By Jake Donovan
The past three years have been a frustrating stretch for Andre Berto, who enjoyed a long awaited return to the win column Saturday evening with a 10-round decision over Steve Upsher-Chambers. The win came at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, barely a couple of hours before Berto’s 31st birthday as he was able to celebrate in style.
A former welterweight titlist, Berto had lost three of his last four bouts dating back to his April ’11 war with Victor Ortiz. The two were supposed to collide one year later, only for Berto to test positive for a banned substance during random drug testing conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA). The test resulted in the fight being canceled, and never truly revisited.
Ortiz – who was coming off of a 4th round stoppage loss to Floyd Mayweather – ultimately lost three straight following the career-defining win over Berto, who dropped a decision to Robert Guerrero and suffered a 12th round stoppage loss to Jesus Soto Karass last July in an upset.
More so than the losing streak and long gap between wins, Berto caught cabin fever while awaiting his injured shoulder to fully heal prior to Saturday’s return.
“It felt good to get the rounds in,” Berto said of his win over Upsher, which aired live on Showtime. “Being out for so long, I basically had to learn how to throw punches all over again when I returned to the gym five months ago. I’ve been off for a while, but everything fell into place pretty well.”
Berto overcame an early scare, rocked in each of the opening two rounds by an upset-minded Upsher before settling in to his groove. Trainer Virgil Hunter maintained a calming presence in the corner, encouraging the sculpted Floridian to stick to the basics and make things easy on himself.
“After the first round, I felt like I could hit him wherever I wanted to,” insisted Berto (29-3, 22KOs), who represented his parents’ roots as a member of the 2004 Haiti Olympic Boxing squad. “Virgil had me making sure my jab… and my boxing skills were on point. I’ve always had the power and speed, so now we’re adding the boxing part to round out my arsenal.”
As for what the future holds, there’s money to be made in any given fight at welterweight. Beyond the very top – Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao – there exists unbeaten titlists Keith Thurman and Kell Brook, and former champs still within the division’s elite such as Tim Bradley and Shawn Porter.
All are on Berto’s radar, though realistic about when those opportunities will come.
“Those fights are soon within reach,” believes Berto, who will most likely take one or two more fights before diving back into the title picture.
The timeline is fine as he would much rather tend to what he views as unfinished business. While any of the aforementioned names represent a dream fight for any given welterweight, Berto has his own checklist of future opponents, all involving past demons to exorcise.
“Victor Ortiz, Roberto Guerrero, Jesus Soto Karass,” Berto said with a smile when asked who he’d like next, referring to the three fighters to defeat him. “I appreciate the ass whippings I got in those fights. But now it’s time to get mine.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
