The welterweight division is really buzzing right now; with tonight’s 50/50 unification shoot-out between Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman set to thrill, a Manny Pacquiao-Amir Khan clash on the horizon and, set to be officially announced tonight before the WBC/WBA title showdown, Shawn Porter Vs. Andre Berto.
According to RingTV.com, the fight has been finalised and will go ahead on April 22 at Barclays Centre in New York. Porter-Berto is not as big as tonight’s fight or the Pac-Man-Khan fight, but the battle of former champions just might result in a great action fight. Porter, last seen slugging it out with Thurman in last June’s modern day classic, is always in great fights, while Berto is a dangerous puncher with a huge heart.
Put it all together, and the April fight could be a real highlight. Berto has been inactive for quite some time, last fighting, and winning, against Victor Ortiz in their rematch last April; Berto improving to 31-4(24) with the easy stoppage win. Berto is still young enough at age 33 to perhaps make another run at the title.
Porter, 26-2-1(16) and the younger, fresher man at age 29, will almost certainly be seen as the favourite to win, but Berto, when he’s in shape and injury-free, can give any welterweight in the world a tough night. And we have yet to see how much, if anything, the savage Thurman battle took out of Porter.
Berto doesn’t get stopped often (just once, by Jesus Soto Karass in a brutal battle, one that saw Berto suffer a shoulder injury) while Porter, as he showed against Thurman, has a phenomenal chin. This one might not only be a great action fight, but also one that goes the full 12 rounds.
But will it be Berto’s last hurrah or a good, quality comeback win for Porter? A Porter stoppage would be impressive, but a points win looks more likely. Both men are said to be very excited at the idea of getting back in the thick of the welterweight action.
