The news that Robert Guerrero is fighting Andre Berto on Nov. 24, on HBO, is simply the best thing that has happened to The Ghost in his career.
Three years ago no one would have picked Guerrero to win this fight (which will be held in Ontario, Calif., near Los Angeles), which tells you a lot about what it would mean if he does win.
Guerrero, a two-time former world featherweight champion and one-time 130-pound titlist, was just graduating from junior lightweight to lightweight then and was seen as a spidery defense-minded technician with some pop, whereas Berto was the monster contender in the welterweight division, unbeaten, strong and a fundamentally decent boxer.
Each was waylaid by acts of God in 2010. Guerrero gave up an important bout to nurturing his wife?s successful bone-marrow transplant. Berto had to give up his best opposition ever, a match with Shane Mosley, because his home country of Haiti was hit by an earthquake you surely still remember.
Although Berto (28-1, 22 knockouts) is coming off a 2011 loss to Victor Ortiz in a thriller that included two knockdowns apiece, and an illegal-substances rap that scuttled his June rematch with Ortiz (here’s something else Berto will never live down) , he’ll probably be the early favorite.
The boxing public has barely embraced Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 knockouts) as a legitimate welterweight, so many will be surprised when they see Guerrero matching hulk with Berto in the flesh. If that image precedes the fight by more than a week or so, and you think Guerrero will win, now is the time to bet on him, because the odds will even up the more people think about this match.
Guerrero may not pack as much thunder as Ortiz, but he does have ample power and his boxing skills are far superior, so if Ortiz was more than Berto could handle, Guerrero will really confound him. Berto’s weakness against left-handers became evident in 2009 when he struggled past Luis Collazo. This should be a pick ’em fight.
Guerrero’s post-130-pound victories have come against aging Joel Casaymayor, dangerous Michael Katsidis and top European welterweight Selcuk Aydin. The Aydin fight was officially the once-beaten Gilroy fighter’s debut at 147 pounds, but he has been grooming himself as welterweight for most of those past three years.
He’s even professed a willingness to fight at 154 if that means he could fight Floyd Mayweather or even Miguel Cotto, but really, Berto is the perfect opponent for him now. People will be impressed if he whips Berto, and he’ll benefit even if he loses a close but heated fight.
This a put up or shut up fight for Guerrero as far as his detractors are concerned, and that’s exactly what he wants.
