Part I, “Berto vs. Guerrero, shaping up to be a war”
By: Nick Bellafatto
Ontario, CA– Former featherweight and junior lightweight world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 KO’s) of Gilroy, California will return to the ring this weekend at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, as he’s set to mix it up with Winter Haven, Florida’s Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KO’s) in defense of his WBC interim welterweight title, the full title of which once belonged to Berto.
And when the bell rings in this pivotal contest, each combatant, having gone through similar but not identical circumstances, will be at a crossroads of sorts, as Guerrero endeavors to make another splash at 147 pounds after defeating the WBC’s number one rated Selcuk Aydin, while a returning Berto is looking to reposition himself for yet another title after losing one and relinquishing another.
By now it’s well known the hardships endured by Robert Guerrero, a man unable to devote his full concentration to his chosen sport due to the prospect of losing the love of his life Casey Guerrero to cancer.
And on the heels of this near tragedy, “The Ghost” would succumb to a rotator cuff injury while preparing to fight hard hitting Marcos Maidana last year, further shelving the prizefighter for fifteen months as he recovered from what by all accounts appears to have been successful arthroscopic surgery.
This brings us to Andre Berto, the former WBC welterweight champion who upon losing that particular hardware would move on to capture the IBF title slightly more than a year ago from little known but sturdy looking Jan Zaveck out of Germany.
But rather than defend the IBF belt against mandatory challenger Randall Bailey, the former Haitian Olympic squad boxer would relinquish that status, opting instead for a more lucrative rematch with Victor Ortiz, the very man who in April of 2011 would knock Berto off his WBC perch in what was deemed the “2011 Fight of the Year.”
As fate would have it, Berto in training for his scheduled February rematch with Ortiz would rupture his left biceps, causing the bout to be rescheduled for June 23rd, of which subsequent date would fall through as well due to theWinter Havenresident testing positive for a banned substance. All in all Andre Berto has been out of the prize ring for 14 months, a similar stretch to that of Guerrero.
But with the passing of time Berto has been cleared to fight, at least inCalifornia, as the substances detected were found in such small amounts so that it was concluded that rather than for performance enhancement purposes, they must have been present due to some sort of food or supplement contamination.
Nevertheless Andre Berto is in the eyes of many still suspect, so that Robert Guerrero’s decision to face the Haitian descendent was based on each man mutually contracting to be tested by the United States Anti-Doping Agency [USADA], an organization itself mired in controversy. With the fight on, Andre is ready to get back to business and prove himself all over again at the expense of his upcoming opponent.
“This has been a long time coming. I’ve had a hell of a year going through a lot of trials and tribulations. I’ve learned a lot about myself and how strong I am to get through what I’ve been through.” And “the only thing that’s on my agenda right now is Robert Guerrero, that’s it. Everything else can plan out how it’s going to plan out. There are going to be some fireworks on Saturday night November the 24th.”
On the fireworks part the Mexican fighter is likely to concur, so that against Berto who is itching to return in a significant way, Robert Guerrero vows he will be up for the challenge in what is surely the biggest fight of his career to date.
“It’s going to be a great fight, a war,” commented Guerrero. “Berto says he’s hungry for this fight and I believe him. He wants to get back to that level he was at before the Ortiz loss and this testing issue,” but as well “I’m hungry for it all. I want to be known as one of the greats, so I’m hungry for that. Not just this fight, I’m hungry to be the best ever.”
With “The Ghost” being all about boxing as of late due to his wife Casey being diagnosed as cancer free, he’s also riding a wave of confidence in light of his well earned victory over the much avoided Selcuk Aydin, a formidable fighter Berto didn’t even want to face.
In going up against arguably the division’s hardest puncher in Turkish born Aydin, Robert’s repaired rotator cuff held up without a hitch so that he simply feels he’s ready to go all out. “I’ve tested it full throttle and with full power, so now I can really work on building it up and throwing it like a fastball man,” elaborated Robert.
After jumping up two weight divisions in search of the lucrative paydays that have avoided him thus far in his career, “The Ghost” would love nothing more than to register a definitive victory here to perhaps finally lure in those fighters who represent the big bucks.
Those would be the Mayweather’s, the Pacquiao’s, and the Bradley’s of the world, fighters who to this day have no interest in mixing it up with the seasoned southpaw. Perhaps that will change, with of course Berto having other plans for an adversary who hasn’t lost in nearly seven years.
Berto vs. Guerrero “Berto vs. Guerrero the skinny”
By: Nick Bellafatto
This weekend on HBO World Championship Boxing, defending WBC welterweight interim champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 KO’s) of Gilroy, California will be taking on returning Winter Haven Florida resident Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KO’s) at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.
And in discussing this fight let’s get right down to the specifics and what is likely to occur when the fisticuffs begin. Andre Berto whether pro or amateur has been known to be involved in action packed fights. The reason is quite clear, he isn’t the best defender, available to be hit and hit repeatedly.
Vulnerable as well as reckless at times in trying to impose himself upon others, Berto in facing southpaw Victor Ortiz would in a two-way slugfest taste the canvass numerous times in what amounted to the “2011 Fight of the Year,” while against another southpaw by the name of Luis Collazo some time ago Andre looked to get bested, even though in the end he would be declared the victor.
This doesn’t bode well for the Haitian fighter in that Robert Guerrero as the more consummate ring tactician of the two will eventually if not immediately find openings, taking advantage of Berto’s lack of defensive skills by way of initially boxing at angles, to from there see where further advantages lie.
But Andre knows his shortcomings and knows he’s in for a fight, so that he is in no way looking past Robert. That being said, Berto will look to gain the upper hand by repeatedly visiting upon his foe what he considers to be his own advantages, speed and power.
“Robert he’s a tough fighter, a crafty southpaw,” but “my advantages I think are definitely I have the speed and I have that power advantage. And we’ve been putting in some tremendous, tremendous sparring work. We’re just going to be ready for whatever.”
And come fight night Berto may indeed be quicker fisted from the outset, but I believe Robert will adjust to that speed and find his rhythm. And whereas the Floridian feels he has a strength advantage, he may be in for a rude awakening if he can’t stop Guerrero before the limit.
Robert spars middleweights and up and has already demonstrated he can take a punch at this level, so in settling in nicely at 147 pounds in his second go round I surmise that “The Ghost” will over the long haul be able to outmaneuver his counterpart to at the least get it to the scorecards.
The Mexican fighter will simply not make himself available as did Victor Ortiz, or perhaps any other fighter Andre Berto has faced. Unless Guerrero gets caught with and is unable to whether a counter right hand, one of Berto’s go-to punches, Robert’s chances of prevailing are quite high. Not only elusive on the outside, “The Ghost” is also able to exchange in the pocket while remaining relatively unscathed, something which if he can continue to do this Saturday night, may frustrate his opponent.
Furthermore, the interim champion has shown that he can make adjustments and or change tactics from fight to fight, as well as from moment to moment being the student of the game he is, whereas Berto is not so adept in that department.
“I don’t think he’s seen anything like what I bring to the table. It’s going to be hard for him to pin-point on what I’m going to do in the ring because of the versatility that I have in the ring, because I can change things up and become an entirely different fighter the next fight. So he’s going to be like, whoa, where did this come from?,” and, “’I didn’t see this [coming.]”
Further assessing the situation, the challenger in an irony of sorts would refer to the “The Ghost” as being “mechanical,” whereas I find the opposite to be true. By all outward appearances Guerrero is by far the more fluid and versatile pugilist, as Berto, not much for head or upper body movement, is perhaps restrained from doing so as a result of his bulkiness, looking more the part of a bodybuilder than a prizefighter.
And as regards Andre’s long layoff, Guerrero will be looking to push the envelope from the first bell. “I said it early on when the fight got made, we’re jumping on the autobahn. We’re going pedal to the medal full gas from start to finish. That’s the way I’m coming in to fight. Hey, we’re gonna go all the way hard,” concluded “The Ghost.”
In finality I see Robert pulling out a decision victory, while I wouldn’t be surprised if Berto get’s stopped by way of theGilroyfighter connecting on what looks to be a suspect chin. Of course Andre in having his own set of lofty ideas is not coming to roll over in what is sure to be an explosive outing.
“I’m happy to be back and to be fighting someone as talented as Robert Guerrero,” said Berto. “It’s a great challenge for me to face one of the best coming off of my layoff. I know I have the ability to be the best in my division and in the sport, and proving that to everyone starts with this fight.”
Guerrero vs. Berto, a 12-round fight for Guerrero’s WBC Interim Welterweight World Championship is presented by Golden Boy Promotions, minus long time Berto promoter Lou DiBella who’s on the outside looking in, and is sponsored byCoronaand AT&T. The event will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Also featured will be a ten-round junior middleweight fight between rising star and knockout artist Keith “One Time” Thurman (18-0, 17 KO’s) of Clearwater, Florida and former WBO world welterweight champion, Moca, Puerto Rico’s Carlos “El Indio” Quintana (29-3, 23 KO’s).
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