Wednesday 14 September 2016 14:28, UK
Gabriel Rosado has launched a scathing attack on Billy Joe Saunders after failing to secure a shot at the WBO world middleweight champion.
Saunders (23-0-KO12) had been expected to meet America's Rosado (23-9-KO13) on the undercard of Liam Smith v Saul Alvarez this weekend but passed up the opportunity and will instead defend his crown on Fury v Klitschko II on October 29.
Rosado will instead take on Willie Monroe Jr and said in an interview reported in the Daily Mail: "Billy Joe has no interest in defending the title, he just wants to capitalise on making money off it.
"If he wanted to defend the title like a true champion, he would have come to the States like Calzaghe and Hatton and proved to the American people he is a star.
"He chooses to hold the title hostage and go for the money.
"That is what it comes down to. We plan on knocking out Monroe and then maybe we will fight Billy-Joe in the UK. I know there are a lot of opportunities that present itself."
The man Saunders has been calling out this week, Gennady Golovkin, is a former conqueror of Rosado, who claims that the champion is far more interest in money than respect.
Rosado added: "He didn't want to fight me. He said: 'What do I get out of beating Rosado?' But what does he mean? You get a chance to fight the winner of Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez against Liam Smith.
"You get to show America who you are. If you want to be a star, all the big guys from Britain when they wanted to be stars they came to America - Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Hatton.
"What does this say about him? It shows he is not interested in his legacy or defending titles. He is just interested in making a cheque."
Golovkin (36-0-KO33) has already stated facing Saunders in an attempt to unify the division is his No 1 priority.
