Berto Defeats Rivera!

By David Lahr: Welterweight prospect Andre Berto (19-0, 16 KOs) survived a scare on Friday night after getting knocked down by Cosme Rivera (30-11-2, 21 KOs) in the sixth round at the City Center arena in Saratoga Springs, New York. Berto, 23, was easily cruising along in the bout after having won the first five rounds easily. However, Berto relaxed for a second in the sixth round and was tagged with a devastating left uppercut by Rivera which sent Berto to the canvas.

Fortunately for him, the knockdown occurred near the end of the round, giving him only a 10 seconds with which to last out the round. In between rounds, however, Berto’s trainer decided to make a glove change, a move that delayed the start of the seventh round, thus giving Berto extra time to recover from the knockdown. The crowd hated it and booed angrily, seeming to understand what Berto’s corner was doing. The extra time for Berto paid off well, as he once again took control over the fight and continued his domination of Rivera for the final four rounds of the fight.

Rivera, 31, was cut badly around the right eye in the 7th round. The cut, however, wasn’t bad enough stop the fight, though. Upon seeing the cut, Berto appeared to fight harder, trying for a knockout. It didn’t happen, but he Berto made it exciting trying to finish the job, at any rate. For his part, Rivera landed well in the final four, especially the 9th and 10th, in which he backed up Berto on several occasions and landed well.

Before the bout, Berto was considered to be the # 1 prospect in the welterweight division, even though he hadn’t fought anyone of note before hand. However, this fight showed that Berto is far from ready, as his defense is poor, and he seems to be vulnerable to hard punches. He still may be good enough to win a championship, but at this point, I can’t see him beating any of the current welterweight champions