Floyd Mayweather vs. Andre Berto
Usually
when Floyd Mayweather fights the buzz surrounding the fight, even from
casual fans, is electric. However, after a one-sided handling of Manny
Pacquiao, a fight many of those casual fans would call boring, the buzz
seems to have quieted down. It could be because Mayweather is taking on
Andre Berto, who many look at as being a shell of his former self. Or
maybe the paying public is simply tiring of shelling out big money to
watch Mayweather so easily dismantle every opponent. There is an
interesting storyline for Saturday's Showtime PPV though, it could be
Mayweather's last fight. Sure, if he wins and moves to 49-0 the
networks will throw big money at him to come back, money he probably
wouldn't turn down. Yet as it stands now Mayweather insists number 49
will be his last. The fight is scheduled for 12 rounds in the
welterweight division and Mayweather's WBC and WBA titles will both be
on the line against a fighter in Berto who always leaves it all in the
ring.
 |
| Mayweather hopes to go 49-0 on Saturday |
Not
much explanation is needed to describe Mayweather's fighting style,
simply put he is one of, if not the greatest defensive fighter to ever
lace up a pair of gloves. However, Mayweather is more than just a
defensive fighter, he is also one of the most accurate punchers in the
history of the sport. Mayweather regularly lands close to 60-percent of
his power punches fighting from the orthodox stance and that is usually
in the form of his deadly accurate straight right hand. While the
pound-for-pound king also has a good left hook he doesn't use that punch
very often and typically relies on his straight right hand and jab.
Mayweather's jab is so good he could probably win a fight only throwing
that punch. It is that jab that stops all his opponents in their tracks
when they try to attack, especially because he does such a tremendous
job of sticking it to the body. Defensively Mayweather relies on his
quick feet and a beautiful shoulder roll to avoid punishment, and just
looking at his face having fought for nearly 20 years you can tell he
has done very well at avoiding punishment.
People
with little knowledge of boxing often criticize Mayweather for
"ducking" opponents. That thinking is simply not true. Yes, Mayweather
may have used catchweights to his advantage, like many A-side fighters,
and he may have waiting a bit too long to face certain opponents, like
Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley, but Mayweather has always eventually
entered the ring against the best. The problem is that even the best
can't hang with the self appointed "best ever." Mayweather's career
record stands at 48-0 with 26 knockouts just two wins shy of breaking
Rocky Marciano's record of retiring undefeated at 49-0. Some of the
fighters he has handed losses to include Pacquiao, Mosley, Oscar De La
Hoya, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Diego Corrales,
among many other top fighters. While Berto appears to be a step down
from recent opponents one thing is for sure, Berto will come to fight.
 |
| Berto got a come from behind KO against Lopez |
Berto
is an orthodox boxer-puncher with quick hands. Along with solid hand
speed Berto also flashes good power. While Mayweather likes to fight
from the outside and control distance, Berto loves to go to war in the
pocket. From close range Berto does a nice job of landing his strong
left hook and uppercuts. Along with those weapons Berto also shows a
good straight right hand. However, offense has never been the problem
for Berto, defense has. Berto doesn't move his feet very well and
although he still uses the shoulder roll he has not perfected it like
Mayweather has. Because of this Berto usually takes a lot of punishment
and his face often swells badly. Yet unlike many Mayweather opponents
who seem to give up after the 3rd round, Berto has shown he is the type
of fighter who will never stop coming.
After
years of being the next in line to fight Mayweather only to see a loss
derail those chances Berto finally has his shot. The fight was first
rumored to happen in 2011 but Berto lost a war to Victor Ortiz who went
on to get knocked out by Mayweather. Then the fight was supposed to
happen in 2012 but a loss to Robert Guerrero ruined that. Guerrero then
went out to loss to Mayweather. So now with a record of 30-3 with a
strong 23 knockouts Berto will finally enter the ring against
Mayweather. Berto is 3-3 in his last six fights after starting his
career 27-0. In his most recent fight Berto appeared to be losing to
journeyman warrior Josesito Lopez and in fact was down on two of the
official scorecards before stopping Lopez in the 6th round, although it
was a bad stoppage. So against Mayweather, Berto will probably need a
knockout to win.
It
seems like everyone besides Berto and his trainer Virgil Hunter thinks
he has no shot to upset Mayweather. However, Berto could win this
fight, at least in the eyes of the public, by simply making Mayweather
work harder than he had to do against Pacquiao. With Berto's
aggressive, relentless, and sometimes wild style this fight could
resemble Mayweather's two fights against Marcos Maidana, but that is
only if Berto is really good. What is more likely to happen is that
Mayweather keeps Berto at the end of his jab and straight right hand all
night and Berto is never able to get inside where he would try to rough
things up. Mayweather vs. Berto may not be the fight fans wanted to
see but it should definitely provide them with more action than
Mayweather's fight with Pacquiao did.
PREDICTION: Floyd
Mayweather is just too good for Andre Berto. Berto will give it his
all, as he always does, but his all won't be enough. Mayweather is the
better fighter and Berto won't spoil his undefeated record. Usually
Mayweather cruises to a wide unanimous decision victory but this time
around he will get the stoppage win in the 10th round.
Comments
Post a Comment