Opinions on Berto, and how he'd fare vs the top at 147? Its hard not to like the guy, even if he's not the best at 147. He'll always be entertaining to watch, because he's fast, powerful, and of course has a dodgy chin. I like his handspeed, and combination punching though. That uppercut that dropped Rodriguez was a thing of beauty. In the sense that he's fast with power and suspect chin kinda likens him to a poor man's Terry Norris. As for how he fares vs the rest of the division. Cotto, Margarita, and Williams will definitely beat him, but I can see him giving the later two tough fights. He's soooo much faster than Margarita, but Tony's pressure, and power would be too much for him. Williams-Berto is a good fight, Berto has faster hands than Paul, and would tag Paul alot, but Williams' superior chin and workrate would prob win out. I cant see him being too competitve with Cotto. Miguel would stop him within 6. He might be able to beat the Clottey-Judah winner, though its no guarantee. Actually he matches up better with Clottey, than Zab. Judah if nothing else has enough power to stretch Berto, but Zab is done IMO. Berto-Clottey would be a helluva fight! I wouldnt favor Berto over old man Shane, not even now, but I'd give him a chance. Berto-Cintron would be a highly interesting fight, and one that wouldnt go the distance. Either Berto would take Cintron apart, and stop him, or Cintron would stretch Berto. Berto would probably beat Quintana, but its no sure thing. Opinions?
dsimon writes: Its hard to say how his attributes would hold up under pressure. He is a cutsey:crafty: but like you said, how cute will he look with his speed when he is pressured? I also don't like his footwork. He depends too much on his speed. Margarito would corner him and that would be it imo. He is young. He has to fight up the ladder. Quintaro would be the next logical fight for him. If he gets by that then we can talk.
you can forget about Berto-Williams ever happening. for one, they're both Al Haymon fighters, but even beyond that, DiBella flat out said that he'll never match Andre against him unless he absolutely has to (meaning, if it means one of them becoming undisputed champ). Berto's progress depends on how far his offense can take him. He obviously cant' grow anymore (in height anyway), but it seems at this point that he has little interest in improving his defense. For at least the next year or so, he might have to depend on junior welterweights moving up in order to advance. A Cintron fight would be interesting, though last I saw Kermit (two weeks ago) his hand was in a cast. That fight probably wouldn't happen until years end, but at that, I'm sure he and Main Events take the sloooooooow road back. Berto's not that vulnerable to where Kermit can fight him coming off of a layoff AND a devastating knockout loss. They also talked about fighting the Clottey-Judah winner, which isn't a bad fight, but not sure if enough money is yet available. Honestly, I see DiBella playing it safe and sticking with mandatory challengers. I think Luis Collazo is the next highest rated, and Isaac Hlatshwayo
I thought Main Events dumped Cintron after the loss. I don't mind seeing Berto-Collazo. It'll be like Williams' first test as champion when he faced the somewhat similar Quintana...maybe Berto can fair better than The Punisher did the first time around.
Yeah, you have been saying that for a long time, even when you bet your life that Abdulaev was going to rape Cotto. :laughing:
There seems to be alot of Berto detractors here. He's not one of my favorite fighters, but he's better than I thought he would be. I think he's improved since the Rivera fight. You gotta like his handspeed, and the way he puts punches together. He's pretty accurate, and has above average power.
He's competitive with all of them, but i think he falls short.... No pun intended but he's too small vs Williams. We can't look past the fact that he has been buzzed a few times, and not necessarily against big punchers. I think he could give Margarito problems with his speed and movement....Margarito aint so effective against guys who move....but ultimately, Margarito is too tough and strong. I think he could give Cotto problems too....he certainly has the speed and power to trouble Cotto, who isn't as big as some of the other Welterweight contenders. But after seeing how Cotto dealt with Mosley, it is hard to see Berto bettering Shane's effort. Cotto showed defensive improvement after Judah's speed gave him problems.
They did, I remembered after I posted, but didn't feel like editing. Regardless, I'd be surprised to see Kermit come back that strong, unless he decides that it's nothing but big(ger) fights from here on out.
dsimon writes: There are a few playors there already! And a lot of solid second tiere guys. I don't know Xplosive.... Speed alone with some power will get you a few victories.
I am not a Berto fan, I picked David Estrada to beat him. And even though Estrada got stopped, Berto got hit wayyy too often. I knew Trabant and La Bamba weren't going to beat him though... Collazo may just eek a close one out against him... But Josh Clottey should beat him from the outside rather easy..
I like Berto, he finds a way to consistently conect with his shots, he needs seasoning but he'll have a fine carrer and win his share of big fights.
berto isn't ready for the top welters yet...the physical attributes are without question however toughness hasn't been truly tested and his committment to improving on his weaknesses is still yet to be seen.
vs. Margarito...Tony beats him up over 12 rounds....maybe Ko'ed him late... vs. Williams..Williams by Decision...Berto to short..doesn't use the jab enough..will probably have no idea how to get inside of Wiliams range.. vs. Cotto...Berto some success early because of his speed and Cotto's fighting style..but as the fight goes on the the cream rises to the top...Cotto by late punishing KO... Berto 0-3
That shot of him landing that SWEET uppercut on Miki's chin completely knocked the three flowers out of his mop. His hair was never the same :nono: The best shot I have seen out of Berto :bears:
I disagree about Cintron. Cintron has the mentality of Andrew Golota and Berto isn't exactly physically imposing. I'd take Cintron in that matchup if it happened by the end of the year. I'm not drinking the Berto Kool-Aid. I still see a guy with fast hands who punches with his chin hanging in the air. Like you said, he should feast on junior welterweights for awhile to make a bit of money. After that, he's done. Just to be sadistic, I'd LOVE to see him matched with Cotto.
