By Jake Donovan (Photo © FightWireImages.com)

His own promoter previously described this weekend’s fight as the last of the developmental stage before moving onto the next level.

With a vacant alphabet title of sorts at stake, it’s understandable for undefeated blue chip prospect Andre Berto (21-0, 18KO) to assume that, with a win he advances to the upper echelon of the welterweight division. That with a title comes leverage, which of course increases demand at the negotiating table.

But while others overemphasize what’s at stake this weekend, Andre Berto enters the fight with the same vision he had when he began training camp – just a fight against Miguel Rodriguez, with a win beginning Phase Two of his career.

“I wish I had a dollar for everyone that asked if this fight now being for a world title changes things,” jokes Berto, who takes on Rodriguez in his first HBO Boxing After Dark main event this weekend in Memphis, TN (Saturday, 10PM ET/PT). “Before we found out that there was a title on the line, I was training for Miguel Rodriguez.

“My focus remains the same; who’s in front of me, not what belt is at stake. A title fight is a dream of mine, but I want to stay focused. All of the perks come after.”

Berto’s received plenty of perks while advancing from prospect to contender. Though this weekend represents his first HBO headliner, it marks his fifth appearance on the Network of Champions, all within his last seven fights (including this upcoming Saturday). Eight of his last 12 fights have appeared on either HBO, Showtime or ESPN2, and this weekend figures to be the first of many shows he’ll serve as the feature attraction.

Not bad for an Olympian who didn’t make it out of the first round – and almost didn’t make it to the Olympics at all.

The truth is, the pro game has been much kinder to the stocky Floridian than was the case during his stay in the non-pay ranks. A two-time National Golden Gloves champ, Berto was an odds-on favorite to breeze through the 2004 Olympic Trials and qualify as a member of the US Olympic boxing squad.

Those dreams were dashed in the opening round of the trials, when he was disqualified for throwing Juan McPherson to the canvas. Berto was well on his winning before McPherson bumped into him before being pushed to the canvas, and was deemed in no condition to continue. The act was ruled a flagrant foul, and Berto was ruled a DQ loser.

A protest was ruled in his favor, as he was declared the winner and advanced to the next round. Berto won that bout as well and prepared for the finals before a follow-up meeting the night before reverted back to the initial ruling, eliminating Berto from the tournament.

Because his parents are of Haitian descent, young Andre was able to keep his Olympic hopes alive, qualifying for Team Haiti. By then, he already caught the eye of a young promoter who knew a thing or two about spotting prodigious talent.

“I knew he was going to be a great pro the moment I saw him in the amateurs,” insists Lou DiBella, who at the time was grooming Jermain Taylor as a future world champion. “I called him even before the Olympics began, and told him that no matter what happened, that I saw him as my first round draft pick.

“I thought he easily won his fight in the first round; he easily outlanded the kid (Xavier Noel), but wound up with a controversial loss. I believed he was the most skilled fighter out there, and had the perfect style for the pros.”

If nothing else, the first four years of Berto’s pro career has been a heck of a lot more successful then the final year in the amateurs. The punch-for-pay portion of his life began in December, 2004, fittingly enough on a card where Jermain Taylor was in a “final developmental fight” stage of his career as he faced William Joppy. Berto turned heads with his performance, scoring an impressive 3rd round stoppage.

That bout came at middleweight, with his following six hovering around the junior middleweight limit before permanently dropping down to welterweight (or there about) beginning with his eighth pro fight.

It turned out to be the right move; just 24 years old and less than four years into his career, Berto is now regarded among the world’s top 10-15 welterweights, with the best yet to come. Though realizing that far more lies ahead, everything remains consistent with the vision he and his team had upon turning pro.

“I'm right on track,” says Berto of his career progress. “I have high expectations of myself and stay focused throughout my career. It's right on time; I just want to keep it going.”

It continues this weekend against rugged but unheralded Mexican slugger Miguel “Miki” Rodriguez (29-2, 21KO).  A legitimate welterweight, Rodriguez has never been down as a pro and enters the bout riding a modest three fight win streak.

He’d won 11 straight before falling short against Carlos Baldomir in a May 2005 elimination bout. The winner was to fight Zab Judah, though Rodriguez finds himself in contention for the very same title. It’s for that reason that has Berto confident he’ll get the best available version of Miki Rodriguez this weekend.

“Even before they told me this was a world title fight, we still entered this fight believing that the winner would fight for one,” explains Berto. “Miki Rodriguez has been here before, and knows that you don’t get too many chances at the same opportunity. He’s hungry, and is looking for a big upset.

“It’s not just talk; this is the biggest fight of my life.”

Some will argue that it’s no bigger than when he fought perennial welterweight contender David Estrada last September on HBO, or even in the one fight where he was forced to face adversity, which came last summer on ESPN2.

Looking to stay busy, Berto was matched against former title challenger Cosme Rivera. Things were going well until he got caught with an uppercut that sent him to the canvas for the first – and to date, only – time in his young career. Berto recovered well, though many speculate that the two minute rest between rounds didn’t hurt matters any.

A glove controversy led to an extra minute of housekeeping before action resumed in the seventh. Berto took over, and never looked back – in that fight, or any other since then. The only thing lost in the fight was his knockout streak, which ended at eleven with Rivera lasting the full ten-round distance.

Some promoters would’ve been spooked by the brief scare, and send their fighters in soft while protecting his ranking. Instead, Berto was matched against David Estrada two months later, before facing top European contender Michele Trabant earlier this year.

Both were supposed to provide stern tests while Berto made the transition from prospect to contender. Berto beat both with plenty of room to spare, scoring back to back stoppages.

“In the past couple of years, he’s had quality wins over David Estrada, Cosme Rivera - good learning-curve type of opponents,” says DiBella. “In his last fight against Michel Trabant, he faced a solid European fighter, and ran through him with ease.”

As Berto is well aware, not all of them will come like that at welterweight, which boasts perhaps the toughest Top 10 in boxing today. Even with its very best deciding to move on to other things, a win this weekend leads to endless possibilities for the rising star.

“The division is packed, with Floyd Mayweather Jr retiring, it's wide open. There are so many choices out there; I believe by being matched against any one will be exciting.”
 
One match that crossed his mind has no chance of happening, at least for the time being, although Berto’s not about to dwell on what could’ve been.

“It crossed my mind that I could fight (Mayweather), but he's accomplished so much. I looked up to him, before I turned pro. He's accomplished so much, he didn't let the game retire him.”

While others have criticized Mayweather for not challenging himself against the very best in boxing’s best division, Berto applauds his decision. Furthermore, he believes there’s as much to learn from Floyd the fighter as there is from Floyd the businessman.

“Sometimes, the game wants so much from you. Fighters get in a position where they expose themselves by sticking around too long, instead of being your own man and fighting your fights. I can see it over and over again.

Floyd is a perfect example of being a smart fighter. He's broken records at the box office, and goes out on top. He's made millions, and wants to get into something else. I can only hope that I’m one day in such a position to have those options and make the right decision, rather than have it made for me.”

All that said, that day is a long way off. It’s just the beginning for Andre Berto – or as Lou DiBella puts it “the Andre Berto era begins Saturday night.”

Ever the humble warrior, Berto only believes himself to be a part of a new era of boxing.

“It’s not just me, it’s happening throughout boxing. I told everyone before – you’re slowly but surely seeing the new era. My man Tim Bradley did his thing a few weeks ago in England. A couple of weeks ago, you had that Puerto Rican kid (Juan Manuel Lopez) explode on HBO. It's the way of the young fighters; it’s becoming our time.
 
“Maybe one day it becomes my time, but right now I’m just a small part of this new era. I still have to win this weekend. I can say what I want to do and what I want to fight. If I don't win, nothing else is worth talking about. If I win, then the next phase begins.”

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.