Jeison Rosario: Humbling setbacks turned him into a beast

Jeison Rosario shared a dream with most children in his poor neighborhood in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic. He wanted to play baseball, which is akin to a religion in the Caribbean nation.

One problem: “I was scared of the ball coming at me,” he said through a translator on The PBC Podcast.

Scared of the ball? That’s ironic given that he is now one of the most-feared sluggers in boxing, a world champion who could climb onto pound-for-pound lists if he beats Jermell Charlo in a 154-pound title-unification bout on Saturday.

And for the sake of clarification: He was afraid of the ball, not the other kids. Rosario was a brash street fighter who thought he was indestructible until one day when he walked past a boxing gym.

It would be the first of several humbling experiences that would shape him as a fighter and a person.

“I liked to fight in the street,” he said. “I thought I was the best, the toughest in the street. One time I walked by the gym. Some kids with a little more experience were sparring. … I got permission to put the gloves on and I got my ass whooped really bad.

“My pride brought me back. And a couple of weeks after I started training, I went in with the same kid and whooped him.”

Jeison Rosario (right) overwhelmed Julian Williams in January. Stephanie Trapp / TGB Promotions

Rosario (20-1-1, 14 KOs) has been whooping people ever since. He won his first 12 professional bouts – 10 by knockout – to set up a fight with hard-punching middleweight Nathaniel Gallimore in April 2017 in Las Vegas, Rosario’s first fight outside the D.R.

The arrogant kid fought Gallimore that day, the kid who thought he was the biggest, strongest and baddest but turned out to be less than he thought. Gallimore put him down three times in Round 6, prompting the referee to stop the fight.

That was his second humbling experience.

“I had a big ego,” he said. “I thought I was stronger than anybody, bigger than anybody, a harder puncher than anybody. So my ego was up. God doesn’t see ego as a good thing. So God punished me for my ego.

“… You saw what happened. Actually it was perfect timing for me to get humble, to train the right way. It was a blessing for me.”

Rosario had to endure one more humbling experience for his career to take flight. He went 6-0-1 in his next seven fights – and avenged a draw with Mark Hernandez in the rematch – which set up a fight with tough Mexican Jorge Cota in April of last year.

Rosario eked out a split-decision victory that indicated to him and his team that changes were necessary. Manager Sampson Lewkowicz, well aware of his fighter’s potential, suggested he work with world-class trainer Luis “Chiro” Perez in Miami.

Rosario took two of the four major junior middleweight belts from Williams. Stephanie Trapp / TGB Promotions

It was a marriage made in boxing heaven. Turns out that Rosario, even though he was 18-1-1 and a contender, trained more like a journeyman than a contender. That changed with Perez.

“It was very hard,” he said. “My manager always told me that to cross over to the next level I need to come here to the United States, with my trainer Luis Perez. I was going from my house to the gym with my wife and kids. There was no proper , no proper anything.

“… Thank God I came here. You saw the result of my fight with Julian Williams.”

Indeed, Rosario went from relatively anonymous contender to an absolute sensation from one fight to the next. Williams, coming off a huge victory over Jarrett Hurd to win two major titles, didn’t last five full rounds with Rosario this past January.

The victory was both a stunning upset and the arrival of a potential star. If he beats Charlo on pay-per-view – particularly if he does it convincingly – he will be a prime candidate to be named 2020 Fighter of the Year.

That street kid has come a long way.

“We put our life in danger to improve economically for our families,” he said. “Other than that, what has changed for me is that people in my country didn’t believe I could compete at this level. Now they’re starting to believe.”

We all believe.