Was it just me, or did it sound like WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto just made a half-hearted attempt to call out pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao? Maybe it was because he had just finished throwing a whopping 26 punches and was simply too tired to realize the stage he was being afforded, but when HBO commentator and resident grumpy old man Larry Merchant gave Berto the opportunity on live air to state his case to face Pacquiao next, instead of jumping at the chance, Berto simply mumbled "it doesn't matter." Huh? It doesn't matter? Of course it matters! When Larry Merchant asks you if you're ready to face the best fighter in the division, you're supposed to answer with a resounding "YES!" Instead, Berto rattled off the names of Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto before even mentioning Pacquiao.
Of course, to be fair, Larry Merchant did lead off with a question regarding comments made by Berto about Mosley, Cotto and Pacquiao. Merchant would ask:
"Even though you were listed on the short list of potential opponents for Pacquiao, you thought you would like to fight, in order, Mosley and Cotto before you fought Pacquiao. Do you still feel that way?"
Berto would simply reply:
"Right now, at this point, it doesn't matter at all. I already ate all my appetizers, so I'm ready for the main courses of the division now. So, you know, Shane Mosley, we still have some unfinished business, if he wants it. Miguel Cotto, uh, definitely Manny Pacquiao. I think I would definitely be the best fight out there for him. He needs somebody with speed, he needs somebody young, he needs somebody strong, and were going to see what happens."
I don't know about the rest of you, but that simply doesn't sound too convincing to me. Andre Berto needs to attend the Juan Manuel Marquez School of Calling Out Manny Pacquiao because to me, that sounded more like he's hoping to get Shane Mosley in the ring next as opposed to the best fighter in the division. Compare his reply to that of Juan Manuel Marquez, who fought immediately after Berto and was given the same opportunity by Merchant:
"Katsidis is a great fighter, but we know that Pacquiao has been avoiding us. We put a lot of work into it [his win over Katsidis] and the third one is what the public wants to see...I always come in looking for that [a third bout with Pacquiao]. We always have difficult rivals, like Katsidis, but we always come in looking for a third bout with Pacquiao and hopefully it will happen."
Notice how Marquez gave praise to his opponent, top-ranked lightweight challenger Michael Katsidis, but then immediately turned his attention to Manny Pacquiao. Not once did he mention the possibility of any fights other than Pacquiao, making it clear that it's the only fight that he wants. The same can't be said for Berto, who almost appeared to be tap dancing around the subject, while at the same time trying to say all the right things. Of course, that being said, seeing as how Berto had just finished demolishing the 10th-ranked contender in Freddy Hernandez, I have to wonder if he himself is confident that he's ready to face an elite fighter like Pacquiao after seemingly going backwards in his own level of competition.