"I would have stopped him," stated WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto. The "him" that Berto refers to is WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley, who just suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather this past Saturday. FightHype.com recently ran into Berto, who was in attendance, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unimpressed with Mosley's performance, Berto strongly believes that had it been him in the ring instead of Mayweather, the fight would not have gone the distance. "You already know it wouldn't have gone the distance," Berto reiterated.
Perhaps trying to position himself for a future showdown, both he and Mosley were orginally scheduled to face each other this past January, but just weeks before the bout, Berto pulled out of the fight after losing family members in the tragic earthquake in Haiti. The cancellation of that bout cleared the way for Mosley to face Mayweather this past weekend, a venture that didn't turn out so well for the 38-year-old fighter. Berto, on the other hand, had a much more impressive return to the ring this past April, stopping former champion Carlos Quintana in the 8th round. Although it was a clear and punishing performance, Quintana was able to have his moments, rocking Berto at times before ultimately running out of steam as the younger fighter pressed forward with his offensive arsenal. It would be very interesting to see if Berto can have the same type of success against Mosley, especially given the manner in which Mayweather just dominated him.
Before that fight can happen, however, Berto will spend the next couple of months rehabbing a torn bicep that he suffered in his bout with Quintana. Electing to forego having surgery, Berto informed us that he will allow the injury to heal naturally and is hoping to make a return to the ring some time in late fall or early winter. It remains to be seen if that timing would coincide with the return of Mosley, who hinted at the post-fight press conference that he'll likely take a much needed break before returning to the ring any time soon.
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