Photo by Esther Lin
Even the best pound-for-pound fighter needs an effective game plan. Floyd Mayweather takes each opponent seriously and on a case-by-case basis, as he should. Despite over 19 years of experience in the ring, Mayweather should consider Andre Berto to be a unique and dangerous opponent.
Berto will look to engage Mayweather in an action-packed bout with some boxing thrown in the mix. Mayweather is pretty good at keeping his composure at all times in the ring, which will serve him well if Berto decides to put on the pressure.
Besides keeping a cool demeanor, Mayweather needs to consider these three factors to not only to win the fight, but also to beat Andre Berto convincingly.
1. Jabs to the Head and Body
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Floyd Mayweather has been using his jab more than we’re used to seeing as of late. His favorite way to jab is by going to the body, which should also include jabs to the head. Jabs to the body are a great way to get a feeler of how your opponent will respond if you go to the body.
Jabs to the body indicate detailed reactions when the punch to the body is unexpected (i.e. do they drop their hands?). Knowing this kind of information is useful when you want to go to the body in order to set up punches upstairs. By doing so, Floyd can test Andre Berto’s chin early in the fight.
I highly doubt Mayweather will be using his jab to set up a lot of inside work. Instead, he should use his jab to stay busy, give Berto minimal time to think, and keep himself a distance.
Though everyone knows inside work—aside from clinching—isn’t characteristic of Mayweather’s style, Berto will be looking to work from the outside to the inside to land his favorite uppercuts.
2. Stay on the Outside
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Floyd Mayweather can absolutely not allow Andre Berto to close the distance between them, at least voluntarily. As I stated before, uppercuts are Berto’s best punches. Because Berto has a shorter reach than Mayweather by almost four inches, he’ll have to work harder to get on the inside.
However, if he is able to close that distance, Berto packs dangerous power in those hands. Plus his arms are shorter, making it easier to land crisp inside punches without looping or winging them.
Besides the jab, Mayweather needs to stick with his best outside punches: the lead right hand and the check hook (his lead left). He’ll need to get a sense of Berto’s reflex speed and reaction time before unleashing the lead right, but he can certainly throw a few standard right hands to keep Berto guessing.
Floyd is taller and has the longer reach, so the risk of him getting caught while throwing outside punches is much less than if he had the disadvantage in those areas.
3. Stay off the Ropes
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This gem of advice is probably given to Floyd Mayweather every fight, but it’s true. Mayweather has no business being against the ropes. Even if he isn’t being a tagged with most of the punches, it isn’t even an advantage for scoring purposes. The worse that could happen is that Mayweather could get caught with one of Andre Berto’s power shots and be seriously hurt. Granted he has great recovery time, but why even go there?
Mayweather did something totally unexpected during the Manny Pacquiao fight: he stayed right in the pocket—and it worked. The only time Pacquiao had highlights (cause there definitely weren’t many) was when Mayweather was against the ropes.
Most of Mayweather’s opponents expect him to go against the ropes, so he would be wise to stay away from them. And considering Berto’s power, that’s dangerous territory to tread.
Header photo by Ismael Gallardo/RBRBoxing
