By Dan Ambrose: Former IBF/WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KOs) is ready to fight unbeaten superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. for his September. Further, Berto says he’s interested in scoring a knockout over the great fighter.
Mayweather recently floated the 31-year-old Berto’s name, along with the unheralded Karim Mayfield, as two of his potential opponents for his September 12th date. Mayweather said that he “needs’ someone like Berto to get him ready for his 50th fight.
Most boxing fans saw it as a situation where Mayweather was just kidding around and wasn’t being serious with the media about wanting to fight the likes of Berto or Mayfield However, Berto is taking Mayweather serious, and he’s ready to take the fight.
Berto is feeling especially confident after knocking out high level journeyman Josesito Lopez in the 6th round last March. The knockout, the first for Berto since 2010, gave him a renewed confident that he hasn’t had in many years. Berto wants to use that confidence to give Mayweather his first defeat of his 19-year pro career.
“We were supposed to fight a few years back,” Berto said via TMZ.com about a fight against Mayweather. “This may be the time. I am older. I am wiser. I am focused. If the fight happens, you know it’ll be more exciting than the [Manny] Pacquiao fight!”
It’s not hard to top the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight in terms of excitement, because that was a real defensive affair with neither guy taking the lead to try and make some action happen.
The World Boxing Association gave Berto a No.1 ranking with their organization, and that puts him in the position to get a world title fight, whether it be against Mayweather or Keith Thurman. Both fighters hold the WBA welterweight title, which seems kind of strange until you realize that the WBA has multiple champions for some of their weight classes.
If Berto doesn’t get a fight against Mayweather, then he surely will get Thurman in the near future. It’s very likely that Berto will get a title shot against Thurman by 2016, if he doesn’t get one this year. Thurman would be a tough match-up for a fighter like Berto, because he’s not done well with his career since 2011 with the exception of his victory over Josesito Lopez.
“After getting that knock out in my last fight, that taste of blood is something I missed,” Berto said. “I want it and I need it again.”
If Berto wants to keep getting knockouts, then he needs to lean on his adviser to keep matching him up against 2nd tier fighters like Lopez, because he’s not likely going to be able to knockout the 1st tier fighters like Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, Marcos Maidana, Diego Chaves, Brandon Rios, Thurman, Amir Khan, Roberto Guerrero, Sadam Ali and Devon Alexander.
Berto has unfinished business with Victor Ortiz, Jesus Soto Karass and Robert Guerrero. Those are the guys that Berto should be looking to fight right now rather than wishing for a fight against Mayweather. Berto could get a nice payday against those fighters, and remove of the tarnish from his resume from those defeats.
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