By Eric Baldwin: Former IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (26-2-1, 16 KOs) says he’ll be fighting Andre Berto (31-4, 24 KOs) in April. The fight still needs to be officially announced, but this is great news for the boxing fans.
Porter, 29, last fought in June of last year in losing a close 12 round unanimous decision to WBA World welterweight champion Keith Thurman. That loss ended a 2-fight winning streak for Porter, but he came close.
Berto, 33, wasn’t willing to admit that he’s fighting Porter. Berto says he’s waiting on his manager Al Haymon to tell him who he’ll be fighting next. However, Porter sounds very confident that he’ll be facing Berto next.
Porter said this to Fighthype.com in announcing the Berto fight:
“I’m being told it’s April, and I’m being told it’s Andre Berto,” said Porter. “I’m looking forward to the fight being solidified really soon. I’m glad you stopped ragging your feet. Have your game face on. I’ll see you fight night,” said Porter.
Berto’s career has slowed since losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2015. Berto fought just once in 2016 in beating Victor Ortiz by a 4th round knockout last April. It was a good performance by Berto, but he wasn’t facing a top level fighter even though Ortiz was technically ranked in the top 15 at the time.
This is a difficult fight for Berto to be facing Porter. Berto might not have enough left in the tank to get him past Porter. It depends on if Berto can land one of his big power shots. The last thing that goes is punching power, and Berto still has plenty of that.
It’s his inactivity that has hurt Berto. He’s also struggled in loses to Robert Guerrero, Jesus Soto Karass and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Berto is still capable to of beating the 2nd tier fighters like Steve Upsher Chambers, Josesito Lopez and Ortiz, but it’s not likely that he’ll be able to handle the youth, talent and punching power of Porter.
Berto is ranked #3 IBF, #8 WBC. He’s close to getting a title shot in the future. Berto’s best chance of fighting for a world title would probably be against WBC champion Danny Garcia or WBA champion Keith Thurman. Those would be better match-ups for Berto than him fighting Errol Spence. If Berto is going to have to beat Porter for him to get a title shot, then his management is making him earn the title shot rather than just giving it to him.