By Ryan Maquiñana
According to promoter Lou DiBella, the venue for the Sept. 3 IBF welterweight title fight between incumbent champ Jan Zaveck and his client, Andre Berto, has been finalized to take place at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Miss.
“You’re the first one to be hearing this,” DiBella said. “Andre’s returning to the same place where he fought [Luis] Collazo [in 2009].”
Berto (27-1, 21 KOs) is coming off a Fight of the Year candidate in April where he lost his WBC welterweight belt to Victor Ortiz via unanimous decision. Meanwhile, Zaveck (31-1, 18 KOs), a German-based Slovenian, will be making the fourth defense of a title he took from Isaac Hlatshwayo in December 2009.
“This is another type of defining fight for Andre,” DiBella added. “How does he bounce back from disappointment? How does he bounce back from losing his belt? He’s got to watch Victor Ortiz fight Floyd Mayweather in a big money fight from Biloxi, Mississippi, knowing it could have been him, had he been himself that night.”
Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com , contact him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rmaq28 or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
