Floyd Mayweather vs Andre Berto: Fact Or Fiction?

What started off as what many thought was a joke has now stormed the boxing world with realism. Weeks ago Floyd Mayweather stated that he would fight either Karim Mayfield or Andre Berto next. People laughed. Even the media members asking the questions chuckled on video. Now, no one is laughing. Days ago is was announced by Michael Woods that Andre Berto would indeed be Mayweather's next opponent. It was news that stunned. Some people are cracking jokes, others think that it's an insult to the sport, and the general reaction from the public isn't going over well. Many think Mayweather will pull the bait and switch like he did with Devon Alexander and Robert Guerrero two years ago. That he will lead everyone to believe it's Berto, then switch over to Khan. However, this situation feels very different.

At one point in history Andre Berto was being groomed to be the next Floyd Mayweather. He was fast, charismatic, fun, and brought action into every fight. Al Haymon was high on him, and HBO was getting him ready to replace Floyd as the next superstar in boxing. Berto was also on track to face Floyd Mayweather. The fight was deemed inevitable with Berto having a strong chance of defeating Mayweather because of his hand speed and power.

Then, things went south, mainly on Berto's end. In January of 2010 Berto was supposed to take on Sugar Shane Mosley. It was a huge step up fight for Berto with a victory getting him closer to Mayweather. However, due to the earthquake that hit Berto's home country of Haiti he was forced to call off the fight in support of his family. Berto would come back with two victories in 2010 helping him gain steam and getting him in line to face Floyd Mayweather once again. In 2011 Andre Berto would square off against Victor Ortiz. It was a fight, that if won, would have put Berto next in line to face Mayweather. However, Berto fell short as Oritz stunned him in the first round by dropping him. Berto never recovered going on to lose a decision, and Ortiz would end up getting to fight Mayweather next.

Things didn't get any better for Andre Berto after that. Berto would come back later in 2011 to win a fight and set himself on course with a rematch with Ortiz in June of 2012. Berto ended up failing a steroid test that cancelled the fight. Later that year he would face Robert Guerrero in a fight that would get him back on track. Berto would end up losing that fight, and Guerrero would end up facing Mayweather next, leading to jokes among the boxing community stating "beat Berto and you get Mayweather next." After the Guerrero fight he was lined up with a tune-up against Jesus Soto-Karass, and was once again upset in the fight, not only losing the fight but suffering a shoulder injury in the process.

Since his shoulder surgery Berto has won two fights against average opponents. That however, isn't stopping Floyd Mayweather from fighting him. Mayweather has always had some interest in fighting Berto. It seems as though Mayweather's next fight will be on CBS, and with that Mayweather has been given the green light to face whoever he wants. Despite all of his set backs Andre Berto may get the call. Sources close to the situation are very confident that Mayweather will be fighting Berto on September 12th. They are also confident it will be on CBS making it free for everyone to watch. If CBS is the way this goes then Andre Berto as an opponent is very real.