By Mark Vester
WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto can't wait to get in the ring on November 27 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Berto is defending his WBC belt against hard puncher Freddy Hernandez as part of an HBO televised tripleheader. Berto (26-0, 20 KOs) has not fought since the April knockout of Carlos Hernandez, but promises to put on a show against Hernandez (29-1, 20 KOs). The main event of the card is Juan Manuel Marquez defending his WBA/WBO lightweight titles against Michael Katsidis.
"I'm much better mentally for this fight than for Quintana," Berto said to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "When I fought Quintana, I was dealing with things back home. I'm still dealing with things as I get ready for this fight, but it doesn't seem like it was in April. I want to put on a good show for the people there. I felt bad that I had to pull out of the [Shane] Mosley fight [in January], so I want to make up for it."
Berto is one of the boxers being considered for Manny Pacquiao's next fight. He feels that Pacquiao has been beating up on older fighters who don't stand a chance, and it's finally time that he fought one of the younger guys coming up.
"Pacquiao's been beating up a bunch of old guys," said Berto. "[Antonio] Margarito was so slow, he was like a punching bag. It's time for him to take on some of the young bucks."
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