelo. That’s more than he’s ever made, and more than he’ll make for whoever he thinks he will get to fight at home.”

Not only do the reasons offered to pass on the fight come across as elitist, but the belief as far as Rosado is concerned is that it’s a cover-up for the realization of what was coming in September.

“He posted a couple of pics of himself on his Instagram in the past few days – my man got some titties going on, he don’t look like he’s in any kind of fight shape,” Rosado theorizes. “He probably seen me already in shape and going at it hard, and realized what he was getting himself into, that he ain’t walking into no sure thing in September.”

Rosado learned long ago that no fight is ever a sure thing, in terms of the perceived outcome. Brought up Philly tough, he suffered two early losses by his eighth pro fight and struggling to a 14-5 start through his first 4 ½ years as a pro.

Things turned around by the time a new boxing series hit the airwaves, Main Events’ NBC Sports Network Fight Night. Rosado appeared in the inaugural installment, scoring a 5th round stoppage of Jesus Soto Karass, paving the way for two more wins that would eventually position him for a title shot.

Rather than hang around at super welterweight, the 6’0” boxer moved up to middleweight where he would take on unbeaten and dangerous-punching titlist Gennady Golovkin. The HBO-televised affair couldn’t have been more brutally lopsided, but Rosado – in suffering a 7th round stoppage loss – showing his fighting heart in the process.

“Yeah, GGG got me, I give him that,” Rosado acknowledges, though with a disclaimer. “But you know what? He never put me on my ass.”

Unfortunately, it kicked off a stretch where he wouldn’t see the win column for more than three years dating back to his stoppage victory of Charles Whittaker in their Sept. ’12 title eliminator. A controversial points loss to J’Leon Love – a fight in which most believed Rosado won with room to spare – was converted to a No-Contest when the then-unbeaten Michigan prospect tested positive for a banned substance.

“J’Leon Love, yeah they did me dirty there,” Rosado recalls. “First they steal the win from me, then find out this guy’s cheating. Then came that bulls*** with Kid Chocolate (Peter Quillin), where everyone knows I was winning the fight until that bogus stoppage.”

The latter came in Oct. ’13, followed by a convincing points loss to Jermall Charlo the following January. Rosado took a break before returning by year’s end, suffering a 10th round stoppage to David Lemieux.

“You know what, yeah I lost the fight, but it was a big hit with the ratings,” Rosado points out, with the main event of the Dec. ’14 tripleheader peaking at more than 1.1 million viewers. “I can’t explain it, but the times I’ve fought on TV against those guys – Lemieux, GGG, even on Fight Night, fans wanted to tune in. Guys like me, Orlando Salido and a few others out there – we proving that records don’t always tell the whole story. We come to fight.”

Rosado came to fight in his first fight back following his Hollywood tour. He returned to the ring last December, pounding out a hard-fought and well-earned points win over Joshua Clottey. The bout aired on HBO Latino from the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, taking place mere hours after the last time Saunders has punched for pay, winning a middleweight belt in a points win over a stunningly lethargic Andy Lee.

“That’s dude’s best win,  that and Chris Eubank Jr.,” Rosado notes. “What’s the common theme in both? They were some boring ass fights. Wasn’t no kind of attendance for the Lee fight, so what does that tell you? That nobody gives a f*** about this guy.

“I ain’t taking away his title win. He won the belt and he earned that right to be called champ. Nobody can ever take that away from him. But – what’s he waiting on? He can’t get to Canelo without fighting me, without fighting on this card. He don’t want Gennady. He don’t want that other guy (secondary titlist Daniel Jacobs) – you gotta fight somebody at some point, but it looks like he just wants to stay at home and get fat off soft touches over there.”

Saunders was due to face lightly regarded Max Bursak this past April in England, but pulled up lame with an injury in scrapping the bout. At the time, it was theorized that he was holding out for a summer clash with Golovkin, having waffled on the same opportunity for a springtime showdown. However, he remained silent on both occasions, calling out the unbeaten Kazakh knockout artist only after he’d signed to face Dominic Wade and Kell Brook, respectively.

Meanwhile, it appeared as if he would be steered toward Alvarez, the lineal middleweight champ who looks to pick up another belt at super welterweight before fully campaigning at 160 pounds. It can happen, but Saunders shouldn’t expect a free pass to get there.

“Look, the Rosado fight is still there if (Saunders) wants it,” Golden Boy Promotions spokesman Stefan Friedman explained to BoxingScene.com. “I can’t say what’s going on in his mind right now, but this is a great opportunity for him – and for Rosado – to plead their case to fight Canelo later this year. The matchup is a great complement to the Canelo-Liam Smith main event, and the winner lands the biggest star in the sport, hopefully later this year.”

Rosado puts it another way.

“You want to be a star, you come to the U.S.,” he notes. “There’s no bigger than (AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys). He’s got the belt, yeah. But my resume is bigger than his and he’s the champ. What’s that tell you?

“Nobody knows who the hell you are. This is the moment of proof and letting the world know who you are, to shine on PPV and the opportunity to fight and beat Canelo.

As for his own placement on the show, Rosado doesn’t seem overly concerned with his future – although he knows the fight he wants in order to get to the opportunity he craves.

“Golden Boy is telling me they are working on a backup plan if this guy stays scared and don’t want it,” Rosado says of potentially moving on from Saunders. “What I understand is that I will remain on the card. But it's boxing. I'm not holding onto anything until I'm walking into the ring. My goal is to fight someone on September 17 and then fight Canelo in December. That should be his goal too. (Forget) that bulls*** that I’m not relevant for you.

“The attraction would be you fighting me on this card and then it's a big deal. That would spice up the card. Nobody is giving Liam Smith a chance versus Canelo. But you put our fight on that builds up interest. Now you have two guys from the UK on the same show, and these same two fights where the winners can meet later this year. That’s my goal. I want Canelo, and I’d love to beat Billy Joe Saunders to get there.”

Twitter: @JakeNDaBox_v2