Andre Berto, Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton: Give Luis Collazo a Rematch

The Ring Magazine title of "pound-for-pound world's greatest boxer" is currently held by Filipino superstar Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao.

Due to Pacquiao's dominance in the sport, the much-sought-after title of being boxing's best has become an elusive but hot commodity these days among top pugilists, most of whom compete in boxing's most scorchingly hot division—the welterweights.

Ranked at No. 6 on the 147-pound list is a fighter who is currently not in the running for the prestigious moniker—Winter Haven, Florida's Andre Berto, who has an outstanding unbeaten fight record of 24-0 with 19 big KOs.

Berto's last fight was against Juan Urango from Columbia, who is a tough "pressure fighter," with an air-tight defense.

Urango's style, however, was in stark contrast to Berto's who is mainly an offensive banger, which made the fight somewhat of a conflicting style snooze fest.

Berto's great offence couldn't seem to generate the power to penetrate Urango's comparably great defence.

So, it has occurred to me that while the other 147-pounders jockey for position, it would be nice to see Berto do the right thing for boxing and his loyal fans: which is to give No. 7 ranked welterweight Luis Collazo a much deserved rematch.

Lets be honest, a rematch should only be fought when and if it's absolutely necessary, in this case to—once and for all—clarify "who's who" among the top ten welterweight fighters. 

For example, if the majority of expert opinions [not judges] show that a winning decision was declared—but the events of the fight show no such clear victory for either combatant—then I feel that it's up to the fighters, and their promoters to do the right thing.

The characteristics of a fight that screamed for a rematch, were never more evident than in Berto's unanimous 12-round war with Collazo earlier this year on January 18.

Collazo, a Brooklyn-New-York-native, is a tough as nails southpaw, and a veteran of controversial wars with Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, and others, in which he gave the fans their money's worth only to emerge on the losing end of close, hard fought contests.

This fight was no different; it was a war that Berto won by a narrow margin—a close, hard-fought unanimous decision that many at ringside had given to Collazo.

Maybe Berto should have stayed on the outside, but that's not his style, so consequently—by fighting on the inside he allowed the tough new yorker to dictate the fight—and there is little doubt in my mind now that Collazo won it.

This is now the third time that Collazo has faced a solid opponent and done what most felt was enough to win, only to be told differently when the cards were read.

Mosley, Hatton, and most recently Berto all share victories over Collazo, and each now also share a certain level of responsibility for placing Collazo in that odd group of fighters who are considered higher risk than reward.

In past years Paul Williams, Chad Dawson, and recently disgraced and exiled fighter Antonio Margarito have also been tattooed with the label of most avoided fighter.

Not a good label to have if you are in the fight business, and now it almost seems that New York's Collazo could be headed for that dubious roster of out-casts.

Somebody must have forgot to inform these fighters that they are meant to be opponents only, they aren't supposed to put on the type of show-stopping-wars that they generally do.

Now, as a result, they are constantly looking for quality opposition but failing to secure it, reason being is their ability to shine when very few people think they will.

"The difference between an obstacle and an opportunity is our attitude towards it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity."

—J. Sidlo Baxter

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