The feud began as a war of words between the two parties, only to be escalated when Ochocinco called Berto out through the press.

"So when I get in the ring and knock out (welterweight champ Andre) Berto, and people are like, 'I didn't know Chad could fight,'" he said to us, "I just told you."

Berto, a dynamic young fighter determined to be boxing's next crossover star, saw the comments and fired back with aplomb.

"I'm here to say that when his season is over, which should be before the playoffs start, I'll give him the beating of his life and show him the difference between kicking footballs and getting your ass kicked. By the time I'm done with him, he'll want to change his last name to No Mas!"

Oh yes. This absolutely needs to happen. Just think of the pay per view numbers. Who wouldn't pay $45 to watch the former Mr. Ochocinco alone in the ring with one of the sport's best young fighters. For the sake of argument let's consider the issue of the two men's weight difference.

The welterweight limit is 147 pounds, and the 6'1" Ochocinco is listed at a robust 192. It's worth noting that Paul Williams has held a 147 pound title despite standing at 6'1", although Williams is a bit of a freak. Ochocinco would have to cut out the McDonald's and get in shape for real just to get to down to the light heavyweight division.

Even if Ochocinco did come into the ring with a 25 pound weight advantage I don't think it would be long before Berto put him down for good. For those not familiar with his work, here's a little background.

Ochocinco Planning Boxing Career

The knockout was the 38th of Mosley's incredible career, and the win was his 45th against five losses to three men. No one can be sure what the future holds for the 37 year-old hall of fame lock, but by knocking out Mayorga instead of winning what would have been a split decision (inexplicable) he makes himself an easy sell for Golden Boy Promotions.

Andre Berto passed the most important test of his career with a dominating performance in a unanimous decision over the unflappable Steve Forbes. The slick veteran withstood Berto's barrage of speed and power without being knocked out, or even knocked down for the first time in his career.

In other news, Berto may or may not have seen a ghost.

It was probably just Larry Merchant.

Now I don't mean to downplay the true main event, it's just that getting excited about a Mayorga fight pretty tough these days. However, as Large points out over at The Sporting Blog the fight could have serious consequences for Mr. Mosley, and the entire landscape of the stacked welterweight division.

Talk has been rampant about a possible Antonio Margarito/Shane Mosley fight for early 2009 which means that Sugar Shane’s bout with Mayorga is suddenly loaded with consequences. Mosley is an excellent opponent for Margarito, a high-profile ex-pound-for-pound champ who still has some mustard on the fastball, as he showed in his donnybrook with Miguel Cotto last November. A Mosley/Margarito bout likely would do respectable PPV numbers and also be a hell of a fight to boot. Presuming that Margarito emerged with the W, it would continue his upwards trajectory into crossover stardom.

Well at least that gives us something to be excited about, even if it's not a sure thing as of yet. If anyone out there needed another reason to root against that clown Mayorga, this is it. A lot of fighters have been floated as possibilities to take on the downright scary Margarito, but a clash of styles against Sugar would be immensely entertaining.

Round by Round: Weekly Boxing Notes

I've made no secret of my affection for Andre Berto, perhaps now you know why. The 24 year-old welterweight put the boxing world on notice, announcing his presence in the upper tier of the sport's best division. Berto earned the vacant WBC belt with a dazzling knockout performance against an admittedly mediocre Miki Rodriguez.

Berto dominated without having to throw punches in volume thanks to his unbelievable athleticism. He avoided trouble with blazing speed while putting his punches together whenever an opportunity arose. The best example of which was the sixth round that Berto ended with an unprecedented five hook combination, surely the first I've seen.

Rodriguez went down for the first time in the seventh after Berto threw an overhand right followed up by his favorite punch, the right uppercut. The pairing of the two punches elicited shock from observers and the victim alike. The new title holder sealed his victory with another knockdown followed by a wise stoppage. Berto is by no means Floyd Mayweather, but he certainly looks worthy of his belt.

• Chazz Witherspoon is always referred to as a "cerebral boxer" because he took up the sport as a hobby while on academic scholarship at St. Joseph's, so even he must know that he was a beaten fighter. Chris Arreola, the undefeated knockout artist, put Witherspoon on the canvas twice in the third round with powerful looping shots, including once at the very end of the round. From there things got confusing. Witherspoon's corner entered the ring before the referee could signal the continuation of the fight after the standing eight count. Although he was officially disqualified, Witherspoon was basically out on his feet.

As for the referee...good lord. The second I saw Randy Phillips in the introductions I knew we were in trouble. He came off poorly during the disqualification decision, and much much worse in the post-fight interview. As Flubby put it, "I think they just grabbed some yokel in the stands at the dog track in West Memphis, Arkansas." Yep, and that's coming from a Kentuckian. Oh, and next time could we get somebody who is physically capable of getting in between two heavyweights for a break?

• Amir Khan added another knockout to his growing resume, although he tasted the canvas in the process. The undefeated 21 year-old has certainly looked better, but his career is progressing as well as expected.

Image via HBO Boxing.

• In addition to Abraham/Miranda Showtime Boxing is presenting a world class middleweight fight between the undefeated Giovanni Lorenzo and tough Raul Marquez. The coverage begins on Showtime at 9 pm eastern.

• Andre Berto, the 24 year-old former ESPN.com Prospect of the Year, is getting an unexpected title shot in his first major headlining appearance on HBO. He and Miki Rodriguez will go at it for one of Floyd Mayweather's vacated belts, and it's sure to entertain.

• The Berto undercard features two of America's top young heavyweights in Chris Arreola and Chazz Witherspoon. Arreola has an excellent knockout ratio, but Witherspoon is a skilled fighter who will offer the biggest test of his career.

• Although they aren't televised in America, there are two more big fights going on in Europe tonight. Britain's best prospect, 21 year-old Amir Khan takes the stage against Michael Gomez while Mikkel Kessler fights for the first time since losing to Joe Calzaghe. The thunder-fisted Kessler would be an ideal candidate to fight Kelly Pavlik later in the year, but he isn't worth the risk that he poses to the middleweight champ. Kessler is back in Denmark to face undefeated Dimitri Sartison.

Even if you aren't a die-hard fan, there are plenty of reasons to watch tonight. Enjoy.

For a more in depth preview of the individual fights be sure to check out Ring Report, and the return of No Mas (tech issues and time have kept it offline, but rest assured, it's back).