Despite lack of universal acclaim from the boxing world and constant criticisms that stem from it, WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto has had the kind of career that everybody dreams of. Berto has been built for stardom since his career began and he is at a point now where he can command large paychecks despite the strong opinions of those within the boxing community that he doesn't deserve them. Now with the experience under his belt and some good wins along the way, Berto needs to make 2011 the year where he makes the jump to elite status, or face ridicule from here on out.
Berto was used as a smokescreen over the last couple of months by being considered an opponent for Manny Pacquiao. The purpose of the smokescreen was to make the general public believe that Pacquiao actually wants to continue fighting the best, but that's a story for another day. After blowing out bum Freddy Hernandez in one round, Berto sounded uninterested in fighting Pacquiao and practically had to have the words put in his mouth during the post-fight interview. I'm not too sure if Berto really wants to fight the best right now, and why should he when he's making an incredible amount of money every time he's on HBO?
The problem is that Berto doesn't excite people to watch him, and he isn't even a draw in his hometown. If you add to that the fact that Berto hasn't fought an elite fighter despite holding the WBC belt for almost three years, it makes you wonder why he commands such high paychecks to begin with. Furthermore, the welterweight division is so bad right now that the only fight HBO might be willing to do for Berto, without him moving to 154, is a fight with Randall Bailey, and even that is a stretch.
His only chance for landing marquee match-ups is if the 140-pound champions are hoping to make a jump to welterweight by years end, or if Shane Mosley somehow turns back the clock and trounces Pacquiao this May, but even then he'll have to take the short money on the deal with whomever he faces, and you already know that won't work for him. Do you think Berto will take the small end of a purse with Tim Bradley? He honestly believed he was entitled to a 50-50 split with Mosley last year and that fight was tanked thanks to his purse demands.
I like Berto as a fighter and I think he has what it takes to beat a lot of fighters, including Pacquiao, Cotto, Mosley and the like, but he isn't going to fall into place for their future plans unless he fights better opponents right now. Kermit Cintron has been calling him out and that would be a great fight. Cintron is loads better than anybody else Berto can realistically fight and is tailor-made for Berto's quick, aggressive style. Make it on the Puerto Rican day parade in June and a fight with Cotto or Pacquiao gets more buzz if he rises to the occasion.
So while Berto's team will look for opponents that will appease HBO, maybe it's time for Berto to realize that if he continues his low risk/high reward pattern throughout his career, he'll end up terribly underdeveloped and not gain that grit and experience that all great fighters have. Just ask Nassem Hamed, who fought patsies until he got into the ring with Marco Antonio Barrera and was hammered by a live and dangerous opponent, the type of which Berto has yet to face. If Berto is to follow in the footsteps of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Pacquiao and Mosley, like many have predicted, it's time to put the foot on the gas in 2011.