For Robert Guerrero, it will be now or never Saturday as he fights Andre Berto on HBO.
Unlike his elite Bay Area contemporaries Andre Ward and Nonito Donaire, Guerrero is not in The Ring magazine?s pound-for-pound top 10. For Guerrero, making that list is probably the holy grail, because he just about has to meet and beat Floyd Mayweather to get there and fulfill his other goals: high ratings, a true welterweight championship and some multi-million-dollar paydays.
Upsetting Berto, who?s nearly a 2-1 favorite, probably would make Guerrero attractive to the likes of Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao. Losing wouldn?t knock Guerrero out of the welterweight picture entirely, but it isn?t an option if he?s ever going to reach that top 10.
The fight is an absolute tossup that will be won by the quicker man. I?m not sure which that is, but don?t be surprised if it?s Guerrero.
Berto used to be in top-10 territory, but his stock has fallen since 2008, and his 2011 loss to Victor Ortiz totally removed an aura of invincibility he?d had. His run-in with a positive steroids test later in 2011 also pecks away at that aura.
He admits he hasn?t been looking elite lately. ?It?s been a while,? he told me last week. ?I don?t think people really realistically have seen the best Andre Berto at all. I?ve had a lot of exciting performances or one-punch knockout performances, this and that, but I have so much more to my arsenal, man.
?I?m my biggest critic, so I kind of analyze myself to the max, so it?s hard for me to think I?ve really had an impressive performance that impressed me. I can say it?s been a while. I don?t think people have seen all they can see.?
The great ones can summon it up more than once or twice every five years. What trait is Berto expecting to ressurect from cobwebs to dazzle Guerrero? And like both of Guerrero?s most recent victims, former WBC interim welterweight champion Selcuk Aydin and former lightweight assasin Michael Katsidis, Berto is underestimating Guerrero?s strengths, including strength.
?My advantages I think are definitely … speed, and I have a power advantage,? Berto said.
You (and perhaps Berto) will be surprised how well Guerrero stacks up physically next to Berto, one of strongest looking specimans at 147 and below. And you will be surprised how effectively aggressive Guerrero will be, perhaps from the get-go.
?We?re jumping on the Autobahn,? Guerrero said, indicating he?s earnest about pumping up his image in this fight. ?We?re going pedal to the metal; full gas from start to finish.?
He has to, after calling attention to himself conspicuously during the past two years to gain a shot at Mayweather or (earlier) Juan Manuel Marquez.
He has more to lose than Berto, who is anything became more marketable in his loss to Ortiz. This is a make or break situation, and my money would be on the underdog Saturday.
