Epic Battles: Peter Quillin vs Gabriel Rosado

By: @medafORACLE

“I feel like I’m at the gym and there’s this little kid that I’m boxing with
Who’s about to piss his pants to get a chance to mix up mittens with Solomon
And I’m holding back cause I know the fact just one good hit will demolish him
I even let him win a little to give the kid a good sense of accomplishment” ~Iron Solomon

The scene is Miami, FL. The day was September 20th. The year was 2010. On this day we witnessed one of the most horrific beatings known to mankind. No, I did not get my days and years mixed up. I am fully aware that Floyd Mayweather Jr. did not fight Diego Corrales on this date. What I’m reminiscing on is Eness versus Iron Solomon in an epic and highly anticipated “Grind Time” battle. A Philly born warrior and New York born warrior went head to head. With the Philadelphia guy being the underdog to the reigning champ from New York City, no one expected the Philly kid to come out on top. In case you missed the outcome of this square off…….the fans were correct. Philadelphia came up short that night.

By now those of you reading this are probably contemplating “this is a boxing blog. I didn’t come here to read about some epically boring rap battle between two guys that know nothing of boxing, so; why am I doing so?” Well, you are correct. You didn’t, and you are not. Let’s step in the phone booth…….

October 26th is the date. 2013 is the year. The scene will be Atlantic City, NJ. Not quite the same location. Not quite the same anticipation but nonetheless, a battle; indeed. The two warriors in said mentioned battle are undefeated (29-0, 21 KO’s) middleweight Champion, Peter Quillin and (21-6 13 KO’s) Gabriel Rosado. As mentioned before, the scenery is different but this is still a Philadelphia versus New York theme. In any type of art, different styles are intriguing. From paintings to Hip Hop to even our beloved gladiator sport we call boxing. Let’s break down this fight stylistically, shall we? Before indulging in this break down, I will have to give you a disclaimer that this will NOT be your typical break down of a World Title Match up….

In Hip Hop we have what we call “delivery” which is your cadence on beat. The most appealing MC’s have a delivery of fluidity, patience, rhyme schemes and switch ups. To be fluent isn’t as easy as combining this fluent cadence with actually saying something meaningful and witty or being “economical” with your words, so to speak. For example: “I’ll smack a rapper/ jack a mic, average rappers get their face cut like a jack-o-lantern from a half of stanza”  This is a multi syllable rhyme scheme that is fluent, patient, yet economically straight to the point. This is what would be considered a “combination” in the boxing ring. A particular MC who embodies such attributes would be the earlier mention, Iron Soloman. If I had to compare his style on beat or in a battle to a boxer it would be Gabriel Rosado. If the ring were a beat, Rosado would demonstrate such attributes in a strategic fashion.

In contrast we have a more basic style of rhyming in Hip Hop with fewer syllables. For example: “Cocaine, you can say I’m dope/ you couldn’t hang if you wrapped your neck in a rope” This is a delivery that is very basic yet still patient as well as economically straight to the point with brute force.  Who embodies such delivery on beat? T3 of Slum Village would be your man. If a J Dilla or Black Milk beat was a boxing ring, then Peter Quillin would be your T3. Quillin is fighter with basic punches, not many combinations, (not extremely fluent if you ask me) yet economical and very brute in force and power. Now, if your true Hip Hop fan were reading this he/she would say “T3 would get demolished in a battle against Iron Solomon!” This statement would undoubtedly be true. This is the slight difference in Hip Hop compared to boxing. Solomon, the more skilled and appealing MC with razor sharp cadence, accurate punch lines and fluidity would indeed obliterate T3 but; in boxing this alone is NEVER enough. There is this very important talent called “defense” in boxing that sets most fighters apart.

How do I see this fight ending? I see Rosado putting on a boxing clinic with his fluent cadence of punches, noticeable punch lines, and beautiful display of crisp flowing combinations while Quillin throws out his 2-3 brute force and powerful punches landing more meaningful, yet not as often. What will separate the two will be defense and how quickly one can respond to a punch line and how accurate their rebuttal to their opponent’s attack will be. From an “appealing MC” outlook, Rosado is the favorite by a landslide. Rosado; very fluent, powerful and economical with his punches will indeed be a tough test for Quillin. If Rosado can withstand Quillin’s brute force punches for 12 rounds, I see Rosado being “King” via split decision on October 26th. This without a doubt will be an epic battle.

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