This is my full analysis of Andre Berto, at least up to this point, after watching his fight with Cosme Rivera tonight. I used to word exposed to prove a point, not suggest its accuracy:
We love power. Boxing fans love the type of punch that can roll a man's eyes back into his head while his body stiffens- his body in the ring but his mind punched somewhere else. It's a brutal sport. So when I say part of this interest in Andre Berto is his power- please understand. I think you guys can. We've seen him put guys down in almost every single fight. We like that. Berto is a short, stocky looking guy who moves in - hands blazing- and drops his opponent. It has been that attribute alone that got him most of his current fans.
Rivera is not a top dog but he's no slouch, either. Easily the toughest opponent Berto has gone in against so this fight was important to watch in gaging the young prospect's development. It's important to remember just how young he is. The kid has only been a professional for three years and I take that into account in my assessment- we all should. It's too early to expect some things from him but - as calling him a prospect implies he is aspiring to something- other attributes need to be apparent. So, where does Berto stand after we saw him tested against Cosme?
What we expect to see from a fighter approaching his nineteenth fight is a mixture of talent and learning. Berto has speed on his punches which fans love to see. When he jumps on an opponent and lets his hands go it really does look impressive. Add to that his power - which after this fight must lay in some indeterminable point between solid pop and destructive **** - and you have a talented young kid. Speed, power and the ability to pick good shots- that's a formula for success.
What about the learning, the professional ring experience we expect to see from a boxer soon approaching his 20th fight? The ability to fight his way- to avoid sloppy mistakes, to anticipate things from his opponent? Well, the bad news is this is where Cosme "exposed" Berto. The exposure in this sense is the simple revelation that Andre suffers from his youth in a way immature, Herculeian future champions are somehow supposed to be immune to.
Berto won the first few rounds with relative ease. He was head hunting, using his speed and strength to go for the knock out. Teddy Atlas and company, the boys from ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, told us this was just nerves- that he wanted to impress the television audience. Was it, though? Berto has been in front of the cameras on HBO several times before tonight and he fought the same way. In fact, can you drudge up a single fight from the young fighter in which he hasn't been fighting like that? Yes, occasionally he has shown some measure of reservation and not come out the gate quite as strongly but Andre Berto reminded us tonight that he may suffer from a curse.
Andre Berto, as said earlier, is fast and powerful - and that natural talent weighs much heavier early in your career. Where a defending champion taking on his number one ranked, undefeated challenger has to anticipate needing to go a full twelve rounds Berto has never needed to. Because of his natural talents every opponent up to this point has crumbled beneath his bombardment. Fighting just as he did tonight, marching forward and using his fast hands to try and land a bomb - he has knocked out 16 men. In fact, defense has become a secondary notion to him - Andre's defense is most clearly his offense. He never quite looks sloppy when he attacks but his brawling mentality is obvious. His curse has been that the natural talent he was given has prevented him from needing to learn certain things a future champion must. Why learn to anticipate what your opponent is going to do when he is too busy struggling to survive against your onslaughts? Why learn to always be cautious when the men staring at you all fall when you connect? Why learn to mix things up even when it prevents you doing maximum damage when maximum damage always gives you a win?
Tonight we saw that Berto's talent has stunted his growth to a degree. When Cosme looked like a tougher version of all the other men he has fought, unable to win rounds and only counting the minutes until they fell, he got lazy- careless. Rivera switched southpaw for a split second and a truly vicious uppercut put Berto down. Not a flash knock down- not the type of quick, minor shot that just shuts down your legs for a second. This was a legitimate, powerful knock-down. Berto was hurt and the end of the round saved him - as did his corner's stalling for time at the beginning of the next round while they "fixed his tape".
What happened next? Well, Berto reminded himself that he began his career fighting a middleweight and won the fight solidly. So, another win and another step forward. But the inevitable question looms- what does the knockdown mean? His his chin weak? Is he a flawed fighter rather than the talented prospect we thought he was?
First- the short by Rivera truly was a wicked, hard uppercut from a veteran fighter. This was not the type of punch that makes you question his chin- especially because he was being so careless it did not look like he even anticipated it. This was the type of punch that would make me question his chin if he did not get hurt. We'd wonder if it was made of titanium and if it was legal.
Is Andre a flawed fighter? Yes. But isn't he also a young, green fighter? Yes. Plus, some fighters with talent and glaring flaws make it further than you would think (case in point Zab Judah). The most important thing to gather out of this fight is that, against a tested, tough veteran fighter with definite skill Berto confirmed that the physical attributes we thought he had are indeed legitimate. Against a veteran fighter, though, he seemed less able to simply swarm his man and knock him out- the other man had the anticipation for what his opponent would do and the head movement to befuddle Berto's attempts to end his night.
So where do we put him? I suggest after tonight's fight Berto is put in a sort of limbo area for young prospects. It's gut check time. We need to remind ourselves to not get over hyped too soon and feel the sting of Jeff Lacy number two. At the same time- we can't deny that the kid has a good offense, a solid shot, and enough speed to make it work. He looks pretty tough, too. The test is whether or not Berto can be guided by those around him, his trainer and sparring partners, to make use of those assets we see to a greater extent.
Berto might be the type of fighter who must use his offense as his defense and must be able to pressure his guy to look good. Some fighters are like that. In a very deep welterweight division Andre Berto is still a solid, good looking prospect. He's quickly in danger of becoming a man who was unable to take the jump up to being more than a prospect and morphing into a championship contender, though. Tonight he looked like the Berto his fans have come to love- but against a man who showed us some of the qualities a contender has that a prospect should learn.
In summary, Berto looks good physically- and he still has time to put it all together. Tonight he got up from the mat and did what it took to get a win- but against a tougher level of opposition showed some of the flaws we have been warned he has (lack of defense, a swarm forward approach rather than agile movement, the plodding my-head-does-not-need-to-move-because-I-knock-him-out flaw of a powerful prospect) but still looked good. There is a time table, though. A point at which his chances to grow run out and he is branded a let-down. Tonight he showed, more than anything, that he has not been able to overcome that hurdle just yet. Only time is going to tell if he ever will.
We love power. Boxing fans love the type of punch that can roll a man's eyes back into his head while his body stiffens- his body in the ring but his mind punched somewhere else. It's a brutal sport. So when I say part of this interest in Andre Berto is his power- please understand. I think you guys can. We've seen him put guys down in almost every single fight. We like that. Berto is a short, stocky looking guy who moves in - hands blazing- and drops his opponent. It has been that attribute alone that got him most of his current fans.
Rivera is not a top dog but he's no slouch, either. Easily the toughest opponent Berto has gone in against so this fight was important to watch in gaging the young prospect's development. It's important to remember just how young he is. The kid has only been a professional for three years and I take that into account in my assessment- we all should. It's too early to expect some things from him but - as calling him a prospect implies he is aspiring to something- other attributes need to be apparent. So, where does Berto stand after we saw him tested against Cosme?
What we expect to see from a fighter approaching his nineteenth fight is a mixture of talent and learning. Berto has speed on his punches which fans love to see. When he jumps on an opponent and lets his hands go it really does look impressive. Add to that his power - which after this fight must lay in some indeterminable point between solid pop and destructive **** - and you have a talented young kid. Speed, power and the ability to pick good shots- that's a formula for success.
What about the learning, the professional ring experience we expect to see from a boxer soon approaching his 20th fight? The ability to fight his way- to avoid sloppy mistakes, to anticipate things from his opponent? Well, the bad news is this is where Cosme "exposed" Berto. The exposure in this sense is the simple revelation that Andre suffers from his youth in a way immature, Herculeian future champions are somehow supposed to be immune to.
Berto won the first few rounds with relative ease. He was head hunting, using his speed and strength to go for the knock out. Teddy Atlas and company, the boys from ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, told us this was just nerves- that he wanted to impress the television audience. Was it, though? Berto has been in front of the cameras on HBO several times before tonight and he fought the same way. In fact, can you drudge up a single fight from the young fighter in which he hasn't been fighting like that? Yes, occasionally he has shown some measure of reservation and not come out the gate quite as strongly but Andre Berto reminded us tonight that he may suffer from a curse.
Andre Berto, as said earlier, is fast and powerful - and that natural talent weighs much heavier early in your career. Where a defending champion taking on his number one ranked, undefeated challenger has to anticipate needing to go a full twelve rounds Berto has never needed to. Because of his natural talents every opponent up to this point has crumbled beneath his bombardment. Fighting just as he did tonight, marching forward and using his fast hands to try and land a bomb - he has knocked out 16 men. In fact, defense has become a secondary notion to him - Andre's defense is most clearly his offense. He never quite looks sloppy when he attacks but his brawling mentality is obvious. His curse has been that the natural talent he was given has prevented him from needing to learn certain things a future champion must. Why learn to anticipate what your opponent is going to do when he is too busy struggling to survive against your onslaughts? Why learn to always be cautious when the men staring at you all fall when you connect? Why learn to mix things up even when it prevents you doing maximum damage when maximum damage always gives you a win?
Tonight we saw that Berto's talent has stunted his growth to a degree. When Cosme looked like a tougher version of all the other men he has fought, unable to win rounds and only counting the minutes until they fell, he got lazy- careless. Rivera switched southpaw for a split second and a truly vicious uppercut put Berto down. Not a flash knock down- not the type of quick, minor shot that just shuts down your legs for a second. This was a legitimate, powerful knock-down. Berto was hurt and the end of the round saved him - as did his corner's stalling for time at the beginning of the next round while they "fixed his tape".
What happened next? Well, Berto reminded himself that he began his career fighting a middleweight and won the fight solidly. So, another win and another step forward. But the inevitable question looms- what does the knockdown mean? His his chin weak? Is he a flawed fighter rather than the talented prospect we thought he was?
First- the short by Rivera truly was a wicked, hard uppercut from a veteran fighter. This was not the type of punch that makes you question his chin- especially because he was being so careless it did not look like he even anticipated it. This was the type of punch that would make me question his chin if he did not get hurt. We'd wonder if it was made of titanium and if it was legal.
Is Andre a flawed fighter? Yes. But isn't he also a young, green fighter? Yes. Plus, some fighters with talent and glaring flaws make it further than you would think (case in point Zab Judah). The most important thing to gather out of this fight is that, against a tested, tough veteran fighter with definite skill Berto confirmed that the physical attributes we thought he had are indeed legitimate. Against a veteran fighter, though, he seemed less able to simply swarm his man and knock him out- the other man had the anticipation for what his opponent would do and the head movement to befuddle Berto's attempts to end his night.
So where do we put him? I suggest after tonight's fight Berto is put in a sort of limbo area for young prospects. It's gut check time. We need to remind ourselves to not get over hyped too soon and feel the sting of Jeff Lacy number two. At the same time- we can't deny that the kid has a good offense, a solid shot, and enough speed to make it work. He looks pretty tough, too. The test is whether or not Berto can be guided by those around him, his trainer and sparring partners, to make use of those assets we see to a greater extent.
Berto might be the type of fighter who must use his offense as his defense and must be able to pressure his guy to look good. Some fighters are like that. In a very deep welterweight division Andre Berto is still a solid, good looking prospect. He's quickly in danger of becoming a man who was unable to take the jump up to being more than a prospect and morphing into a championship contender, though. Tonight he looked like the Berto his fans have come to love- but against a man who showed us some of the qualities a contender has that a prospect should learn.
In summary, Berto looks good physically- and he still has time to put it all together. Tonight he got up from the mat and did what it took to get a win- but against a tougher level of opposition showed some of the flaws we have been warned he has (lack of defense, a swarm forward approach rather than agile movement, the plodding my-head-does-not-need-to-move-because-I-knock-him-out flaw of a powerful prospect) but still looked good. There is a time table, though. A point at which his chances to grow run out and he is branded a let-down. Tonight he showed, more than anything, that he has not been able to overcome that hurdle just yet. Only time is going to tell if he ever will.
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