Andre Berto expects to give Mayweather problems

By Boxing News - 08/29/2015 - Comments

_DSC5708(Photo credit: Idris Erba/ Mayweather Promotions) By Allan Fox: Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KOs) hasn’t done much with his career since his loss to Victor Ortiz in 2011, but he still believes he’s the fighter he once was years ago. Berto says that boxing fans thought he would be more than a handful for Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the past.

Berto feels he’s that same fighter now. He’s injury free thus far, and he’s ready for his big fight against Mayweather on September 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“I know that I’m still the same guy who people thought could have given Floyd problems a couple years ago,” Berto said.

If Berto is the same fighter he was in the past, then all we’ve got to go on is his last two fights against Steven Upsher Chambers and Josesito Lopez. Berto looked good against Chambers, but he was shaky against Lopez until he hurt him with a big shot in the 6th round. Lopez was clearly getting the better of Berto in the first five rounds of that fight.

It’s too bad that Berto didn’t have more time to show what he’s got left before facing Mayweather, because you’d like to have seen what he could do against a tougher welterweight like Shawn Porter or Marcos Maidana.

Right now, Berto just looks like a guy who is being given a fight by Mayweather because of what he did in the past rather than what he’s done lately. It also looks like Mayweather selected Berto because he doesn’t pose much of a threat to beating him in his last fight.

“From an energy aspect I feel great. It’s my first time in a while coming into a fight with no injuries. This is the healthiest I’ve been since I can remember,” Berto said.

There’s still a lot of time to go before his fight against Mayweather on September 12th. With the way that Berto has come up with injuries in the past, he could blow out a bicep or one of his shoulders in the week of the fight. Berto has had some serious injury issues during his career, and I wouldn’t assume that he’s ever risk free when he trains. But obviously even if Berto does suffer a bad injury, he’s likely still going to fight.

If he doesn’t take the fight, then Mayweather will find someone else to fight on September 12th. I don’t see the Mayweather-Berto fight being a big enough one to where Mayweather would agree to postpone it while he waits for Berto to eventually heal up. But Berto is so over-matched in this fight that it doesn’t matter if he is healthy or not. He stands very little chance of beating Mayweather unless he nails him with something big and is able to hurt him.

“We worked on a lot of different things at camp. I have the speed to keep up with him. I have more power,” Berto said.

Berto is pretty fast, but he’s limited in terms of his flexibility, reach and ability to move around the ring quickly. Berto also has limited stamina. He’s like a battery when he first gets inside the ring, and he quickly runs down and then needs to back up against the ropes to rest. Berto did that in fights against Victor Ortiz, Luis Collazo and Robert Guerrero. If Berto’s trainer Virgil Hunter hasn’t taught him to stay in the center of the ring then he’s going to get knocked out by Mayweather.



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