Ex-WBA ‘Super’ and IBF champion Jeison Rosario will return to the ring against the WBC’s No.1 contender Erickson Lubin in June in an excellent match-up in the talent-laden super-welterweight division.
Dominican Rosario (20-2-1, 14 KOs) had a roller-coaster 2020, shocking the world’s consensus No.1 154-pounder Julian Williams in five rounds in a monumental upset in January before losing his crowns via a crushing eighth-round body shot KO against WBC king Jermell Charlo the following September.
He has no easy tune-up on his return. Former amateur star Lubin (23-1, 16 KOs) turned pro early with Mike Tyson’s now-defunct promotional vehicle Iron Mike Productions in 2013 before moving over to Al Haymon’s PBC organisation.
The Florida southpaw has largely impressed but was caught cold in the first round of a WBC title bid against the aforementioned Charlo in October 2017. After winning five straight, he is ready to illustrate his improvement in an intriguing crossroads encounter with the heavy-handed Rosario on US network Showtime, according to Mike Coppinger of The Athletic.
Main image: Stephanie Trapp/TGB Promotions.