By Mick Akers
Being patient and playing the waiting game has finally paid off for welterweight Robert Guerrero, as he finally as landed a fight with a top-tier opponent in Andre Berto on November 24 at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.
It is up to Guerrero now to prove he is worthy of being considered a top fighter in the 154-pound division and taking care of business against Berto next Saturday. Doing so could net him the showdowns that he has been not so quietly asking for over the past year.
Berto is a very skilled boxer and will offer Guerrero all he can handle but there are some big questions on Berto entering this bout.
First off the over one-year layoff that Berto has had since his last fight where he beat the then IBF welterweight champ Dejan Zavec. THe second question is how Berto’s mindframe will be after dealing with his positive drug test.
Although it was found that the positive test was the result of contamination, dealing with the backlash after such an event has to be damaging to one’s mental state.
Knowing how Guerrero fights he will take it to Berto from the opening bell and never let up, giving the former welterweight title holder no time to adjust to being to of the ring for so long.
Beating Berto could net Guerrero the bout that was rumored to be close to taking place with WBC welterweight title holder Timothy Bradley.
If Bradley is not the choice for Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent after his bout with Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8, then a Bradley-Guerrero bout would be the next best step for both fighters.
With the ultimate prize-fight for anyone in boxing at the moment being with the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr., the winner of a possible Bradley-Guerrero fight could yield Mayweather’s next opponent sometime in 2013.
