Exclusive Boxing Interview: Andre Berto

On Saturday, February 17, undefeated welterweight prospect Andre Berto will box in a ten round bout against ex-Contender member Norberto Bravo at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York as part of an HBO Boxing After Dark broadcast. After an amateur career that saw him box for Haiti in the 2004 Olympics, the 23 year old from Florida has compiled a spotless 16-0 (14) professional record and is being groomed for bigger and better things. In this exclusive interview, Berto talks about facing the tough veteran Bravo, the fight with originally scheduled opponent Ben Tackie falling through and what the future may hold, only on SaddoBoxing!

SaddoBoxing: Is it disappointing that you won’t get to fight Ben Tackie on the 17th?

Andre Berto: “Yeah, I was looking forward to fighting Ben Tackie for the name. But at this point in my career, it doesn’t really matter. When we got the news we continued the hard work. We continued the intensity in training. Fighting Bravo now and I adjusted to him”.

SB: So, you’re ready for Bravo?

AB: “Yeah definitely. He’s a tough rugged guy. He’s a tough Mexican fighter. I’m just gonna get in the best fight shape possible and perform to the best of my ability and come out with the victory”.

SB: Is there anything Bravo does well that could be a potential problem for you?

AB: “He’s pretty aggressive. I’m not all too sure yet, we haven’t seen too much tape on him yet. He’s pretty durable, he doesn’t have too much to lose and he goes for broke”.

SB: What’s your prediction for the fight?

AB: “I don’t really have one, I just want to come up with the victory at the end of the night”.

SB: How many rounds is this fight?

AB: “I believe it’s a ten rounder”.

SB: You were pretty busy last year with seven fights. How many times are you planning on fighting this year?

AB: “We plan on keeping busy, maybe four or five times this year. We going to try to stay busy. I’m just going to keep it moving and fight as many times as possible”.

SB: Is there a game plan in place as to how you’re going to break into the elites?

AB: “I’m not sure, my head and my mind, I definitely want to jump in that crowd with the elites. I want to be recognized as one of the elites. We already got recognition from the last performance. I believe as long as we’re doing what we’re doing, continue to win impressively, everything will fall in place”.

SB: Any words in closing?

AB: “Everybody keep supporting me and if you can’t be there, tune in on HBO on the 17th”.