By Ian S Palmer
A pair of former world champions will be getting it on at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York this Saturday, August 4th when Devon Alexander of St. Louis takes on Andre Berto of Winter Haven, Florida. The 12-round welterweight bout can be seen live in North America on Fox. Fox Sports 2 and Fox Deportes. Alexander returned to the ring after a two year layoff last November when he beat Walter Castillo by a 10-round unanimous decision and then fought to an exciting 12-round majority draw with Victor Ortiz in his last outing in February. Berto hasn’t been too active lately either as he was stopped by Shawn Porter in the fourth round in his last fight 18 months ago.
Former two-division world champion Alexander had fallen below the radar over the past couple of years due to his inactivity and the fact he lost his last two fights and three of his last four before beating Castillo and then drawing Ortiz in his comeback. The 31-year-old southpaw is now 27-4-1 with 14 Kos and is a former junior welterweight and welterweight world titleholder. He stands just over 5-feet-8-inches tall with a reach of 69 inches. Alexander’s fought 233 rounds since turning pro back in 2004 and isn’t really a big hitter with a current knockout ratio of 44 per cent.
The former champ has taken on quite a few top boxers such as Ortiz, Amir Khan, Aaron Martinez, Shawn Porter, Jesus Soto Karass, Tim Bradley, Marcos Maidana, Lucas Matthysse, Andriy Kotelnik, Junior Witter, Juan Urango and DeMarcus Corley. Alexander’s never been stopped with his losses being to Martinez, Khan, Bradley and Porter. However, the record book shows he’s won just two of his last six fights. Alexander has fine boxing skills and decent enough power to go along with his solid chin.
The 34-year-old Berto climbs into the ring with a 31-5 record along with 24 Kos. He’s gone 5-5 in his last 10 outings and has suffered from shoulder problems in the past few years. Berto hasn’t been the same boxer he was a few years ago, but looked pretty good against Victor Ortiz in April of 2016 when he stopped him four rounds in their rematch. He’s still dangerous due to his desire, vicious attacks and fine jab. Actually, the key to his attack is the jab and he’s not nearly as effective when he doesn’t throw it out on a consistent basis. He also has a mean uppercut.
Berto isn’t the greatest defensive boxer out there and his chin is questionable at this point of his career. He’s give up both a slight height and reach advantage to Alexander as he’s just over 5-foot-6-inches tall and has a wingspan of 68.5 inches. He turned pro in 2004 and has gone 214 rounds since then. Berto has more power than Alexander with a current knockout ratio of 67 per cent. He’s a former IBF and WBC World Welterweight Champion and peaked a few years ago when he beat the likes of Luis Collazo, Juan Urango, David Estrada, Josesito Lopez, Steve Forbes, and Carlos Quintana.
Berto might still have enough left in the tank against Alexander, but he’s been set back by injuries over the past couple of years and underwent shoulder surgery. He’ll need to be at 100 per cent to be successful on Saturday night though. Berto lost his title to Ortiz by unanimous decision in their first meeting in 2011 and he’s also been beaten by Floyd Mayweather, Jesus Soto Karass and Robert Guerrero with Karass and Porter being the only men to stop him.
Prediction…
This should be an interesting bout as they both need a win if they hope to ever receive another title shot. Alexander has the better boxing skills, but he’s not very effective when he doesn’t let his hands go. He also has a better chin and may end up needing it if Berto connects with one of his powerful counters. This should be an entertaining fight and I’ll go with Alexander here.
