Andre Berto has some lofty goals for 2013. "Canelo, Cotto, Mayweather and gonna have to whoop Ortiz just for the record," the former welterweight champion revealed as he "blessed" his followers on Twitter with what he referred to as his "2013 hit list". First up for Berto, however, is an early November return to the ring, and according to him, that fight just may be for a world title.
"Looks like early nov," Berto replied to one fan wo asked him when his next fight would take place. When another fan asked him who he was fighting, Berto added, "cant tell u but will say it might be for another title". The fact that Berto's 2013 hit list includes fighters who all do business with Golden Boy Promotions makes it easy to assume that interim WBC welterweight champion Robert Guerrero could very well be his next opponent. WBA champion Paul Malignaggi and IBF champion Randall Bailey are both already scheduled to fight in separate bouts this October, and WBO champion Timothy Bradley is a Top Rank fighter, making a showdown between the two highly unlikely. By process of the elimination, Guerrero is essentially the last champion available, unless of course Berto has plans to move up to 154 pounds to face IBF jr. middleweight champion Cornelius Bundrage.
Truth be told, Guerrero vs. Berto is a fight that makes sense for both fighters. Berto, who last fought over a year ago, defeating Jan Zaveck in September of 2011, has proven to perform exceptionally well against fighters who are naturally smaller than him, making Guerrero the perfect opponent for him to shake off the ring rust. On the other hand, Guerrero, who has been on a campaign to prove that he should be next in line to face Floyd Mayweather, could do just that with an impressive showing against Berto; after all, it worked for Victor Ortiz. This potential fight could be exactly what both fighters need in order to take their careers to the next level.
Whether or not the fight happens remains to be seen, but if I were a betting man, I'd say that the odds are good. In fact, from what we're told, the only person who may be reluctant is Guerrero, who evidently is content with the fact that he's the interim WBC welterweight champion, hoping that Mayweather will choose to fight him because of that. Guerrero's only problem is that Mayweather isn't concerned about any belt, therefore making that fact irrelevant. So if Guerrero is instructed that he must now get through Berto in order to get Mayweather, best believe, he'll do what he has to.
On a side note, Berto also suggested that the rumor that he is no longer working with former promoter Lou DiBella may indeed be true. When asked directly if he was still working with DiBella and out of what gym he was training, Berto simply replied, "same gym lol".
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