Olympic medalist Bektemir Melikuziev's fight with Gabe Rosado was thought to be little more than a pit-stop on the track towards more daunting challenges but the American veteran clearly wasn't interested in following the script.
American boxer Rosado, who has come up short in four of his eight most recent fights in the ring, scored a contender for the most unexpected knockout of the year during Saturday's Golden Boy Promotions show from El Paso, Texas.
Rosado landed a short right hook on the aggressive Uzbek in the third round to slam the brakes on the title charge many had expected of Melikuziev in his run through the super-middleweight ranks.
It didn't come easy, though. Rosado found himself in trouble in the first round but managed to work through any early uncertainties to establish himself in the fight before he scored the fight-ending shot in the third which left his opponent, a silver medalist at the 2016 Olympics in London, on wobbly legs and unable to continue.
The fight-ending shot clearly amazed both Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins as the two ring legends and partners in Golden Boy Promotions watched on from ringside.
Rosado's resistance was even more notable for the fact that Melikuziev - nicknamed 'Bully' - is a finisher of some repute in his own right. His last three fights were won by KO, and just one fighter has managed to get past the first round with him in his prior seven career bouts.
For Rosado, the win represents a career high and comes after a gutsy performance in a split decision loss to Daniel Jacobs last November. He has also previously faced some of the sport's most recognizable names in Gennady Golovkin, David Lemieux and Willie Monroe Jr., come up short in each of those bouts.
At just 25-year-old, Melikuziev has more than adequate time to get his title bid back on track - but you can be sure that being on the wrong end of a one-shot knockout to a fighter who can charitably be described as a journeyman wasn't part of the plan.
"OMG! Gabe Rosado just scored a KO of the year candidate! He erased Bektemir 'Bully' Melikuziev with an overhand right in the third round. Huge win for Rosado and an upset. Perfect shot on the button!" came the thoughts of boxing writer Dan Rafael.
"I can assure you it's a KO of the year candidate. And it came out of nowhere. In fact, Rosado was basically getting his ass kicked and seemed like he was gonna be TKO'd himself soon," agreed boxing insider Josh Katzowitz.
"Put that Gabe Rosado KO down for Knockout of the Year. My word. Comes off the canvas to get a massive win over Bek Melikuziev," said ESPN's Ben Baby.
Rosado's one-hitter quitter improves his career record to a 26-13-1 (1) but one suspects that none of those wins packed quite the same punch as the one that stopped the 'Bully' in his tracks on Saturday night in Texas.
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