Nelson fought for a title at 135 once against Pernell Whitaker but was unsuccessful. Instead of facing Whitaker he decides to face Rosario for his belt when he won it against Anthony Jones. Rosario declines a Juan Nazario rematch and agrees to fight Nelson in 1990. Would Nelson have a shot at beating a guy like Rosario to become a 3-weight world champion or would Rosario’s power have been too much for the Professor?
Nelson was the much better all around fighter so it’s not impossible. But Rosario was bigger and punched like a freight train. Nelson would have to fight cautiously and weight for his openings as Edwin didn’t have the best chin or defense. Hard to choose here. Very dangerous fight
I go with my man Rosario. Sure Nelson is very skilled so he would be able to keep things interesting for a good while. But Rosario is not slouch himself and as the saying goes, all things considered the bigger champ wins. Soon or later, The Professor gets schooled.
Rosario would certainly be the favorite to win but I think the professor is the type of guy to beat him. The longer the fight goes, the better it looks for Nelson. I think if he handles Rosario's power early, he drowns him late in the fight.
I think by that time Rosario was already on the decline after that punishing loss to Chavez years prior. I personally think that around 1990 Nelson had the skills to beat Rosario. He certainly has that boxing guile plus the relentless pressure to either outbox or perhaps outslug him. The only question is how well he'll be able to take Rosario's punching power. There's always the chance of Rosario catching Nelson clean with a savage punch that could make him crumble.
