Robert Guerrero vs Andre Berto

Knocked down in each of the opening 2 rounds, Andre Berto recovered to make Robert Guerrero endure 12 rounds of punishing exchanges before the Californian retained his interim WBC welterweight title. Guerrero won a unanimous decision at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, on November 24, 2012, with Julie Lederman, Alejandro Rochin and Max DeLuca each scoring 116, 110. The margin was clear, but the physical cost was considerable. Berto finished with both eyes badly swollen, while Guerrero’s right eye was nearly closed. Before 4,765 spectators, the fighters spent much of the contest at close quarters, trading short punches amid holding and wrestling.

The Golden Boy Promotions bill, televised by HBO, presented Guerrero with his 2nd contest at welterweight after his July victory over Selcuk Aydin had secured the interim championship. A former world champion at featherweight and super featherweight, Guerrero entered with 30 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw, 18 by knockout. Berto, a former WBC and IBF welterweight champion, brought 28 wins, 1 loss, 0 draws, 22 by knockout. Both were 29. Berto had been absent for 14 months, during which a positive doping test had caused the cancellation of his proposed rematch with Victor Ortiz. He now faced an opponent determined to deny him room for his fast, powerful punches.

Berto began with his left shoulder raised and his left hand low, attempting to catch or evade punches before answering. Guerrero advanced from his southpaw stance and soon penetrated that defence with a straight left. Berto was visibly shaken and tried to hold. Guerrero kept him close with his right glove behind the head and delivered further short lefts, sending him down. The holding made the sequence contentious, but referee Lou Moret ruled a knockdown without penalising Guerrero. Early in the 2nd, another left-handed attack put Berto on the floor near the ropes. His right eye was already swelling badly. He rose and survived by holding and covering up, while Guerrero continued working whenever a hand was free.

The 2 knockdowns gave Guerrero a substantial early advantage, but Berto gradually began to answer. From the 3rd round, Guerrero maintained close contact, pressing him towards the ropes and directing short punches into the body. Berto found openings for uppercuts and hooks, making Guerrero pay for remaining within reach. Their work was frequently untidy. Both held and wrestled for position, Guerrero punching during the clinches and Berto retaliating with blows behind the head. Moret warned Berto for rabbit punches in the 5th and repeatedly separated them. Neither lost a point. Guerrero’s greater activity remained an important distinction, although Berto’s clean counters were becoming more frequent.

Berto had a strong finish to the 6th, landing a succession of punches upstairs as Guerrero continued attacking the body. Guerrero answered in the 7th, hurting him with a left uppercut along the ropes and following with further heavy blows. Berto held long enough to recover and then fought back, producing sustained exchanges that brought the crowd into the contest. Guerrero again forced him backwards before the bell. In the 8th, the champion returned to the body, leaning into Berto and keeping him occupied at close range. Berto’s uppercuts remained dangerous, however, and in the 9th he landed several hard rights through the middle. Guerrero’s nose was bleeding, and swelling around his right eye was increasingly apparent.

By the 10th, both men were fighting with restricted vision, yet neither made a sustained attempt to create distance. Guerrero continued to press and work, while Berto sought room for short rights and uppercuts. Their exchanges drew competing chants from the spectators. Guerrero landed another hard left late in the 11th, but Berto stayed with him and answered before the bell. The final round brought another prolonged exchange, with Guerrero maintaining his output despite the damage he had taken. He shook Berto again near the finish and continued punching after the bell before Moret intervened. There were no further knockdowns after the opening 2 rounds.

CompuBox credited Guerrero with 258 connections from 731 punches, against Berto’s 182 from 411. Berto landed a higher proportion of his attempts, but Guerrero’s volume and sustained body attack helped him retain command of the scoring. Afterwards, Berto complained that Moret’s warnings had inhibited his inside work while Guerrero had been allowed to hold and hit, although he also acknowledged the winner’s performance. Guerrero said that fighting inside and working the body had been central to his approach, then called for a contest with Floyd Mayweather Jr. His record advanced to 31 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw, 18 by knockout. Berto left with 28 wins, 2 losses, 0 draws, 22 by knockout, having recovered from a disastrous start without overcoming the champion’s pressure or early lead.

I thought Guerrero proved his strength at welterweight here. Taking the fight straight to Berto showed he could physically impose himself on an experienced champion. He crowded Berto, worked the body and kept punching when there was room. That denied Berto the space to make his hand speed count consistently.

Berto’s shoulder roll looked uncomfortable from the start. Copying the position is easy; judging distance and knowing when to turn or move takes years. Guerrero’s left hand kept finding him. I also thought the holding and hitting before the first knockdown deserved intervention. This was rough, sometimes illegal work, and the referee needed firmer control.

But Guerrero deserved the decision. Berto’s uppercuts were excellent once he settled, and his recovery from those early knockdowns showed real grit. Both gave the fans plenty, but Guerrero dictated where the fight happened and sustained the stronger workload. That won it for me.