By Jake Donovan
There’s an old saying in boxing that suggests a fighter improves by 25% the moment he gets a major title around the waist.
Don’t tell that to undefeated welterweight Andre Berto. For the 2004 Olympian, it’s still about progress. It’s about remaining undefeated in convincing fashion while building up your name value. And if he has his way on both September 27 and in the future, it’s still about staying as active as possible, even at the top level.
All that’s changed is not what he brings to the ring, but more specifically, what he carries.
“It’s still a surreal feeling, even three months later,” says Berto of picking up a vacant alphabet title after stopping Miguel “Miki” Martinez this past June in Memphis. “I had to sit down and think about. I take on more responsibility now, but I’m still working just as hard as when I was aiming for a title.”
The next appointment on his work schedule comes Saturday night, when he meets former junior lightweight titlist and Contender contestant Stevie Forbes. The two tangle for Berto’s hardware in the chief support to the Shane Mosley-Ricardo Mayorga headliner at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California (Saturday, HBO, 10:30PM ET/7:30PM PT).
Several in the industry view the fight at first glance as means to tread water while awaiting bigger and better game in the talent-rich welterweight division. But if every fight turned out as exactly as suggested on paper, there’d be no reason to put ‘em in the ring in the first place.
So Berto (22-0, 19KO) takes the glass half-full approach in sizing up his next opponent. There’s no such thing as a tune-up, not when your career’s reached that point where a bulls-eye accompanies your every move into every fight. So with that in mind, the stocky welterweight looks not at where his opponent is weakest, but what he brings to the table.
“The thing about Stevie,” Berto explains, “is that he possesses a style unlike anyone I’ve yet to fight in the pro ranks. That’s what my career needs; not more of the same. When you fight too many fighters who look and fight the same, then your skills don’t progress. You don’t remain as hungry for every fight, which is when you run into trouble.”
Motivation is never a concern in Berto’s young career. In addition to his first title defense, the setting which surrounds it sets the stakes a little higher. It’s not too dissimilar to what he encountered 52 weeks ago, appearing in the co-feature slot for HBO’s first show of the fall, which was headlined by Kelly Pavlik’s middleweight-title winning effort over Jermain Taylor.
The stakes aren’t quite as high in this year’s headlining act, but features just as much star power, if not more so. In a way, Berto’s fight could become an audition for the right to face the winner of the main event, assuming Mosley or Mayorga could drop back down to welterweight (their 12-round bout takes place at junior middleweight).
For the moment, Berto’s not interested in anyone other than the man in the other corner, though he can’t help but recognize the abundance of talent within his weight division.
“Right now, all of my attention is on Forbes,” he insists. “I know it’s an answer reporters get tired of hearing, but I never disrespect any of my opponents in looking past them. Once we get this out of the way, then the next move can be planned. There’s a lot to do at 147, you can’t go wrong with any of the top guys.
“There’s plenty of opportunity, but from now until September 27, there’s only one fight that concerns me.”
The proverbial do-not-disturb sign. But then, it’s always business as usual whenever Berto is preparing for a fight. Not even winning a major belt could make that go away.
“I took off maybe two days after the Rodriguez fight, but then it was right back on the road. I’ve been in camp all summer, I’m in tremendous shape and just ready to go.”
All that’s left is to be prepared for whatever tricks Forbes has to offer. Many expected the Season 2 Contender runner-up to fold up when he was the comeback opponent of choice for Oscar de la Hoya this past May. True, Forbes lost and by a considerable margin, but he remained upright for 12 rounds, and even managed to touch up de la Hoya enough to let him know that more than a glorified sparring session took place.
It’s those little details that Berto focuses on, looking for the best in his opponent and his most recent accomplishments, so that he doesn’t suffer the same mistakes as his predecessors.
“For Stevie, aside from the guys I’ve sparred with, I’m also relying on my world-traveling experience from the amateur days. My amateur career goes deep, and I’ve fought just about every imaginable style there is to face in the ring. This fight will show my versatility.”
What he also hopes it will show is the opportunity for at least one more fight in 2008. Preferably on his new favorite network, HBO, on which he will appear for the fourth straight time and sixth fight overall come Saturday evening.
Regardless of the channel that airs his fight, what’s most important is that one awaits in the not-so-distant future. Berto’s never fought fewer than four times in a calendar year, and has no design in changing up any time soon.
“Some guys collect belts and think the payday goes up and they only have to fight two or three times a year. I’m never going to be that guy. I need that activity to satisfy my hunger and passion. I’d love a fourth fight in 2008, but if not, then in the first month of 2009 at the very latest.”
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .