Greg Sirb, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, also recognized the ploy for what it was, and screamed at Soto-Karass' handlers, "You spilled it on purpose!" Their reaction was to shrug.
"It was strategy," Rosado said of referee Steve Smoger's correct decision to call a halt in the action so that Soto-Karass' support team could brush away the ice chips, which it did as casually as possible. "I think Billy would have done that for me, too. It was the smart thing to do. You have to protect your fighter.
"But I knew there was no way [Soto-Karass] could recover from the blows he was taking. Soon as the round started, I went to the body, just to take some of the steam from him so he couldn't get any air."
Despite the "icing," which provided Soto-Karass (24-7-3, 16 KOs) perhaps another half-minute of rest, Rosado (19-5, 11 KOs) nailed down the technical-knockout victory 2 minutes, 6 seconds into Round 5 with a barrage of punches along the ropes that had his junior-middleweight foe swaying like a nervous hula dancer. Given that Soto-Karass had not been stopped in his previous 33 professional bouts, including two losses on points to North Philly welterweight contender Mike Jones, and the bout at the Asylum Arena in South Philly was televised nationally via the NBC Sports Network, it probably was the most impressive performance of Rosado's career.
In the 10-round main event, North Philly's Bryant "Bye Bye" Jennings (12-0, 5 KOs) scored a unanimous decision over Maurice "Freight Train" Byarm (13-1-1, 9 KOs), of Washington by way of his native North Philly, for the vacant Pennsylvania heavyweight championship.
But it was Rosado, also from North Philly, who stole the show from the big guys in the marquee bout, and from everyone else on a very chilly night.
"I'm just ready, man. I'm ready for the big time," said Rosado, whom promoter J Russell Peltz had labeled a "Jekyll-and-Hyde" fighter for his unnerving habit of alternating very good and not-so-good outings.
Rosado said his lack of consistency in the past owed to indecision in forming a ring identity, but that no longer is the case. A frequent sparring partner of WBC light-heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins, Rosado understands now that he is more a destroyer than a dancer.
"Fans don't want to see a guy running around and throwing pitty-pat shots," he said. "They want to see hard punches. They want action. And that's what I want to give them."
Jennings-Byarm was a late fill-in for a matchup of better-known heavyweights, Eddie Chambers and Sergei Liakhovich, which fell apart last week when it was revealed that Chambers had fractured two ribs in training.
