When he steps between the ropes to face P4P star Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on September 12th, Florida’s Andre Berto will most likely be one of the only men on the planet who actually believes he has what it takes to crack the “May-Vinci Code” and win the fight.
A disappointing candidate in the eyes of most right thinking fans for Floyd’s 49th, and ostensibly ‘final’ fight, Berto will enter with some online odds makers as much 1/200 against, but has promised those numbers are misguided, and that he has what it takes to upset those odds, and do what 46 men before him have failed to do.
“This is going to be for everyone who believes in the underdog,” he said last week, promising that he has regained the form that saw him capture the WBC welterweight title in 2008, making five defences before eventually running into Victor Ortiz in their 2011 thriller.
“From an energy aspect I feel great. It’s my first time in a while coming into a fight with no injuries. This is the healthiest I’ve been since I can remember.
“At the end of the day, this fight was supposed to happen two or three times. Situations with me not taking care of myself and not taking opponents seriously caused it to happen. But styles make fights and we’ll see what the boxing fans say September 12.
“I know that I’m still the same guy who people thought could have given Floyd problems a couple years ago,” the Virgil Hunter trained man added.
“Victor Ortiz and Robert Guerrero both got fights with Floyd because they beat me. There must be something to that. They said ‘if he did something to Berto, he should get a shot at Floyd.'”
If he does somehow manage to pull off the win, it will be one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport – magnified ten-fold by the scrutiny that surrounds any Floyd Mayweather fight these days – yet Berto is relishing the fact that the pressure of expectation is off as far as he’s concerned, and that he can focus totally on his training and preparation.
“This is my first time going into a fight without all the pressure on my back. I’ve always been the favourite in every fight. I don’t know what he’s feeling and I don’t really have to care about it.
“All the hard work we’re putting in, it’ll all pay off fight night. It’s not just for me. I’ve been through doing things for me. I see what’s real now.
“I’ve prepared myself mentally to be in this position. People can say whatever they want. We’re focused.
“We’re here. It’s my time to see him. He can have his ‘MayVinci’ code because we put in the work. The whole team is confident. I’m going to do what I do.”
“This is going to be for everyone who believes in the underdog.”
Twitter @Undilutedpoison
