Allgemeines » he happily accepted the fight with Rosado.We were a

There is no world title at stake in the fight between former world title challengers Gabriel Rosado and Willie Monroe Jr., but there is a chance it could lead to the biggest fight of eithers career.Rosado and Monroe, who have both lost in past world title bouts, will meet in a scheduled 12-round middleweight fight in the co-feature of the Canelo Alvarez-Liam Smith junior middleweight title bout Saturday night (HBO PPV, 9 ET) at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.Golden Boy Promotions hoped to have middleweight titleholder Billy Joe Saunders (23-0, 12 KOs), of England, in the co-feature to showcase him to an American audience, with the plan that if he and Alvarez both won, they would fight in December for what would be Alvarezs debut at 160 pounds. Alvarez is the lineal middleweight champion but has been boxing at a preferred catch weight of 155 pounds.But when Saunders turned down Rosado (23-9, 13 KOs) and Monroe (20-2, 6 KOs) as his opponent, as well as Curtis Stevens, Golden Boy and Monroe promoter Artie Pelullo of Banner Promotions made the match between Rosado and Monroe.If Mexicos Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) beats Englands Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) -- and Alvarez is a heavy favorite -- he would still need a December opponent for a likely 160-pound debut. The Rosado-Monroe winner could be given that huge opportunity.Gabes one of the most exciting fighters in boxing today, Golden Boy president Eric Gomez said. Hes always in a great fight. [Saturday] wont be an exception. Hes going to come to fight, and the big prize is Canelo. The winner of this fight very well could be fighting Canelo in December.Golden Boy, of course, preferred that Rosado, 30, of Philadelphia, would get a shot at Saunders on Saturday. When Saunders turned Rosado down and then Monroe, Gomez wanted to figure out a way to keep Rosado on the card.When that [fight with Saunders] fell apart, I went to Gabe and I said, Gabe, theres a couple of other guys out there. I want to make an exciting fight.The first name that came out of Gabes mouth was Willie Monroe. He said, Get me Willie Monroe. I want to fight Willie Monroe. I want to teach this guy a lesson. This guy has been going after me on social media. Thats the guy I want.So the fight was quickly made between two fighters who both were knocked out challenging Gennady Golovkin for his middleweight world title. Rosado has had two title shots, both in 2013, getting stopped by GGG in the seventh round and by then-titleholder Peter Quillin in the 10th round because of severe cuts.My mom used to say one door shuts, another one opens, Pelullo said. Willie and Gabriel Rosado got this opportunity because Billy Joe Saunders would not fight either one of them. And Eric calls us up and says, Would you fight Gabe? And Willie has never really turned anybody down. So this opportunity is terrific for both Willie and Gabe Rosado. The winner of the fight, and everybody knows this, is a natural for the winner of the Canelo-Smith fight.Monroe, 29, of Rochester, New York, who made a name for himself by winning ESPNs Boxcino middleweight tournament in 2014, got knocked out by Golovkin in the sixth round in 2015 but bounced back in June by outpointing former junior middleweight title challenger John Thompson, the 2015 Boxcino junior middleweight tournament winner.The game plan doesnt really change as much as far as [Monroe] and Billy Joe, Rosado said. Theyre both southpaws. We were already working with southpaws, and they kind of, in a way, have similar styles. I think Billy Joe is probably a little more slicker. But the game plan didnt change. Both guys can box and move and things like that. Its just the style were working on, and its pretty much the same size, so nothing changed.At the end of the day, Ive got Willie Monroe, and were going to take care of business. Thats all it is. Im not even going to think about Billy Joe Saunders.Monroe was ready, willing and able to fight Saunders as well and had begun to train for the possible fight. When it went down the tubes, he happily accepted the fight with Rosado.We were approached with the Billy Joe Saunders fight first, and Gabriel Rosado at least made it to negotiations, Monroe said. When Billy Joe Saunders was asked to fight Willie Monroe, they immediately said, Nope.Even without a guarantee of a big fight with Alvarez going to the winner, Rosado and Monroe are anxious to fight each other.I feel like Monroe disrespected me, and he will see what I think about that in the ring, Rosado said. I am going for the knockout once I step on the mat. This fight has the potential to leave a huge mark on my career, and once that final bell rings, there will be even more opportunities and fights waiting for me.Said Monroe, I am ready to get in and brawl. Its a privilege to be under one of the biggest HBO cards of the year. Going up against Rosado will be interesting, and I am ready to see what he brings into the ring.Rosado labored through a five-fight winless streak (0-4 with a no-decision) before winning his last two fights. He gives a lot of the credit for those wins to new trainer Fernando Vargas, the 1996 U.S. Olympian and former two-time junior middleweight world titleholder.Its great training with Fernando, Ro