Berto vs. Quintana for the WBC Welterweight Title
On April 10th at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, Andre Berto, the current WBC World Welterweight Champion and Florida native, will defend his title against Carlos Quintana, the former WBO Welterweight Champion in an event being billed as “Fight for Haiti.” Berto and Quintana are two of the most explosive fighters in the Welterweight division and both have solid punching power. It should be a battle of hard shots where both fighters lay it all on the line for the WBC belt and a possible future shot at a big name fighter such as Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Shane Mosley.
| Andre Berto 25-0 (19KO’s) Winterhaven Florida Height: 5’8 1/2” Reach: 72” WBC Welterweight Champion Last 5 Fights: Berto’s last 5 fights have been the biggest of his career, and include capturing the WBC title with a 7th round TKO of Miguel Angel Rodriguez as well as an extremely tough and gutsy defense over Luis Collazo, and his most recent victory over Juan Urango. Berto was scheduled to fight Shane Mosley in January, but due to the earthquake tragedy in Haiti in which he lost 8 family members, Berto was forced to back out. Berto is well rested and ready to take on Quintana | Carlos “El Indio” Quintana 27-2 (21 KO’s) Moca, Puerto Rico Height: 5’9 1/2” Reach: 72” Last 5 Fights: In the biggest win of Quintana’s career, he defeated Paul Williams to win the WBO Welterweight title, but was stopped by Williams in dominating fashion in the rematch. Since the Williams fights, Quintana has fought and defeated two overmatched fighters in Joshua Onyago and Jesse Feliciano. In his most recent win (against Feliciano), Quintana went down in the second round, but the fight was stopped in the third due to a cut on Feliciano’s eyelid. Quintana has not faced a fighter of the caliber of Berto since his fights against Williams and his fight against Cotto. |
Berto vs. Quintana Preview
Establishing Dominance Early – Berto knows that he needs to establish his dominance early and dictate this fight from the start. Quintana is a tough veteran who is not afraid to come straight ahead and utilize his southpaw stance to create punching angles and opportunities and Berto must find a way to neutralize this attack and establish his dominance if he wants to emerge victorious. Andre Berto will come into the fight knowing that Quintana is a solid fighter who has a tendency to perform better as an underdog, in fact, Berto witnessed Quintana’s shocking upset over Paul Williams in person so he knows what Quintana is capable of.
Styles – The way these two fighters’ styles match up is quite interesting and should create an exciting bout. Quintana has the ability to win in a variety of different ways. At this point he’s somewhat like a grizzled veteran, compared to the still relatively green Berto, but mainly he’s a slick southpaw who can box and knows how to move around the ring and pick his times to be aggressive, which could give Berto trouble.
In order to stay out of trouble, Berto must do two things. First off, he should obviously establish dominance early as mentioned above, but he also needs to fight a smart fight on the inside. He needs to be smart and tie Quintana up when he needs to and defend himself well. Berto is young, quick, powerful and eager for a chance to prove himself. This fight against Quintana should test Berto’s resilience, ability to dictate the pace of a fight and ability to use his aggression to establish early dominance.
What can be gained from a victory here – This fight does not just determine the WBC Welterweight champion. There is a very good chance that something bigger and better awaits for the winner. A chance to challenge the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, or Shane Moseley (who Berto was scheduled to fight in January) may await the winner.
Quintana is a talented veteran who still has some fight left in him. His experience, unique style and willingness to come straight ahead while not getting reckless and still fighting a smart fight would make him a formidable opponent for any big name Welterweight fighter, especially if he takes Berto’s WBC title.
Berto is a young, talented fighter and may be the next big thing in the Welterweight division. He’s just looking for big situations to prove that he belongs at the top and a victory over Quintana would allow him to prove that he’s ready to fight the best the division has to offer.
Berto vs. Quintana Prediction
Yes, Quintana is a spoiler and thrives when in the underdog position, but Berto is well aware and just has too much game in this fight. Berto will come into this fight with the correct game plan and will come out on top with a 9th round TKO victory. I see Quintana giving Berto some trouble on the inside. At times in the fight when Berto and Quintana are wrapped up, Berto will get tagged with some quality southpaw shots from Quintana, but they won’t do any serious damage, and Berto’s speed and power will prevail in an exciting fight filled with quality exchanges: Berto by 9th Round Stoppage
