Andre Berto-Freddy Hernandez confirmed, Cloud-Dawson in talks

Lem Sattefield of FanHouse reports that the talked-about fight between WBC welterweight titlist Andre Berto and Freddy Hernandez is on for November 27, with HBO airing the bout as part of a triple-header from Las Vegas. It is not a very good fight for Berto, all things being fair and honest, because Hernandez is just not a top-level opponent. But as we've discussed plenty, Berto really has no good possible fight out there at the moment, and he needs to get back into the ring. As far as fringe contenders and second or third-tier guys go, Freddy Hernandez is no worse (or better) than a great number of welterweights. He's tall and has a punch, but the difference in speed and skill will be evident very early, I suspect.

What matters for Berto is simple. He has to look not just good, but sensational. He has to really dominate Hernandez, and then frankly, he has to talk some big trash and try to land that elusive major fight. I have my doubts about Shane Mosley being an option for Berto anymore, as I'm not sure Golden Boy would want to sacrifice a clearly worn-down Mosley on another promoter's fighter. Top Rank has mostly stayed in-house this year, too, but I'm guessing a potential fight with Miguel Cotto is a more likely possibility than Berto landing Mosley at this point. But it's not like Cotto or Mosley to duck challenges, either. If one of them wants it bad enough, it can happen.

It's also entirely possible that Berto and Selcuk Aydin will be forced to fight after this, should Berto win. The WBC could threaten to strip Berto, who has never faced a mandatory challenger, or could take away Aydin's status. Being fair and honest again, once Berto and Lou DiBella and HBO got on board with that fight to some degree, it was Aydin who didn't step up, feeling for some reason that he should get to have the fight in Turkey, which is in my view a pretty clear duck maneuver. There is no way that fight is happening in Turkey, and he knows it.

There are also talks for a light heavyweight trinket fight in March between IBF titlist Tavoris Cloud and Chad Dawson. Dawson recently suffered the first loss of his career when he was upset by Jean Pascal, while Cloud knocked off veteran Glen Johnson in the co-feature that August evening. It's still a long way off, of course, but Cloud-Dawson makes the most sense for both fighters at this point. Jean Pascal is going to defend the Ring and WBC belts against Bernard Hopkins in December, and these two can't just sit around waiting. Dawson has a rematch clause with Pascal, but if they were to get wins over Hopkins and Cloud, it would just make a summer 2011 rematch that much bigger. If one of them loses -- and both could lose for sure -- then it wasn't meant to be.