Andre Berto

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A win for Guerrero over Berto makes him an appealing option for Mayweather or Pacquiao

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By Steve Mabbotts: WBC interim welterweight champion Robert Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 KO’s) has been talking for a long time about wanting to fight the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. Now all Guerrero has to do to make himself an appealing option for those fighters is to beat Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KO’s) tomorrow night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena, in Ontario, California, USA.

That’s easier said than done, because Berto is a 2-1 favorite to win this fight, and Guerrero didn’t show the kind of power or speed in his last fight against Selcuk Aydin that would enable him to beat Berto.

Berto is beatable, and saw how he’s vulnerable against an opponent that puts a lot of pressure on him and throws a ton punches in Berto’s loss to Victor Ortiz last year. However, Guerrero will have to stand directly in front of Berto to accomplish that task he’s going to have to take a lot of hard shots in the process. Ortiz was able to get his way because he had power and speed pretty equal to Berto’s.

Guerrero doesn’t have that kind of speed and power going for him. Guerrero is more like a pumped up lightweight that left his power hind him at 135. Even at that weight, Guerrero wasn’t a big puncher, and he mainly got his victories by throwing a lot of shots. He’s going to have to do that with Berto on Saturday, and hope that the judges are more impressed with his higher punch volume compared to the harder, faster and more flashier shots that Berto is answering him back with.

Guerrero has bulked up for Berto fight: Will it help him?

By Brian Wade: WBC interim welterweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 KO’s) has bulked up since his last bout last July and he’s considerably bigger as he goes into his fight with Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KO’s) on Saturday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, California, USA.

Guerrero now looks like a legitimate welterweight, and judging by how much size he’s put on recently he could probably easily make 154 if he wanted to. However, just because Guerrero was able to bulk up by doing a lot of pushups doesn’t mean he’s going to be bigger puncher and he’s going to have to be for him to compete with Berto.