The future for Andre Berto.

In early 2009, Andre Berto clashed with slickster Luis Collazo in what turned out to be a surprise slugfest. Collazo showed an uncharacteristic willingness to stand and trade with Berto. And he didn't do as bad as analysts might have guessed beforehand. Berto fought for the second time in '09 against Juan Urango, a sturdy but limited 140 pound titlist. The kind of world class fighter who is on the fringes of that esteemed world class group. As expected, Berto dominated, but in a much, much different fashion. He put his reflexes and speed to much different use, this time staying mobile and not allowing Urango to plant his feet and land a bomb- power being Urango's best asset. He dominated the fight, arguably sweeping every round in the process.

Two completely different fights, and there was only one real connection between the two: The post fight criticism that Berto received for his performances.

Against Collazo, he should have boxed more. Taken less chances. But isn't Collazo the one who is more comfortable with the sweeter side of the science? Against Urango, he should have sat down on his punches more, and been more aggressive. Yet this would have given Urango one of his only possible chances to land anything of consequence. In reality, Berto did things as good as you could ask of him. He won in a textbook fashion against each guy- using their stylistic opposites against them. But that's exactly where the criticism comes from for Andre Berto- the textbook fashion. Doing things in "textbook fashion" insinuates that nothing extraordinary happens. The public wants to see something extraordinary from Andre Berto. They want to see a Jones-Griffin II kind of performance. A Pacquiao-Hatton sort of affair. Some flash of brilliance that is outside of the realm of what we expect. After all, this is the "theatre of the unexpected"... So should Berto be discouraged if things go exactly according to what people thought would happen.. yet still get criticised for it? No.

Berto has shown that he is an elite fighter in the division that everybody has their eyes on. Yet he still has not given the kind of performance to distinguish himself as somebody that is a necessary fight for the likes of Mosley, Mayweather, Pacquiao, or even Cotto. He has not shown the kind of 'special' quality that demands attention from the cream of the crop. People watch Andre Berto fight and still expect to see some of that mythical special quality come out.. That's why his results at this point are still met with some disappointment.

So what's next for Berto? Well, he shouldn't hold his breath for a fight against any other top titlist in the division. Because they themselves are holding their breaths for Mayweather or Pacquiao. But what Berto can do is fight one of the 'names' who are still a challenge floating around. A convincing win over a fighter Kermit Cintron could do wonders for the buzz around Berto. The loser of Clottey-Cotto is also a viable option if he can get it arranged (we know how that goes in boxing).

No matter what the future holds for Berto, we can rest assured that he'll continue to receive slight criticism until he definitively shows us whether he has "it" or not.