Welterweight Andre Berto returns to the ring Saturday night against Carlos Quintana on a card which will be televised by HBO’s Boxing After Dark from Sunrise, Florida.
The undefeated (25-0, 19 KOs) twenty-six year old berto will be looking to cement his name as one of the elite 147 pound fighters in the world after pulling out of scheduled fight against Shane Mosley earlier in the year to assist with relief efforts in Haiti – his parent’s native country.
Berto’s proposed clash with Mosley was to be Andre’s coming out party and a victory would have put his name among the best boxers in the division, real estate owned by Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, and Mosley.
Now as Manny Pacquiao looks forward to his return to the ring later in 2010 and a future bout between Pacquiao and Mayweather seemingly more and more tenuous, Berto might find himself in the mix for a fight against boxing’s current pound for pound king.
Featured on HBO regularly since his 2007 defeat of David Estrada, Berto has been pushed by the network, manager Al Haymon, and promoter Lou DiBella to be one of boxing’s future stars.
The future is now for Berto, as his position as a top five welterweight has been established, but if victorious against Quintana, the public will clamor for him to fight a top-line opponent instead of a serviceable world-class opponent.
Berto, though not as well recognized as Mayweather, or Mosley, could provide a solid partner to Pacquiao. Top Rank Promotions – which puts on Pacquiao’s fights – had already started spinning the possibility of Antonio Margarito stepping in against Manny if a Mayweather fight fails to materialize.
Pacquiao – Margarito would be a public relations nightmare, as many fans have still not forgiven Margarito for the attempted use of illegal hand-wraps against Mosley.
If Bob Arum, Top Rank’s head honcho, wanted to stay clear of controversy and use a fighter with an undefeated record and some public recognition, Andre Berto could get the nod against Pacquiao later this year.
Of course, Berto must defeat Quintana on Saturday night for any of these “ifs” to become reality.
