By Thomas Gerbasi
What’s the first thing you do on the Monday morning after you win your first world championship? Well, Andre Berto was thinking about interior decorating two days after stopping Miguel Rodriguez in seven rounds to win the WBC welterweight crown on June 21st. And not in an HGTV sort of way.
“I was sitting in my room looking at the belt,” recalled Berto, “and it was actually surreal, but also like a calming feel for me. I got it, I appreciate and love it, and now I’m ready to go get some more. It motivated me.”
So one belt’s not enough?
“I’m looking at these empty shelves right now.”
That’s the type of stuff you love to hear from a young fighter, especially when the human tendency is to take your foot off the gas a bit when you win a world title belt. Berto isn’t resting on his laurels as he gets ready for his first title defense this Saturday against Steve Forbes (HBO 10:30pm / 7:30pm) though. Quite the contrary.
“I feel like I’m in the position where I have to still earn my respect somewhat in the division, and that I’m the hunter,” he said. And in a way he’s right. If you look at the four major titleholders at 147 pounds – Berto, Antonio Margarito, Paul Williams, Joshua Clottey – the Winter Haven, Florida native is the least experienced when it comes to top-level competition. It’s even led some to question his ascension to his current spot, which wouldn’t be entirely fair. Luckily, he’s not taking it personally.
“People want to continue to see someone get tested, and tested some more,” he said. “Even if they know in their heart and believe, they still want more proof. I might just be tested all the way to the end of my career, but that’s what makes the game so exciting and what makes it so motivating for me. It’s fun to go dominate somebody that people don’t think I’d be able to get through and see what they have to say afterwards. It’s gonna keep coming, but it doesn’t bother me at all, and it comes with the territory. I’m just anxious to go in there and continue putting on the performances I have been.”
Through 22 fights, the 2004 Haitian Olympian is perfect, with 19 knockouts to his name. The decent names he’s fought – Rodriguez, Norberto Bravo, David Estrada, Michel Trabant – have all been stopped. That should have been enough to silence some critics, but not the ones who point to Berto’s ten round decision win over Cosme Rivera in July of 2007 as a red flag to prevent anointing him as the next big thing. In that bout, Berto hit the deck briefly in the sixth round before getting up and finishing strong. He should have gotten a pat on the back for showing he could come back from adversity.
Uh-uh.
“Going into that fight, there were a lot of questions,” said Berto of the Rivera bout. “We don’t know how he’s gonna react if he gets knocked down. What if he’s in a tough fight? How is he gonna react? It seemed like I answered all those questions that night, but there were still more questions after that and it’s always gonna be like that.”
He laughs, knowing the game better than many of his peers who would be quick to fire back at the first sign of criticism. So while the Forbes fight is one he is expected to win, if he can be impressive and beat a fighter who can make him look bad stylistically, he will make some more believers.
“He’s a real slick guy, real awkward and he’s a guy who can make you look really, really bad even if you beat him,” Berto agrees, “so he’s definitely a test for me and he’s gonna show where I’m at. If I’m able to come out with a really, really exciting performance against him, I think it will say a lot.”
What will say even more is what happens after this weekend, when Berto can start looking towards his fellow titleholders at 147 pounds for the fights fans want to see. In fact, toss the names Mosley and De La Hoya into the mix with the champions, and the potential is there for a round robin of great fights that could actually bring back the welterweight glory days of the 80’s.
“I kinda feel like this is like that era,” said Berto. “The welterweight division is packed, and me matching up with any of the top guys is almost guaranteed to be an exciting fight. This belt gives me more leeway to fight some of these guys, and I’m just excited about the whole competition aspect of it.”
And then, just like that, the questions about Andre Berto just may stop. Sounds good to him.
“If all goes well on the 27th, we have a lot to choose from, and I’m definitely gonna be coming full steam ahead at all the top guys in the division.”
