Mosley, Berto in The Running For Miguel Cotto in June

[Taeth]

Sweet!

You really think Berto is ready for Cotto?

As ready as he will ever be. I really like Cotto as well, I think they would produce a kick ass fight. Both are tough, take shots to land shots, both have personality in their styles, both can bang.

He's turning 26 this year, Roy already fought Hopkins and Toney by this point in his life, Mayweather already fought Castillo and Corrales, G.Hernandez way before this.

I understand the dilemna a lot critics have of Berto, I really do, but I believe/hope when he fighting at his best that most of them aren't there, but for that to happen he really needs to be able to expand those pockets of brilliance into a whole fight, and maintain that high level of execution without falling into traps he probably gets away with in the gym like squaring up/winging shots.

Personally, I am tired with what I consider contenders(guys without the ring belt in a division) holding on to the facades they consider valuable trinkets fighting "mandatory fights" instead of trying to test their mettle against the best in the division. I believe Berto has the same manager as Lacy, and probably the guy doesn't want to have another Calzaghe-Lacy, but you can only hold a guy back for so long.

[SweetPea]

Sweet!

You really think Berto is ready for Cotto?

As ready as he will ever be. I really like Cotto as well, I think they would produce a kick ass fight. Both are tough, take shots to land shots, both have personality in their styles, both can bang.

He's turning 26 this year, Roy already fought Hopkins and Toney by this point in his life, Mayweather already fought Castillo and Corrales, G.Hernandez way before this.

I understand the dilemna a lot critics have of Berto, I really do, but I believe/hope when he fighting at his best that most of them aren't there, but for that to happen he really needs to be able to expand those pockets of brilliance into a whole fight, and maintain that high level of execution without falling into traps he probably gets away with in the gym like squaring up/winging shots.

Personally, I am tired with what I consider contenders(guys without the ring belt in a division) holding on to the facades they consider valuable trinkets fighting "mandatory fights" instead of trying to test their mettle against the best in the division. I believe Berto has the same manager as Lacy, and probably the guy doesn't want to have another Calzaghe-Lacy, but you can only hold a guy back for so long.

I agree with all this. However, if Cotto looks good against Jennings, then I have serious doubts that Berto's management will put him against Cotto in a packed MSG that will be heavily made up of Cotto fans.
I think Mosley is the most likely guy to face Cotto at this point.

[Taeth]

The thing is if Berto wants to continue taking steps up in competition where else can he go, I mean I would be hesitant to call Cintron, Judah or Clottey even lateral movements in comparison to the caliber that Collazo is.

Of the guys at the top of the WW division, Margarito is out for at least a year, and the wrong style for Berto IMO, at least until he stops opening up, it seems Paul Williams isn't fighting at WW anymore. Both Mosley and Cotto are on a similar level, but at least againt Cotto IMO his odds are better because at the very least if I am totally overrating his skills which I don't think I am he has a punchers chance which nobody has against Mosley who has an imprenetrable jaw when it comes to punches at least. Cotto is vulnerable to Berto's best punch, the right uppercut, and Berto has a huge speed advantage on him. Mosley is impossible to hurt(Barring a headbutt), he's very fast and still has good reflexes, he isn't as natural of a fighter as Cotto, but like he showed against Collazo he can still box on the outside if he needs to.

[:::PSL:::]

I'd prefer to see Berto-Collazo rematch.

[JazMerkin]

I would like to see Berto go up against Quintana & then maybe Clottey (although a dangerous low-reward fight possibly) before stepping up to face one of the big boys. Then again if Cotto looks a bit fucked against Jennings, he should get it whilst he can, but I don't see that being the case although a year/18 months from now I could see Berto possibly beating them both

[Taeth]

Quintana might be an alright opponent for Berto, but only because he is somewhat of a puncher and Berto hasn't faced that yet. Quintana isn't better than Collazo, nor is Clottey, sure Berto could fight them, but I want to see how he stacks up against the best in the division not against guys who are consistently in the second tier(at least when looking at the welterweight division).

[RozzySean]

Quintana might be an alright opponent for Berto, but only because he is somewhat of a puncher and Berto hasn't faced that yet. Quintana isn't better than Collazo, nor is Clottey, sure Berto could fight them, but I want to see how he stacks up against the best in the division not against guys who are consistently in the second tier(at least when looking at the welterweight division).

Quintana is managed to beat Williams and I'm not sure Collazo could have pulled that one off on his best night.

[SweetPea]

Quintana might be an alright opponent for Berto, but only because he is somewhat of a puncher and Berto hasn't faced that yet. Quintana isn't better than Collazo, nor is Clottey, sure Berto could fight them, but I want to see how he stacks up against the best in the division not against guys who are consistently in the second tier(at least when looking at the welterweight division).

Quintana is managed to beat Williams and I'm not sure Collazo could have pulled that one off on his best night.

You might be right, but I think Taeth's point was that Berto needs to make a clear leap up to the next tier of opponents, and Quintana isn't significantly better than Collazo, and he might not be better than Collazo at all.
Berto needs to enter the Cotto/Mosley level of opponents.

[RozzySean]

Quintana might be an alright opponent for Berto, but only because he is somewhat of a puncher and Berto hasn't faced that yet. Quintana isn't better than Collazo, nor is Clottey, sure Berto could fight them, but I want to see how he stacks up against the best in the division not against guys who are consistently in the second tier(at least when looking at the welterweight division).

Quintana is managed to beat Williams and I'm not sure Collazo could have pulled that one off on his best night.

You might be right, but I think Taeth's point was that Berto needs to make a clear leap up to the next tier of opponents, and Quintana isn't significantly better than Collazo, and he might not be better than Collazo at all.
Berto needs to enter the Cotto/Mosley level of opponents.

Berto might be ready to step up to Cotto or Mosley, but it can only benefit him to take another Collazo/Quintana level bout or two. Let's face it, he just took a big leap up in class with the Collazo fight. He got by Collazo, but it wasn't by much. Cotto probably had 5 or 6 fights against B+ fighters before he finally got in the ring with the highest echelon.

If Berto had blown out Collazo, I would be screaming for a fight between him and Cotto or Mosley, but I think it would help him in the long run to fight a few more Collazo/Clottey/Quintana level guys before jumping into the deepest water. I'm not sure it's good for him to take back to back "step up" fights. A few more at-bats at AAA will help him be a better big-league hitter.

[Taeth]

Quintana might be an alright opponent for Berto, but only because he is somewhat of a puncher and Berto hasn't faced that yet. Quintana isn't better than Collazo, nor is Clottey, sure Berto could fight them, but I want to see how he stacks up against the best in the division not against guys who are consistently in the second tier(at least when looking at the welterweight division).

Quintana is managed to beat Williams and I'm not sure Collazo could have pulled that one off on his best night.

Its hard to say, but I think Williams is very poor defensively, and a lot of people could beat him that people wouldn't expect. Also Quintana sure didn't beat him the second time around, or posed a challenge of any sort to Cotto.