The Andre Berto and Luis Collazo Welterweight Title fight will take place on January 17, 2009 in Mississippi. Andre Berto has long been viewed as one of the most talented up and coming fighters in any division in boxing. He has an unmatched blend of speed, power and athleticism. However, despite being the WBC Welterweight Champion, he has been largely untested through this point of his career. Enter Luis Collazo, former welterweight titleholder. Collazo is a top ten welterweight and while he isn't the toughest fight out there, he is certainly a step up in class for the protected Berto.

Collazo lost his two biggest fights, against Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosley. Against Ricky Hatton he suffered an early flash knockdown which ultimately helped to cost him a close decision. He almost had Hatton knocked out in the later rounds but was unable to finish him off. Losing to Shane Mosley is no shame, but the two fights combine to show that Collazo, despite his slick boxing skills, is not an elite fighter. If he wants to return to the limelight he'll need if not a win, a very solid showing.

He does have the potential to ruin Berto's coming out party though and he will be a good litmus test to see how Berto will hold up against some of the upper echelon names in the division, such as Antonio Margarito.

The welterweight division is stacked with talent, and several members of the division are amongst the best fighters in the world. Check out the pound for pound list to see where the current welterweight elite are ranked.

Meet Andre Berto

Andre Berto is undefeated in his professional career, with 23 wins, 19 by knockout and no losses or draws. He's currently the WBC welterweight champion and his biggest wins have been a decision against Steve Forbes and a TKO in the 11th round against David Estrada. His strengths are his blazing speed and his dynamic offensive capabilities. Berto's weakness is his defense and a possibly weak chin.

Meet Luis Collazo

Luis Collazo is a former WBA welterweight champion with a record of 29 wins, 14 by knockout, and 3 losses. His biggest win came against Jose Rivera and his notable losses include dropping a decision to Shane Mosley and dropping a decision to Ricky Hatton. His biggest strength is his slick boxing skill and a weakness is a lack of power and ability to get outworked.

Berto Collazo Prediction

Collazo is a tricky southpaw boxer with a good reach and solid defensive skills. Like most "tricky southpaw boxers" he lacks a big punch. That is one of the reasons that he got the shot to face Berto, a fighter whose chin is still questioned by many. To win the fight, he will need to be able to control the distance that the fight takes place at. That means using his quick jab and doubling up on it to halt the smaller Berto's advances.

Luis Collazo will also need to take advantage of Berto's aggressiveness by making him miss and then launching his own counter shots. Berto has improved his defense but is still not a strong defensive fighter and tends to get caught up into working on his own attack rather than also paying attention to his opponents'.

While Collazo is a quick fighter, when he faces Berto he will be at a clear disadvantage in hand speed. Expect the first few rounds of this fight to begin slowly, as both men attempt to read the other and establish their own jab. Collazo with his longer reach should be able to win several rounds by winning the jabbing contest and circling the ring.

Once Berto feels comfortable, he will begin firing his rapid, multi-punch combinations. Andre Berto can throw every punch in the book from all angles, and this diversity may confuse and overwhelm Collazo. Berto will begin connecting flush with some of his shots and may even put Collazo down. While I think Berto might knock Collazo down, I don't think he will be able to knock him out.

After splitting the first four-six rounds, Andre Berto will dominate the rest of the fight and win a handy decision that will never be in doubt by the time the scorecards are read. Hopefully after this fight, Andre Berto will step into the ring with more top challengers and fellow titleholders, including the likes of Kermit Cintron, Joshua Clottey and Miguel Cotto.

Does Andre Berto Have what it Takes?

Andre Berto certainly has the physical tools to make him a great boxer and a great champion. What he is lacking is physical size. At less than 5'9", Berto is at a serious disadvantage against the likes of Antonio Margarito or Paul Williams. He will really need to hone in his game more if he wants to tackle those behemoths.

The Berto Collazo fight will be a good test for Berto but regardless of the outcome he'll need to keep on improving if he's to hold up against the biggest and best of the welterweight division.