The Robert Guerrero vs Andre Berto boxing match on Nov. 24 in Ontario, California could have easily been staged inside of a phone booth. In fact, calling it a boxing match might also be a bit of a misnomer since it was more of a street fight than anything else. However, the fans at ringside loved it as did the millions more watching on television. After the 12 brutal rounds had finished Guerrero’s hand was raised in triumph via a unanimous decision and he retained the interim WBC Welterweight Championship.
Guerrero, a former featherweight and lightweight titleholder, got off to a quick start by scoring a knockdown in each of the first two rounds. This was surprising to most fans since the southpaw has fought most of his career in the lower weight divisions and this was just his second bout as a welterweight. Berto is a more natural welterweight and also a former world champion.
The fight was contested at extremely close quarters with Berto having his back to the ropes most of the night. There was a lot of holding and wrestling by both men, but they also landed numerous heavy punches. Both of Berto’s eyes were virtually closed by the end of the fight as well as one of Guerrero’s. Referee Lou Moret warned Berto a couple of times during the bout, but ignored all of the champion’s fouls, such as holding and hitting.
After the bout Guerrero of Gilroy, California, said he wanted to impose his will against Berto and beat him down over 12 rounds. He was able to succeed due to his smothering tactics and Berto had a hard time creating space between the two. Guerrero claimed that he had to turn the contest into a brawl so Berto couldn’t utilize his speed and power. After a few rounds Berto also started to fight on the inside and began landing some tremendous right uppercuts to the head of Guerrero. One such shot staggered his opponent in the sixth round, but Berto of Miami, Florida failed to follow up on it.
Berto claimed after the fight that he was afraid to fight the way he wanted because he didn’t want Moret to deduct points from him, especially after suffering two knockdowns and digging himself into an early hole on the scorecards. He said he didn’t understand why he was being warned since it was Guerrero who was doing all of the holding and grabbing.
According to the statistics, Guerrero landed 258 punches while Berto managed to connect with 182 of his. Guerrero won by scores of 116-110 on all three scorecards. With the win, Guerrero raised his record to 31-1-1 with 18 Kos while Berto fell to 28-2 with 22 Kos. Berto lost his portion of the welterweight title to Victor Ortiz in the fight of the year in 2011. He was scheduled to meet Ortiz in a rematch this June, but the fight was scrapped after Berto failed a drug test and performance-enhancing substances were found in his bloodstream.
A rematch between Berto and Guerrero, both 29 years-old, is possible, but Guerrero would rather take on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a big-money fight next.
Ian Palmer
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