Andre Berto says he doesn?t give two hoots about your opinion. He insists he doesn?t care what the media says. He doesn?t care what is written about him on Twitter or Facebook.
The former World Boxing Council welterweight champion isn?t happy and he isn?t shy about letting anyone know it. He fights International Boxing Federation champion Jan Zaveck on Saturday in Biloxi, Miss., in the main event of an HBO-televised doubleheader, his first bout since his only career loss.
That the loss, on April 16 to Victor Ortiz, was one of the great fights of the year is of little consolation to Berto.
?I don?t care, bro, honestly,? Berto said when it was suggested that his lone loss might be the 2011 Fight of the Year. ?That means nothing to me.?
Berto spoke to Yahoo! Sports by telephone only after the intervention of an HBO Sports executive. Berto had turned down all other interview requests, unhappy with the way he has been portrayed throughout his career and, most significantly, since the loss to Ortiz.
He spoke in a slow, drab monotone, as if he was disinterested and would rather have been jabbing needles in his eye than speaking to a reporter.
?I just don?t care, because I can see how the boxing business can be. I can see how the media can be,? he said. ?I can see how the critics can be. Now, I just do it for me, my family and the real Berto fans out there. You know, it?s a shady game, but it comes with the territory. At the end of the day, I know what I?m capable of and I know this kid, Ortiz, shouldn?t have been able to touch me. But as I said, everything happens for a reason.?
Say what you want about Berto, but he?s always been entertaining to watch. If he?s been given soft touches in his many HBO bouts because of his connection with influential manager Al Haymon, he?s done something with them.
The irony is that while he?s taken great heat for the inferior quality of his opponents, he?s been unable to land a bout against any of the division?s truly big names, despite great effort. The closest he came was in 2010 when he was scheduled to fight Shane Mosley. That was before Mosley had been routed by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, and a win would have been significant for a guy in Berto?s shoes. But the earthquake in Haiti caused Berto to pull out of the fight and Mosley went on to fight Mayweather.
Top Rank?s Bob Arum briefly considered Berto as an opponent for Pacquiao earlier this year, but went with Mosley instead. Mayweather has never shown an inclination to face him.
The result is that he?s been lambasted by critics for facing soft touches such as Freddy Hernandez, Mickie Rodriguez and Michel Trabant, among others, all while he?s been pleading for the likes of Mayweather, Pacquiao, Mosley and Miguel Cotto.
