Andre Berto won convincingly against Juan Urango, but many are wondering what it really proved, if anything. (via www.hbo.com, Photo by Ed Mulholland)

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Jake Donovan of BoxingScene wrote an article with a title that describes the subject perfectly: "Time for Andre Berto to Remove the Bib"

Really couldn't have said it better myself, and yet the same thoughts have dominated my mind when thinking about Berto's mundane decision title defense over Juan Urango this past Saturday evening.

Berto (25-0, 19 KO) is a former Olympian, a highly-regarded prospect, now a titleholder with three defenses under his belt, and still only one victory that I think has said much about him. As much as I believe Berto could be a tremendous asset to boxing with a fan-friendly style, he seems more and more to be willing to tread water, so to speak.

His January win over Luis Collazo proved he has the guts and the firepower to win a gritty fight where he actually gets challenged. But in his numerous HBO showcases before he won a vacant title over Miki Rodriguez (a ludicrous title opponent), we've seen little else from Berto that really holds up when considering his chances against the likes of Shane Mosley, Joshua Clottey or Miguel Cotto, the current cream of the welterweight crop.

He probably has twice the natural talent that Clottey does, for instance, but we know Clottey's tougher than nails. Does he have the grit to dig down again and face that challenge head-on? Mosley and Cotto can match him in skills, and have proven their worth in past bouts, including a minor classic against one another.

Do you see Berto standing in there and trading with Mosley? Or do you see him grabbing for the clinch, frustrated and overly tactical?

There's nothing wrong with being a smart fighter, and in many ways that's all he did against Urango this past weekend. Urango is a 140-pound fighter with bomb power, a sturdy chin, and little else. Had the fight gone "right," we could've seen a hell of a war. Instead Berto was content to pick at Urango and grab onto him whenever he felt necessary, which at many points seemed to go into overkill.

I'm an Andre Berto fan. There's really nothing I don't like about him. And where I want to hold back and give him some credit is with this: When Antonio Margarito was trying to bluff his way out of fighting Shane Mosley and get more money for it, Andre Berto put his name into the proceedings and negotiations took place. He seemed willing. He seemed ready. Instead, he wound up fighting Luis Collazo and Mosley thrashed Margarito. Had that not come off the way it did, we might be looking at a very different world of boxing right now.

Question is, though, if it had been Mosley-Berto, would the different world of boxing include a lot of "What's Andre Berto gonna do now?" stories in January?

He's not to the level where he's earned any real contempt, but the questioning and the impatience are deserved. There's no room for another showcase fight. It's time for him to either take his place among the elite or get back to the drawing board should he fail to do so. No more Urango, Forbes, Rodriguez or Trabant. Now it's time for Lou DiBella and Co. to work on a fight against the Mosleys, Cottos and Clotteys of the world.

The show starts tonight at 9:45 ET. We'll have coverage of both fights.

via www.hbo.com

After what essentially amounted to a bye week for boxing (a few notable events, but nothing on major American TV and little major news), we come up on a weekend where we get back into the picking game with a great HBO double-header and an overseas heavyweight title fight.

Andre Berto v. Juan Urango (HBO, Saturday - Welterweights, 12 Rounds, for Berto's WBC title)

140-pound titlist Urango is coming up in weight and while he looks at first to have the frame for it, he's really going to be among the shorter 147-pounds should he stay. At 5'7" he's around Miguel Cotto's height, so it's not a total hindrance or anything, but Cotto is a body-punching tactician and a strategist. Urango does nothing but wing power shots from all four corners.

Berto (24-0, 19 KO) passed his first true test in January with a win over Luis Collazo, which was hard-fought and well-earned. Though Collazo troubled him rather greatly, Berto took advantage of every opportunity he got. When Collazo took rounds off, Berto went out and won them. When Berto thought he needed the 12th round to win the fight, he went for the knockout and dominated the final three minutes. Urango is a southpaw like Collazo, but that's the last thing they have in common in terms of fighting style.

But Urango can thump, and if Berto has one of his defensive lapses, he can be caught. If he gets caught by Urango, anything could happen. Cosme Rivera scored a flash knockdown against Berto, and Collazo wobbled him early in their fight. His chin hasn't really been tested to any great degree, and Urango is so predictable and wild that Berto might be able to just beat up on him with speed and sound technical boxing if he so chooses.

It would seem that Berto, a Florida native, would have a homecourt advantage in Hollywood, FL, but Urango has lived in that town for a while now and has fought at the building eight times. This will be Berto's first time at the Seminole Hard Rock.

This is a fight that really does promise action and could turn into a barnburner in a hurry. Berto is on the cusp of being able to realistically include his name in fight talks with the likes of Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto and the other top welterweights. He's been on HBO several times, is a budding star with a fan-friendly style, and a loss to Urango -- who is still virtually unknown -- would be hugely damaging in the short term. I don't think Urango has what it takes to beat Berto, though. He doesn't have the size, the speed, the skill, or the huge power to get a miracle shot. I think Berto might get in trouble once or twice, but wins a fairly wide decision in an exciting fight. Berto UD

Alfredo Angulo v. Kermit Cintron (HBO, Saturday - Junior Middleweights, 12 Rounds - Non-Title)

Ah, Kermit Cintron. If you've been around long enough, you know my feelings on Cintron. They don't come from any personal feeling, though; it's merely analyzing him. And hey, I may be wrong. But if you haven't been here long, here's my scouting report: Good but overrated power, flat-footed, rather awful boxing skills despite efforts to change that, buckles badly under pressure, lacks heart, lacks character.

Again, nothin' personal. I think Juan Diaz -- a great dude with a great attitude most of the time -- lacks championship toughness, too. And if you wanna give Cintron's two losses to Antonio Margarito the benefit of the doubt, well, OK. His draw against Sergio Martinez was a gift from the judges, but Martinez is a cutie and designed to badly trouble a fighter like Cintron.

Angulo is basically a Margarito clone without the plaster, so we'll see if Cintron really belongs near the top at 154 or 147 or anywhere. He will have a fairly big reach advantage (74" to 69") on Angulo and his KO rate -- which I feel is sort of fabricated in a way -- is good enough that you do have to give his power its respect. No doubt one of his right hand bombs could hurt Angulo, who won't be moving around the ring like Martinez did. Angulo will be there for Cintron. The question is whether or not Cintron can stand up to the relentless attacks that Angulo brings. I don't think he can. I think he'll buckle. Angulo TKO-8

Nikolai Valuev v. Ruslan Chagaev (Helsinki, Saturday - Heavyweights, 12 Rounds - For the WBA title both hold)

Chagaev is the only guy to ever beat Valuev. Let's hope he does it again so that maybe this Valuev crap stops. He was so bad against Evander Holyfield that it made me never want to see him fight again despite the fact that I think he's a nice enough guy. Chagaev isn't really much more exciting, but at least his fights aren't automatically tagged with "freak show," which sounds mean because Valuev can't help that he's really tall, but he also can't help that he's really slow, powerless, and boring. Chagaev SD-12

It's still a few weeks away, but I don't think it's too early yet to talk about Andre Berto's upcoming WBC welterweight title defense against Juan Urango.

Berto (24-0, 19 KO) is coming off of the best fight and toughest win of his career. Urango (21-1-1, 16 KO) presents a whole new danger.

We've all heard the stories about Berto's training as a youngster: His father driving behind him, nudging him with the car if he slowed down on runs. The 500 squats and push-ups. The discipline and heart it has instilled into him as a professional boxer. It appears to have paid off.

And he's also a fighter that gives back: In March, Berto went to his family's homeland in Haiti. On that trip, he met several of his family members for the first time, including his older sister. In 2008, he joined the board of the Carma Foundation, which supports the poor women and children of the island nation. Between fights, he's a philanthropist. How much more could you ask from a 25-year old titlist?

It was when Berto was matched up with Luis Collazo -- a former foil of Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosley -- that he finally "earned" his standing as WBC welterweight titlist. Sure, he won the belt vacated by a "retiring" Floyd Mayweather Jr. when he trounced Miki Rodriguez in June 2008, and had already defended it against affable vet Steve "2 Pound" Forbes in September, but he had yet to meet up with a top welter.

Collazo gave him that chance, and pushed him to his very limits. While Collazo has yet to score that Big Win, he remains a tough matchup for just about anyone. He's crafty, slick, has more power than his record might indicate, and he fights smart. Berto, at just 25, had not yet seen a fighter like Collazo. Now he has, and he passed his test with a close decision win, scoring that victory on the strength of a 12th round that saw the Miami native come out swinging for the fences, dominating the round and taking his belt and unbeaten record back home.

28-year old Urango is another story.

"Slick" or "crafty" are words that belong nowhere near him. I'm not sure we've yet seen Urango throw a meaningful jab. He is a straight-ahead, relentless brawler, all lunging hooks and power shots, and he's got a lot of grit and a so-far very sturdy chin. He's lost just once, to Ricky Hatton. But he's yet to fight over 140 pounds.

The question for Urango is this: Can he really fight at 147? Berto, at 5'8 1/2", is considered a small welterweight nowadays, and his stature is what gives some people pause. Urango is 5'7", though built like a linebacker and broad as a barn.

We've seen Berto handle some solid opponents with ease, but he's yet to face someone who brings pressure like Urango. Smart money says he has the skill to pick him apart, to counter him with fast, hard shots if he so chooses, and probably even dominate the fight. But with a guy like Urango there's always a puncher's chance, and Collazo did push Berto back to the surprise of some.

We'll have more on this fight in the coming weeks, of course, but I'll say this for now: I think we might be looking at the next great fight. These are guys who like to throw the leather, and Berto's mettled proved out against Collazo. I don't know if Urango is quite the perfect test. But I do know it has a lot of the ingredients -- and that for the rest of the month, it's the most attractive fight.

Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com reports that HBO is in talks to stage a fight between junior middleweight prospect/contender Alfredo Angulo and former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron.

Angulo (15-0, 12 KO) has fought his last three fights on HBO, running over Richar Gutierrez, Andrey Tsurkan and Cosme Rivera. He was meant to step up in competition against Ricardo Mayorga in February, but that fell apart. Cintron (30-2-1, 27 KO) was gifted a draw decision against Sergio Martinez on that February card in his first bout at 154 pounds.

If it can get done, the fight will take place on the undercard of Andre Berto's May 30 welterweight title defense. Dan Rafael reported a few days ago that Lou DiBella was attempting to match Berto with 140-pound titlist Juan Urango, but Reeno says there just might not be enough money for that to happen. HBO, as reported by Reeno and Rafael, would prefer Berto face ex-welterweight champ Zab Judah. Berto-Judah is definitely a more "name" fight than Berto-Urango, and both sound interesting to me. DiBella seems to have wanted a "softer" touch for Berto after he had a tough fight with Luis Collazo in January, but that does not fit the HBO agenda anymore.

All the fights are pretty attractive, though I think Angulo demolishes Cintron. Angulo is essentially a Margarito clone in style, though Kermit does have the lightning to at least test his chin. I get the feeling Angulo's chin is a-ok, and that Cintron would get broken down in the middle rounds. I'd favor Berto in either of his potential fights unless Judah could come up with something big. Urango would be too slow, I believe.

Thoughts?