By Chris Robinson

One thing I have always admired about Showtime analyst Al Bernstein is the amount of passion and objectivity that he has been able to blend into his commenting throughout the years. When Bernstein speaks I can never sense any hints of bias or any kind of hidden agendas about him, as he instead puts his focus solely on giving his viewers the best possible insight into the action at hand.

During Monday’s press conference to officially announce the February 19th Fernando Montiel-Nonito Donaire bantamweight title bout I ran into Bernstein inside of the Mandalay Bay and gathered his thoughts on the contest. While having true admiration for the champion from Los Mochis, Mexico, Bernstein actually seems to be riding with Donaire in this bout, pointing to his great potential inside of the ring and even claiming him to be a force in the near future at 122 pounds.

As our conversation rolled on Bernstein also weighed in on a variety of topics in the sport, including his thoughts on the state of boxing, Manny Pacquiao’s reinventions over the years, Brandon Rios’ chances of becoming a world champion, a possible Juan Manuel Lopez-Yuriorkis Gamboa clash and much more.

Continue on to the slideshow for Bernstein’s view…

Remembering 2010…
“2010 got off to not as good of a start as the previous years. Because I think the last four or five or even six years in boxing have been very good for the sport. Not being a cheerleader for it or a PR guy, for the most part most of the matches people wanted to see where made. 2010 didn’t start out as well but the last half of the year was so spectacular with all those great fights. Maidana-Khan, Marquez-Katsidis, and we had great fights on Showtime with Hopkins-Pascal and the bantamweight tournament and the Super Six. There were all these great fights. And the Antillon-Humberto Soto fight was spectacular. There were so many fights the last half of the year that boxing heads into 2011 in pretty good shape.”

What to expect in the New Year…
“Right off the bat, on January 29th, you have Bradley-Alexander which is excellent. The fight that we are here for today, Fernando Montiel and Nonito Donaire, I can’t wait to see it. And then shortly after that you’ve got Mares against Agbeko which is going to a great fight. We are going to finish up our Super Six tournament, and that is going to be really interesting. I’m very interested in seeing Carl Froch-Glen Johnson. And Pacquiao will be back in action against Mosley and even though some people are disappointed because it’s not Mayweather or somebody else, the fact is that we get a chance to see Pacquiao again. I’m looking forward to a 2011 that looks just like 2009 and the last half of 2010.”

All the respect in the world for Fernando Montiel…
“What I love about Fernando Montiel is the fact that he is a consistently good fighter. He’s been under the radar screen a little bit more than he should have been and sometimes that happens with people’s careers for a variety of reasons. But I love that every time he steps into the ring you know that he is going to crank it up. I think that the last year of his career has been one of the best. He’s done nothing but win. He’s won fights on the road and in difficult circumstances. I have all the respect in the world for Montiel. He’s a handful for anybody that’s going to fight him.”

A complete believer in Nonito Donaire…
“We saw him on Showtime even before he fought Vic Darchinyan. Obviously that was a breakout moment for him. After that fight he didn’t get all the fights he wanted to get. But I am a complete believer in Nonito Donaire. In any weight class from 122 and down, 118 down for sure, I think he is absolutely the man. Totally the man. Honestly he can only beat himself from 118 down. That’s how good he is. He has the physical stature to fight better in those weight classes, he knows how to fight tall. Other times he’s had rocky performances, I think those were self-induced. He either had personal issues going or maybe a training glitch. Now, up at 122, I don’t know but I think he’s going to be a major force there.”

Brandon Rios’ chances against. Miguel Acosta in his first world title fight…
“That’s a good fight and I think Rios is a very good fighter. He’s not complete. He’s still a work in progress and that’s why I think he and Soto, was way too soon after [his fight with] Antillon and he’s had a tough year. I think Acosta is a very good fighter and I think we are going to find out whether Brandon Rios has added enough elements to his game to win a championship.”

The return of Erik ‘El Terrible’ Morales…
“I guess the tendency is to think that Erik Morales, at this juncture, obviously is not at his prime. But he has fought well enough to earn that fight, although to be honest, I think there are other matches I would love to see for Juan Manuel Marquez. But Erik Morales has rebuilt his career. He’s a great champion and he certainly deserves the right to fight in a big match.”

What Juan Manuel Marquez has left…
“I’m glad that his career took a kick start because it was so bogged down for a time. And he’s a great fighter. Truthfully, I would still love to see him fight Pacquiao one more time. There are a number of good fights he could have in the lightweight division or whichever division he wants to get in. I’m sure he will fight again after the Morales fight but he’s probably going to be too much for Morales at this juncture. I think he probably has another one or two good fights left in him to function at the highest level.”

Manny Pacquiao reinventing himself…
“I can’t fault Manny Pacquiao at this juncture because he has fought such a tough group of fighters overall. He’s fought everybody he could fight. Obviously the Mayweather fight is out at this juncture because Mayweather’s issues are very unlikely. I’d like, eventually, it would be fascinating to see someone like Andre Berto in with Pacquiao because it would be interesting to see what he would do. Or Juan Manuel Marquez. Though I think this version of Pacquiao would beat Marquez. Because he’s doing all the things he didn’t necessarily do in the first fight. He’s reinvented himself. I think the Mosley-Pacquiao fight will end up being a little more interesting that some think. But never the less I think Pacquiao would have enough to win that fight.”

A possible Juan Manuel Lopez-Yuriorkis Gamboa duel…
“I can’t wait to see that fight. If you ask me for the top fights that I want to see, that’s right at the top of the list. Because they are both vulnerable. They are both powerful and when you have that combination, I honestly bet that when they fight people will be split 50-50 on who is going to win.”

Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. An archive of his work can be found here , and he can be reached at Trimond@aol.com