Kassim Ouma, former light middleweight world champion and Ugandan child soldier came to a crossroads in Newark N.J., unfortunately for him, he met the younger and stronger “King” Gabriel Rosado there. Ouma lost a 10 round split decision to Rosado, a tough Philly fighter who seemed to have sensed that he too was at a crossroads in his career. Facing perhaps the greatest challenge in his boxing life, Rosado passed “Go.” Ouma passed into the murky and ill-paid world of the former champion “known opponent.”

 Ouma, never known for his punching power, peppered the retreating Rosado throughout the fight, but not enough to capture the favor of the majority of the judges who scored the bout:  Lawrence Layton 96-94, Rosado; John Stewart, 97-93 Rosado, and Thomas Kaczmarek, 96-94 Ouma. The decision was met with some skepticism at ringside.

 Early on Ouma (26-6-1, 16 KOs) controlled the fight, scoring frequently against the bigger, stronger and younger Rosado (12-3, 7 KOs). But as the fight progressed, Rosado met with success as he held his ground, moved forward and threw punches. He looked more comfortable in the second round, and connected in the third round with three good left hands to Ouma’s body and solid shots to the head. Learning that he could outpunch and manhandle the smaller man in the very small ring, Rosado then promptly failed to do so with any regularity until the last two rounds. Instead, during the middle rounds he chose to move backwards, Ali shuffle, and even attempt an ill-fated bollo punch. But when Ouma ran him down, Rosado effectively held to stave off the attack, and occasionally stepped forward to land.

 In the last two rounds Rosado came to life. He took the fight to Ouma, pummeling him against the ropes in the 9th and landing clean, hard and effective punches throughout. Ouma had no response. In the 10^th, though somewhat gassed, Rosado dug deep and continued his assault, moving forward and connecting almost at will. In the end, it was enough.

 Rosado is tough and has talent and a punch and I look forward to seeing him box again. One hopes in the meantime he has the time and ability to train rigorously and maybe even take a tuneup before his next big crossroads fight—honing his skill to match his heart.

 As for Ouma, some dreams end better than others, and one hopes that success at the box office for the documentary recounting his life will keep him from the indignities of a fallen ex-champ.