After all of the back and forth negotiations over money, the fight is finally set. Paul Williams (33-0, 24 KOs) will defend his WBO welterweight title against Carlos Quintana (24-1, 19 KOs) on Feb. 9, with undefeated welterweight prospect Andre Berto in the co-feature. HBO has moved Williams' bout from Feb. 2 to Feb. 9, the date originally reserved for the Juan Diaz-Michael Katsidis lightweight bout that fell apart last week. Quintana replaces IBF welterweight champion Kermit Cintron, who suffered a hand injury during a title defense win over Jesse Feliciano on November 23. An opponent for Berto has not been named, but boxing scribe Dan Rafael reports that former champ Steve Forbes (33-5, 9 KOs), Miki Rodriguez (29-2, 23 KOs) of Mexico and Isaac Hlatshwayo (27-1, 9 KOs) are the three fighters in the running for the slot.
Former world champion and Contender Season 2 finalist Steve Forbes appears to be the frontrunner for Berto. Lou DiBella, who promotes both Berto and Quintana, stated that no venue has been solidified as this goes to print. I find Interesting that they are putting Berto on this undercard. Sometimes the undercard fight, if in the same weight class, is a preview of a fighter who they see fighting the main event principals or in this case, Paul Williams. I just can not see that happening as both are relatively new in their careers and to put them in against each other now is too early and risky for both. Quintana is given a second consecutive welterweight title shot and I can't agree with.
