By Mark Vester
WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto is not impressed with Shane Mosley's huge win over Antonio Margarito from this past January. Berto feels the win is misleading because Margarito's mind was somewhere else. About 30 minutes before the contest, two inserts with a plaster-like substance were discovered in Margarito's handwraps by an official with the California State Athletic Commission. Berto faces Mosley, the WBA champion, in a unification bout on January 30 in Las Vegas.
"Yes [it's misleading]. I saw Margarito's last last couple of fights before that and he didn't look too hot at all. [Mosley] was in front of a guy who was extremely slow. He was in front a guy who got his tools taken away from him about 15 minutes before he entered the ring. He didn't have that same aggressive style at all because that [handwraps incident] was on his mind. Mosley took advantage of it and it made him look like a star," Berto told BoxingScene.com's Bill Emes.
Berto and Mosley traded words over the internet for weeks. He confronted Mosley at their Las Vegas press conference and says Mosley refused to engage when they were face to face.
"He just had some thing to say in a couple of interviews in the past, they were on the internet. I just wanted to come face to face and 'you're in front of me now, what do you have to say.' Everybody knows who Shane is. That's not Shane. There is nothing tough or gangsta about Shane. I just wanted to clear that up. I was like 'what do you have to say' and he went to his smiling and the things that he does," Berto said.
Berto told BoxingScene that he doesn't think Mosley's long layoff will hurt him in the fight. Berto doesn't think Mosley will be able to deal with a faster fighter and one who has a higher punch output.
"He's a seasoned veteran. Maybe the time off will hurt him a little bit but he knows how to adapt pretty quickly. This fight will be my longest layoff also. I think I can brawl with him. I can box with him. I'm sure I [can deal] with anything that he tries to bring to the table. I'll be bale to handle it," Berto said.
"I think my punch output is going to make a big difference. I think I'm going to force him to fight. He thinks that he has a lot to prove. I think it's a big mistake to think you can prove something with a young fighter like me. I think I'm going to the fastest fighter that he's ever fought."
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