By Lem Satterfield
Freddie Roach, trainer of Manny Pacquiao, says WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto is very high on the list of possible opponents to face Pacquiao in May of next year. Berto defends his title against Freddy Hernandez on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Roach has his reasons for having Berto in a higher position than guys like Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley.
"Because some of the other guys are 140-pounders who already have fights scheduled. After this weekend, I don't think that Andre Berto has anything scheduled right now. And he's not a 140-pounder, he's a 147-pounder," Roach said.
As far as the fight itself, Roach likes it a lot. He thinks the youth, speed and strength of Berto will present a real challenge for Pacquiao, who sometimes gets troubled by fast fighters in sparring. When it comes down to the final selection for next May, Roach says the economics will decide the opponent.
"He's youthful, he's fast, and he's strong. He's not a big puncher I don't think, but he's definitely a challenge. We just want to make the fight that makes the most business sense, and that's what Bob will find out. We have to make the fights that bring the most dollars to Manny's pocket, and so we're looking at the business side of this," Roach said.
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.