By Dan Ambrose: With his 5th round cut stoppage win over IBF welterweight champion Jan Zaveck (31-2, 18 KO’s) last weekend, Andre Berto (28-1, 21 KO’s) wants to target the big names in boxing like Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Victor Ortiz and Amir Khan.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the kind of performance that would put Berto into one of those fights because Berto was fading badly after only the 3rd round against Zaveck. If not for the cut that Zaveck suffered in the 5th, Berto likely would have lost that fight. As it is, the fight left a lot of controversy and it’s hard to see it as an impressive win.

For Berto’s loyal boxing fans or those who saw it as an impressive performance, they were looking exclusively at the first three rounds of the fight and not the last two. If fans were to look at the 4th and 5th, they’ll notice that Berto had stopped punching, and was taking one-sided punishment as he tried to cover up. Berto looked gassed, and that’s the only way you can explain those last two rounds where Berto was just taking big shots.

Unfortunately, the fight ended between the 5th and 6th rounds because of Zaveck’s cuts, and boxing fans were unable to see if Zaveck could have finished Berto off. But one thing is for sure this wasn’t a fight that leads to bigger fights. It was a bad performance by Berto and a clear sign that something is wrong with his game.

Although he talked about wanting a rematch with Victor Ortiz after the bout, he’s not ready to get back in there with him. Had that been Ortiz in there last Saturday night instead of the slower, weaker Zaveck, Berto likely would have been picking himself up off the canvas in the 4th and 5th rounds. Ortiz would have knocked Berto out.