Andre “The Beast” Berto is a Haitian American fighter and a former two-time welterweight champion. Berto is known for his defense, speed, and unbelievable power.
Over the past two years, Andre Berto has had his share of ups and downs as he took two brutal beatings, one at the hands of Victor Ortiz in 2011, a fight that would have landed him a shot at the best pound for pound fighter in the world Floyd Mayweather, Jr. had he beaten Ortiz, and the other one at the hands of Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero in the fall of 2012, another fight in which Berto blew yet another chance at the pound for pound king.
Now Berto hopes to start his 2013 campaign out on the right foot as he will face another tough opponent in Mexican Jesus Soto Karass in a welterweight bout on July 27, 2013. The fight is schedule for 12 rounds and the fight will be held at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The Haitian American was raised in Winter Haven, Florida and he was first introduced to boxing by his father. Berto starting his boxing career as an amateur and he had great accomplishments as an amateur as he won a bronze medal in the 2003 World Amateur Championships. Other amateur accolades for Berto include being a two-time National Golden Gloves champion, a two-time National PAL champion, and a three-time U.S. amateur champion. Berto also competed in the 2004 Olympics where he represented Haiti and lost in the first round of those Olympics.
Berto would turn professional after the 2004 Olympics and early on in his career he overpowered most of his opposition by using his speed and incredible punching power. Berto’s rise to the boxing world put boxing critics on notice and his name was even being thrown around as a potential pound for pound candidate.
Berto has notable professional boxing victories over fighters such as Mexican Miguel Angel Rodriquez in a fight where Berto won the vacant WBC welterweight title with one of the most sensational knockdowns in professional boxing history, American Luis Collazo, Columbian Juan Urango, and Puerto Rican Carlos Quintana.
In 2010, Berto was schedule to face off against “Sugar” Shane Mosley in what would have been the first big fight of his career, but due to loss of several family members in the Haiti earthquake, Berto withdrew from the fight.
Conclusion
In my opinion, I feel that Andre Berto has officially come to a crossroad in his career. A win against Soto Karass can prematurely resurrect his career because I am just not sure if Berto has what it takes to beat the upper echelon of fighters in the welterweight division anymore.
However, if Berto loses this fight it can definitely be a career ender in my opinion. When I say career ender, I mean with a loss Berto will probably not be in the spotlight for a long time and at age 29, this is definitely when the time starts ticking on a professional fighter.
One more thing, I think Berto may have reached his ceiling as a boxer so I am not sure if he can get any better. I love Berto and I truly hope he wins on July 27, because I do not want to see a fighter who has so much talent and boxing skills go behind the boxing world scene.
For more boxing news and articles continue to visit www.potshotboxing.com. If you like this post and others from Potshot Boxing, feel free to spread the word to your favorite social media channels with your friends and family!! Potshot Boxing – “Boxing news and article bites for all walks of life.”
