Berto And Collazo Ring In The New Boxing Year

Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were as good as mine. The only thing missing from my "break" was a major televised boxing match.  I’m not too sad though, with two major welterweight fights on deck.  Like many of you, I eagerly await the Antonio Margarito vs Shane Mosley showdown in three weeks. But I’d be silly to overlook the battle between rising star Andre Berto (23-0, 19 KOs) and tough, former welterweight titlist Luis Collazo (29-3, 14 KOs) in two weeks.

Many feel this fight will signal Berto’s rise into the welterweight fray that includes the aforementioned Margarito and Mosley as well as Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto and Paul Williams. I tend to agree with them, but I think Collazo will offer a sterner test than many assume.

Why do I feel Collazo will trouble the multi-talented Berto?

Collazo has fought two world class fighters already (Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosley) - two more than Berto has. Although Collazo lost both fights and was dominated by Mosley, he lost a very close, borderline controversial decision to Hatton nearly three years ago.

The fact that Collazo is a slick southpaw should also trouble Berto, as that’s what slick southpaws usually do. They trouble most orthodox fighters.

Although these factors may make life more difficult than expected for the young Berto, they will not be enough for Collazo to spring the upset. Simply put, Berto is a speed demon. He punches fast, moves fast, and after this fight, he will be rising fast up the welterweight rankings. I won’t tell Clottey, Cotto, Margarito, Mosley and Williams to move over just yet. But they should indeed make room for Berto in 2009.

Andre Berto by Unanimous Decision over Luis Collazo.