How cold is the water in the deep end?

At what point is someone considered ready to take the proverbial next step in life?

Is there a blueprint somewhere in Bert Sugar's desk for something like this?

Cause this is something Andre Berto and his handlers really need to take some time to consider.

Berto took a big step up in class this past weekend when he put up his title against Luis Collazo in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was an amazing fight. Berto closed strong to eke out a close decision over the underrated Collazo. The decision could have gone either way. With three rounds to go, I thought Collazo had the fight in the bag. But Berto really showed another dimension that was previously unseen in his 24-fight career. He found another level in the 10th round and really stepped on the gas when it mattered most. And even though he was given the decision over Collazo, something still troubles me about Andre Berto and his future in the star-studded welterweight division...

Berto has the look of a more offensively-minded Floyd Mayweather. (Don't hang me yet. Hear me out.) Berto carries himself in the ring with a similar swagger to Floyd. He just looks like Floyd. He stance is similar to Floyd's. And in his favor, Berto has a bit more firepower than Floyd. But Floyd is a far more complete fighter than Berto. At least at this point. Berto has a long way to go in terms of counterpunching to match Mayweather. But Berto does throw some amazing combinations. I think he hits harder than Mayweather does. But sometimes he falls into the trap that most young fighters do: he can't find a mix between offense and defense. It's either all offense or all defense. That's something most young fighters go through. But usually it's something that starts to dissipate around the time a fighter's record reaches 16-0 or 17-0. Berto is now 24-0. And he still has these technical flaws.

It seems apparent now that promoter Lou DiBella wants to thrust Berto into the mix with the top guys in the welterweight division. And it sure sounds like a great idea. But I have the million-dollar question...

Who is he going to fight next?

After beating Collazo, it doesn't make sense for Berto to regress and pick another gimme just to add another W to his record. ESPN.com currently ranks Berto as the #5 welterweight. That may be a little high at this point. I think the four guys ranked ahead of him (in order: Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, and Joshua Clottey) would all be locks to defeat Berto at this point. So what's the next move? Kermit Cintron would make some sense, but he recently decided to step up in weight and test the waters (timely phrase) in the junior middleweight division. Same goes for Carlos Quintana, who also made the move north to junior middleweight. Zab Judah might make some sense. A fight with Judah would attract a lot of attention. Judah has some flaws that could be exploited by Berto with his speed and power. That also may be a fight that could truly bring out the best in Andre Berto. He needs it. We need it. Boxing needs it.


Boxing needs the next wave of stars to step up and have their names called. Berto is not yet the complete fighter that could challenge the Margaritos and the Cottos of the deep welterweight division. But he's close. He has all the tools. Now he just needs to put it all together.

For all of us... to help keep the sport from drowning.