By Keith Idec

Sechew Powell has replaced Joel Julio as Gabriel Rosado’s opponent for a June 1 junior middleweight fight in Bethlehem, Pa.

The Colombian-born Julio (37-4, 31 KOs) informed his promotional company, Main Events, this week that he was pulling out of the 12-round regional title fight for undisclosed reasons. Powell agreed today to take the fight on less than a month’s notice.

Rosado readily agreed to the change as well, despite that he was preparing for a fight against a right-handed opponent and Powell is a southpaw. Rosado (19-5, 11 KOs) is coming off the most impressive win of his career, a fifth-round stoppage of Jesus Soto Karass (24-7-3, 16 KOs, 1 NC) on Jan. 21 in Philadelphia.

Like the Rosado-Karass fight, the Rosado-Powell bout will be televised by NBC Sports Network.

Powell (26-4, 15), of Brooklyn, N.Y., has lost his last two fights, a pair of 12-round unanimous decisions to former welterweight and junior middleweight champ Cory Spinks (39-6, 11 KOs) and current IBF junior middleweight title-holder Cornelius Bundrage (31-4, 18 KOs, 1 NC). But Powell is in shape because he has been in training camp with Delvin Rodriguez, helping Rodriguez (26-5-3, 14 KOs) prepare for a June 2 title shot against WBA junior middleweight title-holder Austin Trout (24-0, 14 KOs) in Carson, Calif.

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com.