By Jake Donovan
 
A former Olympic boxer signs with DiBella Entertainment and is sold to the boxing world as “the one to watch.” He’s brought along slowly, very slowly in fact, but with a steady stream of televised dates thanks to his well-connected team. The competition is rarely if ever an opponent in his fighting weight class, almost always one if not two divisions below.

That same fighter enjoys a healthy stream of showcases on HBO before fighting for his first major title. He wins the belt, struggles in subsequent defenses and is then offered smaller opponents in his team’s greatest efforts to make their fighter look spectacular.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

The whispers before Andre Berto’s latest title defense against career junior welterweight Juan Urango were that we are in the midst of witnessing – at best – Jermain Taylor-lite.

The 2000 US Olympic bronze medalist was afforded the very same Gerber diet Berto is enjoying now, before being thrown into the deep end with three straight middleweight title fights against Bernard Hopkins (twice) and Winky Wright.

At roughly the same point in his career, Berto hasn’t fought anywhere near that level of competition, despite campaigning in a division surrounded by the biggest stars in the sport. Most Olympians – or any major prospects – are usually given a grace period of roughly four years before determining what they are truly about.

Berto is now midway through year five as a pro. Never mind attempting to gauge his potential star status; we still have no clue how he’d fare against a full-sized welterweight.

The closest we’ve seen in soliciting an answer to that question came in his prior fight, a back-and-forth war with modest-sized – and punching - Luis Collazo this past January. Berto was lucky to escape with a decision in a fight that easily could’ve went either way, and one where many felt was given to the wrong fighter by night’s end.

That fight was bookended by paper title defenses against junior welterweights moving up in weight. Both fighters – Stevie Forbes last September and Juan Urango this past weekend – boast iron chins, their only selling point in fights that were otherwise foregone conclusions.

On both nights, Berto – often praised for his hand speed and glossy knockout-to-win ratio – was given a chance to make a statement. If he were even as half as good as his handlers insist is the case, then something more than the status quo would’ve come from either – if not both – of his fights.

On both nights, Berto instead settled for predictability. There was never a point in either fight where the threat of a knockout ever surfaced. But it’s not always about the long ball; when you know your opponent is built to last, you dig deep and show a new wrinkle in your game.

Against Forbes, Berto showed an ability to actually play defense late in the fight, albeit against a feather-fisted opponent coming up in weight. Urango’s best moments in the fight were often met with Berto’s newfound respect for clinching.

Neither aspect of his game left a lasting impressing with boxing fans in attendance or viewers at home.

Twice, Berto was fed smaller fighters on which he should’ve feasted.

Twice, he was thoroughly upstaged by the other notable fight of the evening.

An hour or so after Berto went twelve with Forbes, Shane Mosley overcame an erratic performance to resurrect his career with a highlight reel last-second knockout of Ricardo Mayorga. “Shane Mosley, I LOVE YOU!” was the quote belted out by HBO’s Larry Merchant the moment the fight ended. 

“Andre Berto… who are you?” was the question asked, at least by those who even remembered that he fought that evening. 

Given the talent surrounding Berto in the welterweight division, no longer would fans tolerate his receiving yet another showcase with another has-been or never will be in the other corner.

To their credit, efforts were made to line up a fight with Mosley, who instead went after Antonio Margarito. Mosley would receive his wish and soon thereafter arguably the biggest win of his potential Hall-of-Fame career.

Berto would at least fight not just a welterweight, but one in everyone’s top ten. The one selected (Collazo) was perhaps the least threatening from a styles standpoint – tough, but never a threat to score a knockout, and while no pushover, also not boasting the greatest chin in the world.

When all was said and done, Berto’s night would end with his name being mentioned in all of the post-fight buzz. The welterweight war was the year’s first true Fight of the Year contender, certainly not a bad thing to place on your resume when trying to be remembered. 

The downside, in addition to the borderline controversial outcome, was the fact that Berto, for all of the talk of his star being on the rise, had no business going life and death with Luis Collazo. Tested? Yes. Depending on questionable scoring to get through the day? Not the stuff of which future legends are made.

Fans clamored for a rematch, or at least a follow-up fight against another top ten welterweight. Berto was, after all, a welterweight titlist, so why not defend against someone legitimately in title contention.

Instead, the next step became as predictable as his handlers have made his career – a step backwards against a smaller opponent with no regard for defense.

Urango was being sold on his sturdy chin and his strong showing against Herman Ngoudjo in collecting a junior welterweight belt. Not quite mentioned as often as it should’ve been was his looking like crap in the one fight in which he stepped up in competition, landing on the wrong end of a clinch-filled stinker and near shutout against then-lineal champion Ricky Hatton.

Very few fans bought into the sales pitch, instead looking forward to the evening’s co-feature between former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron and undefeated junior middleweight prospect Alfredo Angulo.

Before the fight, it was Angulo who stole all of the headlines from Berto, with many scribes (including the jackass typing this column) hailing “Perro” as the sport’s next big thing.

By night’s end, it was Cintron who stole everyone’s shine, taking full advantage of a surprisingly disjointed Angulo in scoring by far his biggest win to date. It was certainly a career-revival, as Cintron was all but written off after his second knockout loss to Antonio Margarito, and then his looking horrible in a highly controversial draw with Sergio Martinez.

What it also became was far less predictable than what would transpire in the main event. By night’s end, fans speculated whether Cintron would continue to pursue big game at junior middleweight, or make another run at 147, where he had spent most of his career.

The only speculation surrounding Berto’s career at this point is when the hell he will no longer require a bib before being served his meals.

He continues to call out Mosley, though such demands continue to fall on deaf ears as it’s only bigger game that Shane presently seeks. It’s not a side of the sport that people care for – the business side, where fighters believe they’re entitled to elitist status. It can also be argued that if Shane wants to validate any claims as the best welterweight in the world, he should still be willing to take on all comers.

Instead, Mosley keeps one eye on the sport’s biggest cash cow, Manny Pacquiao. The other remains fixed on the upcoming June 13 HBO clash – a rare bout these days where two welterweights actually face each other, when Joshua Clottey faces the last man to hang a loss on Mosley in Miguel Cotto.

As a top ten welterweight, perhaps Berto should warrant consideration by default. But without a fan base or a signature performance to speak of, it’s tough to plead a case in his favor. Performances like the one he offered this past weekend result in chasing away more fans than reeling in new ones.

“Win today; look good the next time” is sometimes the proper formula to follow, but not when you’re giving anyone a reason to look your way the next time around.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .