By Keith Idec
Losing alone might’ve motivated Andre Berto more than enough.
But Berto felt as though boxing fans and reporters were entirely too quick to dismiss him as one of boxing’s stars after he lost a unanimous decision to Victor Ortiz. The former WBC welterweight champion took particular exception on a recent conference call to a reporter asking him if he felt he is in danger of becoming a forgotten fighter, now that Ortiz is scheduled to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Sept. 17 in Las Vegas and he’s getting ready for a fight Saturday night against unknown IBF welterweight champ Jan Zaveck (31-1, 18 KOs, 1 NC) in Biloxi, Miss.
“You have a kid that’s had a lot of hype and has been going undefeated, and he loses one fight, one close fight, and you automatically act like you’re going to write him off, off one fight,” Berto said. “And that’s the thing about it: everyone knows in this boxing game people turn into a superstar overnight. That’s the thing I don’t understand. How you could just realistically ask me a question like that or feel that I will think that?
“A guy like Shane Mosley resurrected his career three or four times. A guy like Bernard Hopkins and all these other guys, they have like four, five, six losses. You know what I mean? I’m still young and went through a tough defeat. I had a bad night and this is what it’s come down to? That’s funny to me. That’s what it is. That’s how the sport is. I’m fine.”
Lou DiBella, Berto’s promoter, emphasized that it’s tough to be labeled a “forgotten fighter” when your first fight after your first loss is another HBO-televised main event. Still, Berto (27-1, 20 KOs) seemingly is feeding off his critics, despite that he has received considerable credit for flooring Ortiz twice, for reaching his feet after suffering two knockdowns during their April 16 bout and for being a participant in one of the most rousing action fights of the year.
“I’m still young and I fought in probably the best fight of the year,” Berto, 27, said. “And they want to write me off already? But, you know, that’s fine. That’s cool.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, NJ., and BoxingScene.com.