Robert Guerrero vs. Andre Berto
When a fight between Robert Guerrero and Andre Berto was announced big time boxing fans were salivating. Guerrero who has mostly fought at lightweight is known as a slick boxer with a very high skill level. Berto is known as a slugger who likes to trade punches at close range. The big question was whether Guerrero could handle the punching power of Berto in only his second fight at welterweight.
That question was answered very early on. Guerrero came out very aggressive and dropped Berto in the 1st round. It came on a big left hand that slipped passed Berto's guard, then it appeared that Guerrero was using his right hand to hold the back of Berto's head as he unleashed a flurry of left hands. Berto was clearly in bad shape but he made his way out of the round. Then in the opening seconds of the 2nd round Berto was dropped again. This time it came from a body shot and left uppercut. Guerrero also badly injured Berto's eye and it started to swell up immediatley. With the score cards in his favor and with Berto only having one good eye it would have been easy for Guerrero to outbox Berto and dance around on his way to an easy decision victory. Instead what happened was an all-time epic slugfest.
This fight could have taken place in a phone booth, closet, or bathroom stall and it wouldn't have made any difference. Neither fighter gave an inch or seemed to have any regard for their own safety. It didn't seem like the smartest gameplan but Guerrero planted his head against Berto's chest and threw hard vicious punches all night. For his part Berto was happy to do the same thing. Every punch that was thrown came with bad intentions. The heart of Berto was amazing, and the chin of Guerrero was even more impressive. There were so many power punches thrown that when Guerrero threw a jab in the 8th round it prompted announcer Jim Lampley to say; "Jab, I remember that punch." Every round could have been a round of the year, and along with the Rios-Alvarado slugfest this fight is a frontrunner for fight of the year. By the 12th round Berto was a blind fighter, both eyes were completley swollen shut. Guerrero didn't fare much better. His right eye was also swollen shut and his left eye wasn't in the best shape either. With the help of his two early knockdowns and his epic punching Guerrero rolled into a unanimous decision victory.
After a slugfest like this most fighters show great respect for each other. In fact after the three amazing fights between Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti the two men became great friends. Ward even trained Gatti for his last few fights. But instead of Berto showing Guerrero the proper respect he used his post fight interview to blame the loss on referee Lou Moret. Moret constantly warned Berto for rabbit punching but didn't seem to ever warn Guerrero for his questionable tactics. While the loss certainly wasn't Moret's fault he did do a horrible job. The crowd was so loud at the end of the fight that Guerrero didn't hear the final bell and landed three of four more shots to Berto's head before Moret woke up and jumped in to let them know the fight was over. The fact that these two have such little respect for one another would make a rematch very interesting. Fans would surely welcome it.
Both of these fighters gained a lot of fans after this fight. And both fighters should continue to have impressive careers. However Berto is the fighter with more ground to make up. His chin has been questioned in the past and with Guerrero who isn't known for his punching power knocking him down twice those questions just seemed to get louder. Who he fights next is anyones guess, and he will probably be taking a long break to let his face heal, but when it does look for him to be in another exciting slugfest.
Guerrero who has long been calling out the number one p4p fighter in the world Floyd Mayweather may just get his wish. After such an impressive victory he is certainly on everyone's radar and with Mayweather looking for a name opponent for the spring it seems Guerrero is the perfect fit. Seeing Guerrero on HBO's 24/7 would be great for boxing fans. The reason, besides Guerrero's touching family story would be his father/trainer. The man is a straight gangster. He enters the ring wearin Ray-Bans, and works the corner wearing a fedora and button down shirt. He seems more ready for the club then a fight. Although fans would love a rematch with Berto would be great, Guerrero deserves a big payday against the best in the world. A rematch can come in the future but the biggest payday of someone's career only comes around so often and Guerrero most take full advantage. Guerrero against Mayweather will make a very interesting fight and I along with all big time boxing fans can't wait.
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