By Cliff Rold (photo by Scott Foster/FightWireImages.com)
Choosing to step out of a unification contest with WBA Welterweight titlist Shane Mosley in January to focus attention on the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, 26-year old ethnic Haitian Andre Berto (26-0, 20 KO) of Winterhaven, Florida returned to the ring for the first time since May 2009, successfully defending his WBC belt for the fourth time with an eighth round stoppage of 33-year old former WBO Welterweight titlist Carlos Quintana (27-3, 21 KO) on Saturday night at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida.
Both men weighed in a half pound below the Welterweight limit of 147 lbs.
Berto was down at the end of a left hand before a minute had passed in the fight but referee Tommy Kimmons ruled it a slip and Berto complained it had landed behind the head. The southpaw Quintana was calm before and after, leaning to his back foot and waiting for countering opportunities while Berto sought to move in and out with quick contact shots. Berto complained twice more of rabbit punches and Quintana was warned after the round. Replays did not clearly show a foul.
A long Quintana left pasted the face of Berto early in the second, pushing Berto off balance. It might have been the cleanest blow of the round, though Quintana was the more accurate in a somewhat sloppy frame marked increasingly by clinches.
The more athletic Berto began to find his rhythm in the third and the frequent clinches were increasingly attributable to Quintana. Berto’s left jab began to land over the right jab of Quintana and the lead left hook found contact. A flurry along the ropes appeared to leave Quintana stunned but he stayed don his feet. Quintana was warned again for rabbit punching in the round and, having punched Berto from behind after clinching and stepping around him, was deducted a point in the final thirty seconds.
Quintana would again be trapped on the ropes as round four wore on, Berto digging to the body and bringing hard left hands to the head. In round five, Quintana reduced to little more than efforts to hold, a Berto right hand left Quintana again dazed but the Puerto Rican weathered the storm.
The fighters traded the advantage in rounds six and seven, Quintana working inside to improve in the former while Berto used right hands to command the latter. The style clash kept the pace and tone of the bout uneven. Berto’s speed and youth changed that in round eight.
Blood coming from the right eye of Quintana, Berto was in full attack mode from early on and two lefts, followed by a right to the face, had Quintana in serious trouble halfway through the round. The veteran fought to survive even as he did little to fight back, covering up and seeking to clinch as Berto came forward with both hands. Quintana escaped from the corner even as Kimmons looked ready to stop the fight. Pursued by Berto into another corner, Quintana escaped yet again. The third time proved the charm, Berto trapping him and connecting with a flush right that gave Kimmons the final rationale he needed to halt the action at 2:16 of round eight.
Berto, who had winced when throwing left hooks during the fight, stated afterwards that he had hurt his bicep. Turning to the future, he expressed readiness for the biggest names in the division. “I have a lot out there to choose from. All those guys; Mosley, (Floyd) Mayweather got a fight coming up; (Manny) Pacquiao looks like he might be free. Any of the top guys, I’m just ready to get back in there and stay busy.”
The top guys vary between weight classes. Featherweight just added another.
Having unified the WBA and IBF titles at Jr. Featherweight, 33-year old Panamanian Celestino Caballero (34-2, 23 KO), 125 ½, showed he’s going to be just as imposing at Featherweight proper, rising four pounds and all but toying with undefeated 22-year old Daud Yordan (25-1, 19 KO), 125 ¾, en route to a dominant unanimous decision win.
The wispy, 5’11 Caballero began the fight with his long left jab and, fighting largely flat footed, peppered the 5’7 Yordan throughout the first, a steady flow of activity challenged by the occasional flurries of blows from Yordan. Jabbing to the head and body, Caballero whipped in right hooks to the body in both the first and second rounds, following with leveraged rights to the head and snappy left hooks. Fighting tall, Caballero was able to send most of Yordan’s blows sailing over and off his shoulders. Yordan did manage a jarring left hook in the late stages of round two but Caballero took it without problems and sent Yordan to the deck moments later with a counter right uppercut as Yordan lunged forward.
Yordan beat the count and stepped forward for the start of the third, both eyes already showing signs of swelling. Caballero popped him with a short left hook, Yordan answering with one of his own. The Indonesian was game, cranking hooks to the ribs and just missing with some angrily intended right hands. Caballero managed to stay a step or two ahead in terms of activity even if neither man was landing cleanly in abundance.
Caballero was landing more though and it stayed that way through the remainder of the first half, Yordan reduced to landing only token, if eye catching, left hooks while Caballero just beat a steady drum beat of leather upon him. Round after round it continued, Yordan hopelessly behind and sinking with each passing three minutes as Caballero, appearing almost bored, stayed busy of hand while looking into the crowd and acknowledging people at ringside. After eleven rounds, it was hard to find a round to credit to Yordan.
Yordan had a brief moment of thrill in the final round, a right hand preceding a wobbling of Caballero. The crowd roared its approval but Caballero’s place in the ring told the tale, the real damage caused by slipping feet on slick ring paint at ring center. The Panamanian quickly found his composure and the bout returned to form as Caballero coasted to a unanimous decision by scores of 118-108, 119-108, and a sweeping 120-107.
The referee was Telis Assimenios.
With the win, Caballero is recognized as the interim titlist of the WBA, its third current ‘world’ champion at Featherweight along with Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa (18-0, 15 KO) and “Super” Champion Chris John (43-0-2, 22 KO). John is recognized as such despite never having unified titles with another sanctioning body titlist, all of it a discredit to the notion of legitimate championship. Where John will factor in remains to be seen but Caballero-Gamboa could happen this summer.
The broadcast was carried in the U.S. on premium cable outlet HBO as part of their “World Championship Boxing” series, promoted by DiBella Entertainment.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
