By Lem Satterfield

WBC welterweight (147 pounds) champion, Andre Berto, called last month's eighth-round knockout of Carlos Quintana "a carrer-defining fight for me."

Coupled with his previous victories over Luis Collazo, and, Juan Urango, by decision, Quintana represented the third straight left-hander that the 26-year-old Berto was facing.

The Haitian-American was ending an 11-month ring absence during which eight of his family members were killed in the mid-January earthquake that rocked Haiti.

In the second round, Berto tore his left bicep, causing him excrutiating pain and all but crippling his ability to throw the jab.

"I believe that that night it was a career-defining fight for me because I was battling more than just Carlos Quintanta that night," said Berto to BoxingScene.com. "It was my third southpaw in a row, and it's risky for any fighter to get in there with a Carlos Quintana, who was a former world champion with great skills."

Not to mention, Quintana is the only man to have beaten Paul Williams.

"I was carrying a lot of weight, emotionally, on my back, so it was, and so it took a lot for me to get in there and to do what I did in the first place, and then, to go on especially after tearing my bicep in the second round?" said Berto, who rosed to 26-0 with his 20th knockout.

"It wasn't just a confirmation from the fans point of view, but it was a confirmation for myself," said Berto. "I showed that, mentally, I was ready to come back. I showed that I could get in there with top competition and dominate, that I could overcome adversity and dominate. I showed that I was back on the right path."

Still, Berto believes that there will be critics who will question his ability, if not because they believe that he still has a way to go, but simply because they realize how dangerous a cornered animal can be.

"They way I felt that night, I was just a bulldog in there. But there will always be questions whether I can get in there and go with a Floyd Mayweather or a Shane Mosley. But I believe in myself to know that those questions will continue to be answered as I go along," said Berto.

"Of course, there's got to be something about me that a lot of those guys have to be concerened about that they don't want to get in there with me," said Berto. "I'm just a young animal, at the end of the day, and you never know what I'm capable of doing in there. At the end of the day, they know that it's not going to be an easy fight. They're going to go home with some bumps and bruises."

Berto looks at his situation philosophically.

"Some people say that it's not fair, but that's just what it is. When LeBron James got into the league, they automatically, just because he got so much hype, they compared him to everybody -- Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and everybody," said Berto.

"LeBron got a whole lot of criticism his first couple of years until he proved himself, and he's still getting criticism now," said Berto. "That's something that I won't be able to shake until I get the opportunity to get in there and to face those guys and to dominate. I've just accepted that."

Berto believes that he will return to the ring in August or September against an opponent to be determined, allowing him to rehab his bicep through therapy, adding, "everything should be ready to go by the fall."

"Right now, I'll fight anybody. [Germany's IBF champ] Jan Zaveck has another title. I'd love to get in the ring with [WBO king] Manny Pacquiao," said Berto. "I'd love to fight [WBA champ] Shane Mosley, who is still a star with a huge name even though he lost to Floyd Mayweather. And at the end of the tunnel, you know, anybody and everybody wants that Floyd Mayweather fight."

Until that happens, however, Berto said that he will be content to chop down whomever is put in front of him.

"There have been guys who have never been stopped who have been in there with me, and then I've been the first to do that to them. So at the end of the day, I'm just like a Paul Williams -- I just want those big fights, and I want to go after some of the big names," said Berto.

"You don't see many of the top champions in the world fighting three southpaws in as row, but that's something that I've accepted," said Berto. "It's something I went ahead and did, and something that I'm willing to continue to do so that I can keep proving myself. In due time, I believe that everything will fall into place."

Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor for AOL FanHouse and the news editor for BoxingScene.com