It wasn’t that long ago that Gabriel Rosado was performing an exhibition in a strip club.

Let me rephrase that.

Gabriel Rosado’s last fight was an exhibition contest in a gentleman’s club in Miami back in November.

Now, the veteran contender is headlining a Misfits card against former pro Ty Mitchell in Derby, England, on Saturday.

“It’s all fun, man,” the 40-year-old told BoxingScene.

“At the end of the day, we getting in the ring. We throwing shots.”

And Rosado still wants to fight and admits he still has that itch that needs scratching.

“For sure, man. I enjoy it. I think the time that I retired and I had that two and a half years off and when I did that exhibition in Miami… It was fun. It was a fun event and commentating fights and traveling and working with DAZN, you look at fighters and you’re commentating and you’re breaking things down and you’re kind of looking at it from a different lens where it’s like, ‘Damn, I want to do that.’ I feel that with my experience I could just bring that to the table and then, using my experience, I can make a run. And I’m just enjoying it. I’m just having fun with it.”

When Rosado first retired in 2022 he did so having lost three on the spin following his KO of the Year victory over Bektemir Melikuziev.

Rosado had two victories in 2025, both in eight-rounders, but even when he walked away, there had been a nagging feeling that he could have done more.
“There’s probably something left,” he said.

“I think the retirement was more about just taking a break. I think I was burned out. And I’m saying I had a crazy run. I think like the last couple of fights was Daniel Jacobs and then it was Bektemir Melikuziev and then it was the [Jaimie] Munguia fight and then after that, it was just back-to-back fights. And I think it was just too much on me and I was just exhausted.”

Losses to Shane Mosley Jnr and Ali Akhmedov followed.

“I think I just needed some time off. I got married. I was able to just chill,” Rosado added.

“Once that kind of faded, then I was ready to get back.”

Asked whether he thought he would miss boxing when he hangs the gloves up for good, Rosado shrugged, “It’s interesting. I don’t know. I look at this like this is my place. I’m home. And I have a boxing ring here [at home] and my bags and stuff. And I really love this shit, dude. It’s a lifestyle. I think I want to make one more run at it and just see how that goes and then I’ll be good. But I enjoy it. I feel good. I mean, I’m in shape. I’m always in shape.”

Rosado pointed to the comebacks of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao as proof that the older guys can still get back to it, and he knows his boxing.

Not only is he a DAZN pundit, but he is from Philadelphia, traditionally one of the sport’s finest fighting cities. Understandably, he is proud of being a Philly fighter.

“I think a Philly fighter is always going to have a heart, will,” he said, as he pointed to some of his obvious qualities. “It’s hard to break a Philadelphia fighter.”

And one of his greatest inspirations was the superb middleweight and light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins.

And Rosado didn’t just learn about Hopkins from the history books or YouTube. He’s sparred dozens of rounds with the Hall of Famer.

It started when Hopkins was preparing to face Welsh star Joe Calzaghe and he needed southpaw sparring. Rosado, then an ambitious 18-year-old, offered to switch stances to accommodate B-Hop. 

Hopkins didn’t just show him stuff, he kept Rosado on for training camp after training camp and they became friends.

Interestingly, Hopkins made that second act transition from Philly “Executioner’ to clever “Alien.”

Rosado was a rough and tumble bruiser, but with his knowledge, is he able to work in a similar transition in styles?
“I’m always gonna like to bang and take it to the opponent,” he smiled.

“But I feel like you can pick your spots and you don’t have to rush right into that immediately you can be a little more smart and more strategic about it. I feel like I’m bringing that to the table now.”