ANDRE BERTO vs JUAN URANGO

Andre Berto had a close call against the southpaw Luis Collazo in his last fight. On Saturday night he is in the ring with a southpaw again when he defends his welterweight title against Juan Urango on HBO from Florida.

In Collazo, Berto was meeting a speedy, sharp boxer with good movement. Urango poses a different type of problem, being a strong, hard-punching pressure fighter with improved hand speed.

Urango looked the best I have ever seen him when he easily outpointed Herman Ngoudjo to win a junior welter title in January. Now he is moving up seven pounds in an ambitious title bid against the undefeated Berto.

The Colombian always looked exceptionally strong for a 140-pounder. In theory Urango could lose that strength advantage at welterweight. Urango has been a steadily improving fighter, however, since he switched his training base to Puerto Rico. He is putting his combinations together in a crisper manner and he seems faster-paced in his fighting and more consistent.

Urango is now unquestionably a better fighter than when he lost to Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas two years ago. He seemed to have an opportunity to make real inroads in that fight when he hurt Hatton to the body in the fifth round, but his lack of experience showed as the much more seasoned British boxer was able to move around him, pepper him with punches and tie him up when Urango got close.

The Urango who beat Ngoudjo was a different fighter from the confused plodder who lost to Hatton. He kept right on top of Ngoudjo, almost won in the third when he scored two knockdowns, and never gave the supposedly superior boxer a chance to get into the fight.

Urango’s far superior punching power was in evidence throughout. He walked through Ngoudjo’s punches, and every time he landed a blow he seemed to be moving the Montreal-based boxer. Urango’s right hooks were a danger to Ngoudjo throughout, and there were a number of near-misses that might have been fight-ending had the hooks connected.

If Urango brings the same sort of busy, relentless style to the ring on Saturday he is going to be highly competitive.

Berto, however, is not Ngoudjo, who was being physically overpowered all through the fight. The defending champion is a compactly built, full welterweight. Also, Berto — unlike Ngoudjo — has the punching power to make Urango show respect.

Berto’s biggest assets in the fight, though, are likely to be his left jab, hand speed, movement and combinations. If he can keep away from Urango’s hooks, get off with volleys of punches and slow things down a bit by clinching at opportune moments, I believe he has a good chance of controlling the fight.

Berto showed excellent conditioning and considerable boxing acumen in the hard-earned win over Collazo. He was in trouble in the early rounds, when a right uppercut from Collazo’s southpaw style buckled his legs, and he had a point taken away for holding, but he boxed his way back into the bout and slowed down Collazo with body punching to set the stage for a surging finish in the last two rounds that tipped the bout in his favour.

That was, I think, an excellent learning fight for Berto. It was his most gruelling test, and he found a way to win it.

As Urango is usually a resilient fighter I am inclined to think that Berto has another long night ahead of him, but I do expect him to win. I think Berto has to be considered the better boxer, and I believe he can match Urango in the strength and stamina departments.

There is always the chance that Berto will get caught and hurt, but his team knows that Urango is dangerous and I think that his corner will have him boxing a smart, disciplined fight. Urango’s punch-resistance at 147 pounds is not known, and Berto might be able to wear him down and stop him. For me, though, the more likely result is a unanimous decision win for Berto, with Urango going through some punishing periods in the fight but seeing it through to the final bell.