Andre Berto, Luis Collazo, Future Match Ups.

[Spicoli]

In hindsight,maybe I was a bit harsh on young Berto this weekend.Not looking to slag on the man.He is vibrant,exciting and has that speed & TV friendly dynamic that will/has put him into the spotlight and legitimate contention.What sticks out to me is the belief that we may be witnessing yet another path to "possible long time player" being rushed to market before he is ready for the major players and the front page.

Learn to walk before you run or something?

Berto was put into a huge breakout showcase fight with a naturally smaller Stevie Forbes in which Bertos natural talents were glaring,hand speed,combination punching from a much 'fresher' Man.How things were different in with Collazo,who was able to apply pressure and move Berto,imposing his own strengths.And collazo is not the biggest Welter out their,not by far and no,he is also not a Forbes.Berto was playing the role of slugger quite a bit coming in at near 160,his legs looked stiff,and he squares up directly in front of his opponent.He almost appears 'top heavy'...leaning over /into a guy with head held up.

I think his road to long term success MUST be paved with combination boxing,emphasizing his reflex speed,crisp jabs and just flat out boxing 101.Forget that showy one-two punch and playing the physical rough stuff.I do not think he will do well with that against a Margarito,Williams (?),Mosley or a Clottey.Cotto is a question mark after a devastating loss vs. Tony.Imo....If he does not re-tool and make major adjustments,I see Clottey as too much.His defense is way to tight,Chin is solid, and Clottey is a straight puncher down the middle...very solidly built.

The question now that On the rise Berto has fought at a high level and obtained main event status for HBO,who has not been hesitant to throw young stars into the meat grinder in the past....Vargas comes to mind among others....can he seemingly go back wards fighting lesser guys??Like it or not/Ready or not...he is amongst the big timers now and will be a player either way.I believe he should buckle up as he will have to adjust things at this stage when I believe they would have been best addressed a number of fights ago.Berto is a gifted talent...the future is all in front of him,his ability is obvious.I think a rematch with Collazo would be a smart move.....I think he has the ability to most likely win pretty wide knowing what he knows now...just implement it and BOX!

[kingfrnk]

Collazo vs Cotto maybe??

I still kinda wanna see Berto vs Mosley, or even Quintana or Cintron before facing Margarito or Cotto.