Berto to drop shoulder roll defense for Soto Karass fight

berto233Former IBF/WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (28-2, 22 KO’s) says he’ll be going back to the basics in his fight against Jesus Soto Karass (27-8-3, 17 KO’s) this month in their fight on July 27th at the AT&T Center, in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

In going back to the basics, Berto will be getting rid of the shoulder roll defense that he experimented with in his last fight against Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero last November and going back to his old defensive style.

Berto tried out the shoulder roll and it was a disaster with Guerrero hitting him nearly at will for 12 rounds in beating Berto by a 12 round unanimous decision.

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Should Robert Guerrero get Fighter of the Year for beating Berto and Aydin?

Should Robert Guerrero get Fighter of the Year for beating Berto and Aydin?By Bill Phanco: WBC interim welterweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KO’s) is being considered for Fighter of the Year honors for his 12 round decision wins over previously unbeaten #1 WBC Selcuk Aydin, and his decisive 12 round decision victory over former IBF/WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto.

I think Adrien Broner is more deserving of the Fighter of the Year award than Guerrero because Berto has some fine wins over solid fighters Eloy Perez, Vincente Escobedo and Antonio DeMarco this year. I see those opponents as being better than the two guys that Guerrero has beaten.

It’s hard to imagine Guerrero getting that award based on wins over Aydin and Berto because both fighters were limited. Aydin was someone that had never really proven that he deserved to be ranked #1 by the World Boxing Council. His power was very real, but he’d never really faced anyone good before until the Guerrero fight. Aydin had struggled in fights against Said Ouali and Jo Jo Dan before he got to the Guerrero fight.

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Schaefer looking for an opponent for Malignaggi’s next fight

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By Bill Phanco: WBA World welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi is in need of an opponent after his desired rematch against big British star Ricky Hatton fell through due to Hatton getting blasted out by Vyacheslav Senchenko last Saturday night in the UK. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is now looking at picking out Malignaggi’s next opponent from one of these fighters: Danny Garcia, Amir Khan, Andre Berto, and Adrien Broner, according to RingTV.

Malignaggi, 32, wants a big name for his next title defense and this may be his last chance to get a big name before gets beaten. Malignaggi almost lost his title in his last fight against fringe contender Pablo Cesar Cano, who Malignaggi barely beat by a 12 round decision last October in a 12 round split decision win. That fight showed that Malignaggi is vulnerable even against fringe level opposition, and that puts more pressure on Schaefer to try and get the biggest name he can because Malignaggi is so vulnerable.

Khan: He’s already beaten Malignaggi and Khan has his own problems right now having lost twice in a row.

Berto: This is winnable fight for Malignaggi but not an easy one because of Berto’s superior power. This wouldn’t be big fight for Malignaggi.

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Berto to be given another title shot next year, says Schaefer

Berto to be given another title shot next year, says SchaeferBy Rob Smith: Andre Berto (28-2, 22 KO’s) may have been soundly beaten and may have looked horrible in losing to WBC interim welterweight champion Robert Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KO’s), but that’s not going to get in the way of Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer of giving Berto another world title shot next year against possibly WBA World welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi.

Schaefer said to RingTV “He [Berto] will be back, bigger and stronger. I am convinced that he will be back fighting for a world title again in 2013.”

Berto is going to have to raise his game if he wants to keep getting world title shots, because he didn’t look good in losing to Guerrero. Berto’s footwork, stamina, decision making and defense were all flawed against Guerrero. Berto looked really stiff, and was easily pushed to the ropes by the slender Guerrero.

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Berto’s shoulder roll experiment cost him the Guerrero fight

Berto's shoulder roll experiment cost him the Guerrero fightBy Bill Phanco: If there’s one area in Andre Berto‘s game where you have to latch onto to assign blame for his 12 round unanimous decision loss to interim WBC welterweight champion Robert Guerrero last Saturday night it was with Berto’s experiment with the Mayweather style shoulder roll defense. Berto likely would have won the fight had he not wasted time using the shoulder roll defense, because it was one big fail for him.

Berto looked uncomfortable using the shoulder roll, and it didn’t work for him in this fight because Guerrero was able to sail his shots right over Berto’s left shoulder all night long. The purpose of the shoulder roll is to avoid getting hit, but it looked like Berto had no clue how to use it.

It was immediately clear in the opening round that Berto’s shoulder roll defense was a failure agaisnt Guerrero, because he was getting hit nearly at will. Berto should have abandoned the shoulder roll in the next round and gone back to his old defensive style. Berto has never been a good fighter defensively, but he’s never been as bad as he looked last Saturday when he trying to fight using the shoulder roll.

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Guerrero batters Berto to win a brilliant 12 round UD

Guerrero batters Berto to win a brilliant 12 round UDBy Joseph Herron – Last night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, four division World Champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero successfully defended his WBC Welterweight crown by defeating former world titlist Andre Berto by way of twelve round unanimous decision.

All three judges at ringside were identical, scoring the bout 116-110 in favor of the underdog and incumbent champion.

The primary reason why Berto was a 2 to 1 favorite going into last night’s contest was because of Guerrero’s lack of experience against top level opposition. Although “The Ghost” was indeed a four division world champion going into the contest and the reigning title holder, it was largely believed that he would crumble under the pressure and skill-set of a high level fighter in his respective prime.

Guerrero proved to his detractors that he belongs among boxing’s best by negating the speed and power of Andre Berto and imposing his will on the faster and harder puncher last night.

In the outset of the contest, Andre Berto used the questionable tactic of implementing the shoulder roll defensive stance against a very crafty and intelligent fighter like Robert Guerrero. The fighting pride of Gilroy, California took advantage of Berto’s inexperience and feinted with the straight right hand while pounding the leaning challenger with the left hook.

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Senchenko ends Hatton’s comeback; Guerrero defeats Berto; Thurman beats Quintana

Senchenko ends Hatton's comeback; Guerrero defeats Berto; Thurman beats Quintana Great night of boxing for both HBO and Showtime; Minutes away from a great comeback win, Hatton has liver failure

Thurman continues to look impressive in stopping Quintana

Two knockdowns too hard for Berto to overcome – Guerrero gets UD

By Paul Strauss: Don’t worry, Ricky’s condition was temporary. It was due to a beautifully placed body shot that snuck in under “The Hitman’s” outstretched right arm. There isn’t a more debilitating shot in boxing. It doesn’t matter how many sit-ups you’ve done. If the shot lands on target, forget it. A few years back, Ricky landed a similar shot to the liver of Luis Castillo with the same results. You just don’t recovering quickly from one of those, regardless of whether you have a six- pack, eight-pack or full case of abdominal muscles.

Up until that time, Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton was fighting a good fight at the Manchester Arena, Manchester, Lancashire UK on Showtime Boxing.

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Guerrero decisions Berto; Thurman destroys Quintana

Guerrero decisions Berto; Thurman destroys QuintanaBy Rob Smith: Andre Berto (28-2, 22 KO’s) was beaten tonight by WBC interim welterweight champion Robert Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KO’s) by a 12 round unanimous decision at the Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, California, USA. Guerrero knocked Berto down once in the 1st and another time in the 2nd. Those knockdowns helped Guerrero pound out a unanimous decision by the scores of 116-110, 116-110 and 116-110.

Berto, sporting a Mayweather-like left shoulder roll, chose to fight off the ropes the entire 12 rounds instead of the middle of the ring. This prevented Berto from taking advantage of his fast hand speed. However, it looked like he did this out of necessity for fear of running out of gas.

With Berto pinned against the ropes, Guerrero was able to dominate the action simply by tapping him with slapping shots for the entire fight. Berto landed some really big punches that snapped Guerrero’s head in every round, but just like Selcuk Aydin, Guerrero’s last opponent, Berto wasn’t active enough to win the fight.

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Robert Guerrero vs. Andre Berto: Gogue’s big fight preview

Robert Guerrero vs. Andre Berto: Gogue’s big fight previewBy Joseph Herron – Photos by Tom Hogan/Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions – Tonight at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, four division world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 KOs) will put his interim WBC Welterweight title on the line when he faces arguably his toughest test to date, former WBC 147 pound title holder Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KOs).

The highly anticipated match-up will air on HBO World Championship Boxing at 10PM EST/PST (delayed on the American west coast), after Golden Boy prospect Keith Thurman squares off against former 147 pound champion Carlos Quintana in the evening’s co-main event.

While the twelve round main event should answer many questions surrounding both competing fighters, expert trainer James Gogue believes that Guerrero and Berto respectively have a lot riding on this performance.

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Weigh-in: Berto vs. Guerrero, Thurman vs. Quintana

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By Bill Phanco: Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KO’s) and WBC interim welterweight champion Robert Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 KO’s) came in under the welterweight 147 lb limit today during their weigh-in.

Guerrero weighed 146.4 lbs and Berto came in at 146.8. The card also has highly hyped unbeaten junior middleweight Keith Thurman (18-0, 17 KO’s) fighting WBO NABO light middleweight champion Carlos Quintana (29-3, 23 KO’s) for his strap. Thurman weighed in at 151.25 lbs, and Quintana at 152.

The official weighs for the HBO televised card:

Robert Guerrero 146.4 vs. Andre Berto 146.8
Keith Thurman 151.25 vs. Carlos Quintana 152
Randy Caballero 119.2 vs. Rigoberto Casillas 118.8

Guerrero can become a star with a win over Berto in this fight. He could pick up a big money fight and then get the backing of the considerable Mexican population in the U.S. It would make for an interesting fight if Guerrero could get past Berto and then get Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao in the ring somehow. The pay per view numbers would likely be very good. For that to happen Guerrero is going to have to find a way to get past Berto.

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