Ennis / Rosado makes Philadelphia the fighting city again.

Ennis / Rosado makes Philadelphia the fighting city again.

Mike Cassell Philadelphia Boxing Report

The curse of every great fighter with real natural ability and heavy hands is that they have a tendency to not work on the skills needed to make themselves a complete fighter. We have seen this time again with extremely talented fighters, who never get tested when then need to be tested, only to find themselves in a bad position later in their career, with no real tools to fix the problem. Philadelphia’s Derek “Pooh” Ennis 21-2-1 (13KO’s) could have been one of those fighters. Ennis had the luxury of having probably one of the best trainers in Philadelphia, possibly the country, his father former professional fighter Derrick “Bozy” Ennis. Bozy, as he is affectionately called is a tax master who demands perfection and proficiency. But most importantly, he demands the mind of his fighter. Back in February of 2007, young Derek Ennis made his national television debut fighting on Showtime against a rugged fighter named Allen Conyers. Ennis at that time was 10 – 0 – 1 with 7 KO’s. Conyers was 10-2 with 9 KO’s.

 In round one, it went the way Ennis and his father Bozy wanted. Conyers was out on his feet, and seemingly out of the fight, and with a different referee, the fight might have been stopped. In round 2, the rugged and durable Conyers who ironically calls himself “The dream Shatterer” (which isn’t really a word, but is pretty cool) caught the anxious young Ennis, and completely turned the fight around, stopping him with a barrage of desperate punches. This almost exact scenario would repeat itself in August of 2008 with Alphonso Williams. Ennis was clearly winning the fight through three rounds, and Williams caught Ennis with a check left hand, while Ennis carelessly was diving in to finish Williams. Derek’s trainer and father Bozy Ennis knew that his son was not using every tool in his box, and knew that these losses, although painful, may have been needed to reel the exceptionally talented young Ennis in, and he couldn’t have been more right.

Since that Alphonso Williams loss in 2007, Derek “Pooh” Ennis has banged out nine straight victories against good competition. The most noticeable exception of this impressive run compared to his first nine wins is his KO percentage. He only had three KO’s out of the nine, and that is just fine with his father and trainer Bozy Ennis. He feels his son has moved into the realm of the complete fighter. He also feels he is smarter, and much more technically proficient than ever before, and that means he is using all his skills, instead of relying purely on his natural ability. Pooh, as he is affectionately called, is the USA Pennsylvania State light middleweight champ as well as the USBA Light Middleweight Title holder.

This FRIDAY July 30th, he will return to the very arena he lost to Williams, to face one of the most dangerous fighters in Philadelphia, and what a back story this is turning out to be. Gabriel Rosado is 14 – 4 (8KO’s) is beyond tough. Boxing fans in Philly know the name, and know that this kid is no joke. Rosado ironically suffered from some of the same growing pains as Ennis. He started his career 12 – 2, banging it out with anyone who wanted it. His two early losses came by decisions against fighters who were able to out box him. Rosado would eventually realize he needed to box better, and brawl later. His only losses after that were to undefeated Fernando Guerrero and rising star Alfredo Angulo. Since then he has defeated former title holder Kassim Ouma and Latif Mundy, which dropped mouths and left fight fans in Philadelphia wondering, now that Rosado is has honed his craft, who is gong to face him. Enter Derek Ennis.

This fight has all the earmarks of being a classic Philadelphia battle, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the late 1960’s. This is what Philadelphia boxing is all about and why Philadelphia has garnered the reputation it has over the years. This fight and more like them will be the reason boxing will rise from within. It doesn’t take long for a national audience to notice the courage of two great fighters to meet toe to toe, with a lot to lose, and bang it out for relative peanuts, and the brilliance of a legendary promoter to make it happen.

This fight is for our generation. We grew up hearing about legends like Gypsy Joe, Kitten, Briscoe, and Hart. Who knows, one day we may be telling our grandkids about the night that “King” Rosado and “Pooh” Ennis met in South Philadelphia in the middle of the one of the worst heat waves in Philadelphia history, to try and carve their names into the sacred stone that is Philadelphia professional boxing.

The seven-bout card begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Arena in South Philadelphia.

Tickets priced at $50 and $75 are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing Promotions (215-765-0922) or online at www.peltzboxing.com.