Rosado vs Whittaker Winner Will Get IBF Title Shot Against Bundrage

The September 21 fight between Gabriel Rosado and Charles Whittaker will serve as an IBF title eliminator, with the winner receiving a shot at Cornelius "K9" Bundrage's junior middleweight championship down the road.

Rosado (20-5, 12 KO) is currently ranked No. 3 by the IBF, while Whittaker (38-12-2, 23 KO) is ranked No. 2 for whatever reason (I'm sure they have one). Rosado has earned his way into the picture recently with solid wins over Jesus Soto Karass and Sechew Powell, and is currently the No. 10 junior middleweight in the world in the BLH rankings.

Whittaker, a 38-year-old fighter from the Cayman Islands and now living in Miami, is nowhere near any legit top ten. While it's true he hasn't lost a fight since 2004, he also hasn't really beaten anyone of any significance. At one point, he was a proposed opponent for Vernon Forrest when Forrest held at 154-pound title, but American TV rejected the fight.

Rosado vs Whittaker will be the main event of the next NBC Sports Fight Night show on the NBC Sports network on Friday, September 21, at 9 p.m. EDT. Also on the card, Ronald Cruz will face Antwone Smith in a welterweight bout, and Sergey Kovalev will take on Lionell Thompson.