Danny Garcia “in talks” to face Andre Berto on September 24th

The good news: Showtime is making an effort to pit Danny Garcia against Keith Thurman once "One Time" heals up from his battle with Shawn Porter.

The bad news: "Swift" might wind up fighting Andre Berto beforehand.

Despite Stephen Espinoza’s claim that Berto (31-4, 24 KO) is, and I quote, "probably one of the best if not the best option" for Garcia (32-0, 18 KO) and the legitimate fact that much of the division elite is currently booked, it stinks. Garcia opened his welterweight career against Paulie Malignaggi, who was coming off a dominant knockout loss, and was gift-wrapped a WBC title with a fight against Robert Guerrero, who’d barely scraped past Aron Martinez in his previous fight.

Berto’s game and Berto hits hard, but when was the last time he posed a true threat to the welterweight elite? This is a guy who just went to war with Victor Ortiz, who at this point has the mental fortitude of the six-day-old ribs I have in my fridge.

In fairness to Berto, there have been worse recent challengers. Danny Garcia has fought worse recent challengers. I just wish Garcia would fight a truly capable welterweight.