Berto down after hearing news about Ortiz-Mayweather

By Boxing News - 06/07/2011 - Comments

Image: Berto down after hearing news about Ortiz-MayweatherBy Jason Kim: Former WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (27-1, 21 KO’s) came so close to getting a huge payday fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. The opportunity was taken from him when Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 Ko’s) beat the 27-year-old Berto by a close 12 round decision last April. Mayweather was even at the Berto-Ortiz fight, perhaps scouting out which fighter he would be facing next. There was talk that Mayweather wanted to fight Berto. Unfortunately for Berto, Ortiz was the stronger and better conditioned fighter and ended up wearing down Berto over the course of 12 rounds.

This is what Berto had to say about hearing the news of the Ortiz vs. Mayweather fight: “I can’t lie. I was feeling a little down hearing the news but you guys give me strength. No bulls***. Thank you.”

Berto will get a shot eventually if he can turn things around and work on his conditioning. He was good enough to fight Ortiz to a standstill in that fight, but was unable to keep the fight in the center of the ring where he was the stronger fighter. If Berto can stay active and keep winning, he’ll eventually be the last man standing and the one that Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao turn to when they’re looking for big fights. It may take a while before that happens because Berto is coming off a loss. But if he can win all of his fights for the next couple of years, he could end up getting a shot in couple of years. At the very least, Berto will be one of the big names that are around once Pacquiao and Mayweather retire from the sport. However, Berto needs to start facing better opposition. He’s really hurt himself with his lackluster competition he fought in the three years that he held the World Boxing Council title.



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