Boxing News Boxing News
In an exquisitely close contest, Andre Berto retained his WBC Welterweight title by a thin unanimous decision over former WBA Champ Luis Collazo last night at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, MS.
Southpaw Collazo hit the target early when he shook Berto to his boots in the first round with a perfect left hand but the young champion made it through the difficulty by punishing Collazo’s attempts to improve upon his work..
Berto was put on the defensive by Collazo’s aggressive body assault during the middle rounds but he did have his moments countering the challenger with crisp combinations and hard right hands..
The champion lost a point for holding in the fourth and was cut from an accidental headbutt but managed to wrest control of the bout from Collazo, who slowed down in the middle rounds.
The challenger got his second wind in the ninth frame, again going after Berto’s body with success but ironically it was Collazo who tired in the championship rounds, losing his edge in the last two frames as the younger champion went to a higher gear that the New Yorker couldn’t reach.
It was Berto’s ability to step it up in the last rounds that convinced the judges as he swept the cards 114-113 twice and 116-111 to retain the WBC Welter crown for the second time and improve to 24-0 (19).
Collazo drops to 29-4 (14), but on the strength of his performance could earn a rematch with Berto or a shot at another world title at welter.
On the undercard, light welter Wes Ferguson, 20-3-1 (6), stopped Derrick Moon, 13-26-1 (3), in the sixth round of a scheduled eight.
