By Allan Fox: Former IBF/WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (28-2, 22 KO’s) will be in tough against Jesus Soto Karass (27-8-3, 17 KO’s) later this month on July 27th at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The 5’9 ½” Soto Karass is a bigger, stronger and perhaps a better version of Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, the same fighter that gave the 29-year-old Berto a real pounding last year in November in beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision in Ontario, California.
Berto ended up with both eyes badly swollen by the end of the fight, and he looked like he’d been through a war. Berto used the shoulder roll defense much of the fight, and he didn’t look like he was familiar with how to use it because Guerrero was able to tag him with hard shots the entire night without Berto being able to block them.
Berto has now lost two out of his last three fights. His other loss was to Victor Ortiz in April of 2011 in another fight where Berto took a lot of punishment while fighting with his back against the ropes.
Berto now has a new trainer in Virgil Hunter and he’s working at fixing the flaws in Berto’s game. It would be good if Hunter started with Berto’s defense by having him give up on the idea of using the shoulder roll. I think it might be too late in the game for Berto to start using that kind of defensive strategy because a fighter needs to start early in their careers using that style and not suddenly adopt in when they’re hitting 30.
Berto has other problems besides his defense that he needs Hunter to fix. Berto’s stamina has looked poor in in his losses to Ortiz and Guerrero, as well as in his close decision win over Luis Collazo. Hunter needs to get Berto in better shape, and keep him in the center of the ring rather than having fight on the ropes like he’s been doing.
Berto doesn’t fight well with his back against the ropes, as he seems to take a lot of heavy shots. Earlier in his career, Berto was able to fight in the center of the ring where he was able to take advantage of his fast hands, but he’s gotten away from that in the last two years for some reason.
If Berto isn’t improved from his last fight, Soto Karass will do exactly what Guerrero did to Berto. He’s bigger than Guerrero and throws as many punches as him but with more power. Berto could end up getting beaten up again, but this time he might get stopped unless he is able to stay in the center of the ring and fight the full three minutes of every round instead of looking for rest breaks against the ropes.
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