Andre Berto remained undefeated by successfully defending his welterweight title against challenger Juan Urango on Saturday night. Urango, a titleholder at 140 pounds, displayed his expected resiliency and pressure tactics, but was simply unequipped to deal with the speed and depth of talent that Berto has.
Berto changed his tactics a bit from his usual tendency towards trading shots when he doesn’t have to. He effectively used his stinging jab and his footwork to keep away from Urango and circle him around the ring. When Urango got close Berto held on and broke away never allowing Urango to get an inside game going.
For the duration of the 12 round contest Berto remained in control and stayed true to his game plan. The wide unanimous decision was never in question, and it’s possible that Berto won every single round in the contest.
After rebounding from his controversial win over Luis Collazo, it’s now time for Berto to take on one of the top welterweights in the world. Names like Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey and Paul Williams all need to considered and Berto needs to make the biggest fight possible that he can find.
In the co-feature, Kermit Cintron scored the best win of his career by beating hot rising prospect Alfredo Angulo via unanimous decision.
Angulo came into the fight a 15-0 star in the making, coming off a string of televised knockout victories and displaying a rare combination of aggression, punching power, technical skill and a rock solid beard. His original opponent was Ricardo Mayorga, and surely he wished that was the man he had to face. Mayorga leaves himself wide open and is far past his prime.
Cintron on the other hand, while always known for his great power punching, also has undervalued speed and boxing ability. He displayed both of those on Saturday night, along with a newfound dedication to the craft and his game plan. Cintron’s heart and toughness has come into the question in the past, but he showed plenty of that as well in the Angulo fight, taking all of his best shots and delivering far more of his own.
Cintron had Angulo hurt several times in the opening rounds, but was unable to knock him down or finish him off. Angulo came on in the late stages of the fight, but it was too little too late to get back on the scorecards.
With the win, Cintron has earned mandatory challenger status for Sergio Martinez. Martinez and Cintron previously fought to a ludicrous draw, in which Cintron should have been counted as being knocked out and then should have lost a gaping decision.
Instead of facing Martinez, an interesting match up could pit him against the man he shared the card with tonight, Andre Berto. Both are promoted by Lou Dibella and Cintron has stated he is fine fighting at welterweight or junior middleweight.
