Berto on His Return and Long Road Back to the Top

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    bertoAndre Berto made his return to the boxing ring this past Saturday in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was able to showcase his naturally gifted hand speed, and punching power, which made him a recognizable figure in the sport of boxing. He managed to defeat Steve Upsher Chambers, but still faces criticism over his level of performance. Berto was repeatedly tagged, and unable to inflict the type of damage people would expect given the caliber of his opponent. Perhaps it is a combination of ring rust, and underestimating Chambers.

    Berto’s assesses his own performance by stating, “I’ve been out for 14 months so I did not want to rush anything. I just wanted to show everyone I got back to the fundamentals, which means throwing the jab and using some movement to really get the rounds in. I wanted to get him out of there but Virgil insisted to use the jab and not bang it out, if the knockout comes it comes.” This assessment is perfectly reasonable. It is difficult to not have any ring rust when its been more than a year from stepping onto the ring, especially coming off shoulder surgery.

    Andre Berto also discusses possible fights in his future; “I think the 10 rounds did it for me so I’ll talk to my manager and team to see what is next. I would love to fight Karass again because I tore my shoulder early in the fight, or Guerrero because I got thumbed in the eye, which affected me. I had situations in both fights which I had to battle with, if those fights come again I’ll love it, if not there are bigger and better things out there.”

    It is no question Berto has a fan friendly style due to his natural talent, and vulnerabilities. He has fought through unfortunate incidents in the ring, and people typically don’t give him credit for doing so. Berto is a strong will fighter. He may no longer be talked about as the next superstar in boxing as he once was a few years ago, but he surely has great options for his career ahead of him.