Put the Foot on the Pedal: These Prospects Need to Get Going (Ortiz,Petersons,Berto)

The biggest knock on boxing is that fights are made for money first and foremost, with any other reason being a distant second. This has also given way to prospects being brought along so slowly at times that it's maddening. There are exceptions, but it seems that most prospects fight absolute nobodies for at least a few years after turning pro before moving on to the aging ex-titleholders with an occasional step-up fight against another prospect on ShoBox or BAD. However, most of those "step-ups" are really just fights against another guy under 30 who has a pretty record but really hasn't beaten anyone with a pulse either. What do you guys think of these prospects, all of whom I believe have huge talent, but are not being put in meaningful fights yet: Victor Ortiz: He was slated to get a shot at Ricardo Torres' WBO 140 lb. title, but promotional issues with Top Rank have squashed that for now. He even squashed Carlos Maussa in one round to set it up beautifully, but to no avail. This guy could be a star, and he was on the verge of breaking through with a fight against Torres on HBO, but now that all has to wait. Why? You guessed it: $$$. Top Rank needs to settle the issues and get him the shot vs. the Torres-Holt II winner. The Petersons: Both Anthony and Lamont are supremely talented, and they opened 2008 for boxing with solid performances on ShoBox, but they have been on ShoBox and ESPN several times each and yet neither has a title shot pending. At this point, you just hope one of them gets a shot on a BAD card or at least a Showtime Championship undercard. I'd love to see Anthony take on Edner Cherry or Zahir Raheem to set up the title shot in the lightweight division. Lamont could take on Henry Bruseles, Vivian Harris or Herman Ngoudjo. Not exactly main event-type stuff, but much better than what they're doing now. JCC Jr.: Do I really need to say much here? The guy is being milked for all he's worth and I can't blame him or Top Rank. However, I do want to see him in there with someone who has beaten someone of note. Yuri Foreman? Michelle Piccirillo? Kassim Ouma would be a great opponent in my opinion. Sounds good for the Cotto-Margarito undercard to me. Andre Berto: His HBO tuneups are over, I hope, and it's time for a fight against a contender. DiBella could put his big step-up fight on the RJJ-Taylor PPV undercard, but it better be against someone like Joshua Clottey or the Luis Collazo. Collazo makes a lot of sense because he's a DK fighter and DK will be co-promoting with DiBella on the proposed RJJ-Taylor event. Clottey is not very likely because he is waiting out his IBF mandatory spot.