By Jake Donovan

With Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley on tap for next weekend, Saturday night’s welterweight bout between Andre Berto and Luis Collazo was regarded going in as an appetizer to the main course.

Fans may still be licking their chops at the thought of next week’s fight, but had plenty to dine on with HBO’s first entry of 2009. Berto and Collazo gave the viewers at home plenty to cheer about, and the fans their money’s worth at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.

When all was said and done, it was Berto who emerged victorious, surging ahead in the championship rounds to eke out a razor-thin unanimous decision in his toughest test to date.

A game of pity pat threatened to break out early in the fight. Collazo came through with the first meaningful punch of the fight, a straight left that rocked Berto and drew a rise out of the crowd. Berto wisely clinched to clear his head. The strategy paid off in dividends, as a counter right hand rung Collazo’s bell late in the round.

Both fighters went back to boxing in efforts to slow things down in round two, but the two-way contact would eventually resurface. Berto landed an effective right hand to the body, and was able to control the tempo with his superior hand speed.

Collazo came out strong early in the third, determined to prove that he was more than just the first big name on Berto’s resume. A straight left hand got things going early, but Berto came roaring back, hurting Collazo midway through the round before the momentum swung back in the Nuyorican’s favor.

With both fighters emptying their respective tanks in the prior round, action expected to slow down in the fourth. It did to a degree, but provided plenty of drama on the Berto side. A point was deducted for excessive holding, having twice been warned in the previous two rounds. Collazo turned up the heat soon thereafter, doubling up Berto’s punch count for the three-minute period.

For the first time in his career, Berto entered the middle rounds of a fight while facing a deficit on the scorecards. Worse, he was breathing heavy in between rounds, indicative that he wasn’t about to pick up steam any time soon.

To compensate, he stayed a little further than normal on the outside, neutralizing Collazo’s straight left while able to fire off his own jab and straight right hand. By round six, Berto was shooting his right without fear of being countered. Collazo adjusted by targeting the body. Berto struggled to respond, instead falling into the traps being set by Collazo along the ropes.

Berto’s corner went to work on a cut over his right eye caused by a headbutt at the end of round five, but it was his left eye that began to worsen after being repeatedly nailed by Collazo’s right jab throughout the fight and particularly in the seventh round. But it was Berto’s busier work rate that carried him through the round, as well as the eighth. A relentless body attack appeared to have sapped Collazo’s energy level, before taking it upstairs with a flush right hand to punctuate the round.

The Berto ship was righted as the bout headed into the final four rounds. Collazo attempted to pick up steam in the ninth, targeting the body, which proved to be more effective later in the round. Berto began the frame jabbing from the outside but suddenly found himself laying on Collazo’s chest, struggling to fend off the southpaw, who was suddenly reborn.

Chants of “Luis” filled the crowd as the New Yorker went to town in the tenth. Collazo found his second wind in a big way, unloading to the body while Berto was looking for a single fight-altering bomb to land. The bout’s first trip to the canvas came late in the round, though it was clearly a push as Collazo’s momentum carried him forward before stumbling over Berto.

The championship rounds began with the crowd battled as hard as the two combatants in the ring. One side of the crowd began chanting “Berto”, which was immediately countered by “Luis”, with the two sides alternating in perfect sync.

As for the action in the ring – Collazo slowed down considerably after having thrown 106 punches in the previous round. Berto took advantage, throwing to the body then taking it upstairs. Oohs and ahhs came from the crowd in response to what appeared to be straight rights and left upstairs, though Collazo slipped most of them, with his chin tucked behind his shoulder to deflect the ones he couldn’t completely slip.

There might’ve only been a paper title at stake, but both fighters fought with championship heart in the twelfth and final round. Collazo kept it on the inside, unloading on the body, while Berto countered with repeated head shots. A crisp right hand to the body hurt Collazo late in the round, falling to the canvas seconds later from exhaustion. The referee opted to wave it off, instead ruling it a slip. Two more body shots trapped Collazo in a corner with ten seconds left, though Berto couldn’t find that one punch to finish him as the bell sounded, to which the crowd roared with delight.

Berto’s strong surge in the final two rounds proved to be the difference in the fight. Bill Clancy came in with a surprisingly wide 116-111, while Gary Ritter and Larry Ingle seemed closer to the truth with scores of 114-113 each. All were in favor of Berto, who improves to 24-0 (19KO).

Going in, the bout was widely regarded as the first legitimate test of Berto’s young career. It played out as advertised, with Berto surviving the gut check and plenty to feel proud about afterward.

“I feel like a monster,” exclaimed Berto, the 2004 Haitian Olympian who made the second defense of his alphabet title. “It was a close call. Luis Collazo is an animal. We had a terrific fight to begin 2009.”

His 2009 almost resulted in the first loss of his pro career. He knew it, his corner knew it.

“I knew I had to win the last round. My (corner) was telling me to bite down and get it.”

A fight like this was supposed to indicate where Berto stood in the welterweight fray. A win, and he move on the upper echelon of the division. A loss, and he takes a step back.

Instead, the next step might be a lateral move – another visit with the same man he spent 12 throwing down with on Saturday night.

“I would love to give (Collazo) a rematch. I’m a boxing fan, and this is what fans love to see.”

Collazo will gladly take one.

“He said he’d give me a rematch; hopefully, we can do this again,” said the heavily-tattooed New Yorker, who slips to 29-4 (14KO). The loss is his third in as many fights on HBO, having previously dropped decisions to Shane Mosley and Ricky Hatton.

The Mosley fight was a whitewash, but many in the industry felt the decision in the Hatton fight went the wrong way. A similar case could be plead here, though not quite to the same degree. Even Collazo refused to make excuses on air, other than to question what fight one of the three judges watched.

“One judge (Bill Clancy) had it 116-111, there was no way in hell it was that wide. It should’ve been 114-113 all around.”

What everyone will agree upon is that it was one hell of a fight, all around. 
 
Jake Donovan is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.