Former title contender Gabriel Rosado will make his light heavyweight debut Saturday night at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California.
Rosado tipped the scales at 174.8lbs, while Crispulo Javier Andino had to strip nude to make the limit of 176.0lbs.
Rosado, 26-17-1 (15 KOs), is returning to the ring after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus. A 39-year-old who lives in Los Angeles, Rosado last fought on the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia pay-per-view undercard, losing a rematch to Bektemir Melikuziev (after Rosado knocked out Melikuziev in 2021).
Rosado enters the bout on a four-fight losing streak, but he is best known for a memorable clash with Gennady Golovkin in 2013. Golovkin stopped Rosado in the seventh round, but the grit and skill Rosado showed in defeat helped turn him into a fan favorite.
The career of Andino, 36-year-old Andino of Posadas, Misiones, Argentina, has followed a troubling pattern: Every fight he has taken outside of Argentina, he has lost, dating back to 2016. Andino, 26-17-1 (12 KOs), fought in April at Thunder Studios and was knocked out in the first round by Raul Salomon.
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
