A year ago, Gabriel Rosado was preparing for the fight that many believed would be his swan song as a professional fighter. 

He was 34, with a lot of wear on the tires, and with a 2-3-1 record in his previous six fights, few gave him a shot at beating former world champion Daniel Jacobs on November 27, 2020.

And while he didn’t get his hand raised that night in Hollywood, Florida, losing a split decision to Jacobs in a fight many thought he won, Rosado proved that he wasn’t done yet. 

Then the Philadelphian rose from the canvas to knock out previously unbeaten Bektemir Melikuziev in three rounds in June, and all of a sudden, he may be a win over Jaime Munguia away from his third world title shot. And that’s all he’s wanted over the last eight years - another shot at getting a belt. If he gets it, he may just leave his gloves in the ring and walk off into the sunset as a champion.

“I choose boxing because it's an addiction,” he told me before the Jacobs fight. “I always say it's who you are. You can't tell a pianist when he's 50 or 60 years old that he can't play the piano anymore. It's in his DNA, it's who he is. Obviously with a fighter, Father Time tells us when it's our time (Laughs), but once a fighter, always a fighter. And for me, it's just wanting to get a title, and once I get a world title, I'm satisfied. That's the final goal right there, to win a world title and I can just retire.”

Ask most and they would admit that they didn’t think for a second that after losses in 2013 title fights to Gennadiy Golovkin and Peter Quillin that Rosado would be here, fresh from a Knockout of the Year candidate against one of the rising stars of the game and about to battle a 37-0 former world champion from Mexico in a bout with clear title implications. 

That’s Hollywood stuff, especially after Rosado went on to go 4-6-1 en route to his stunning win over Melikuziev. But with experience, a couple breaks going his way, and an alliance with Freddie Roach that appears to be paying clear dividends, the 35-year-old is in position to prove that age and a 26-13-1, 1 NC record means nothing once it’s only two men and a referee in that ring.

“I think the last couple fights since I actually linked up with Freddie Roach, I think it shows,” said Rosado. “This is an improved Gabe Rosado. I have experience; I’m putting in the work. Yes, my record is deceiving. I wasn’t the guy with the machine behind me, with the big promoters, big management behind me, so a lot of times, I went into fights where the other guy was the favorite. And there have been fights that should have gone my way, where I got the s**t-end of the stick. And it showed in the Danny Jacobs fight. I just saw that fight, and I was like, ‘Wow, clearly I outboxed him.’ But, you know, that’s just the beauty of it, that the fans get to see it, and the fans, at the end of the day, can’t be fooled. I made a statement in my last fight, which I think will be Knockout of The Year. So, we’re excited about this Munguia fight.”

On paper, this is the perfect showcase for the 25-year-old, a former 154-pound champion now chasing gold in the middleweight division. Since moving up, Munguia is 3-0 with three knockouts, stopping Spike O’Sullivan, Tureano Johnson and Kamil Szeremeta. And while Rosado is seemingly surging, Munguia didn’t back down from the danger involved from fighting someone he is expected to beat. “King” Rosado appreciates that.

“Munguia could have gone the easier route,” said Rosado. “He could have gone with his mandatory, so you have to respect the guy that says, ‘No, I want Rosado.’ He is willing to give the fans what they want, and that’s what makes this fight special, that it’s a fight that the fans asked for. In boxing nowadays, with the politics, it’s hard to give the fans what they want. This right here is just like an early Christmas gift for the fans. It’s gonna be lit.”    

Many thought that Munguia would have pushed off the Rosado fight to instead take on Sergiy Derevyanchenko, with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger to WBC champion Jermall Charlo, but he didn’t. Whether that becomes a costly decision or not is all up to Rosado, who is as confident as he’s ever been.

“You can teach a lot, but you can’t teach experience,” he said. “I feel like I have fought the tougher fighters, so I definitely have experience on my side. And I am healthy, I am strong, I am not fading. I am just getting better.”

Not exactly what anyone thought they would be hearing from Gabriel Rosado in late-2021. But boxing’s a funny sport, and just when you think you know it all, you realize you know nothing, and if Rosado can make it to this point after being betrayed by his skin, the judges and the business, anything can happen. 

Now it’s up to Rosado to turn that anything into something in 12 rounds or less.