With Haiti on his mind, Berto returns to ring -- USA Today

By Bob Velin, USA TODAY

Andre Berto was 18 days away from the biggest fight of his career in January when the news broke that changed his life.

Berto was preparing for his Jan. 30 welterweight unification title fight in Las Vegas against Shane Mosley when his parents' native Haiti was shaken to its core by a massive earthquake that destroyed the capital of Port Au Prince, killing more than 200,000 people. Eight of the dead were relatives of Berto. Two more survived but were among the hundreds of thousands left homeless.

Less than a week later, Berto pulled out of the Mosley fight, citing physical and mental exhaustion, and headed to Haiti — the country he fought for in the 2004 Olympics — with his brother Cleveland to offer his assistance.

Three months later, the undefeated Berto is set to return to the ring for the first time since last May, taking on former welterweight titlist Carlos Quintana on Saturday (HBO, 10:30 p.m. ET) at Sunrise, Fla.

The hiatus was just what he needed. "It gave me time to focus on me, on the family, and take some time off from boxing," he says. "I feel fresh, I feel motivated. I can't wait to get in there."

The 26-year-old Berto (25-0, 19 KOs), isn't looking at Quintana as merely a steppingstone to the heavy hitters of the 147-pound division, such as Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather and Mosley. He knows Quintana (27-2, 21 KOs) can be dangerous, as Paul Williams found out in 2008. Quintana's the only blemish on Williams' record.

Four months later Williams KO'd the Puerto Rican in the first round of their rematch. Quintana's only other loss was to then unbeaten Miguel Cotto in 2006.

"He's a slick southpaw. You have to be careful, you have to assert your dominance early," says Berto of Quintana, 33. "I'm just going to go in there and do what I gotta do."

Berto has no regrets about pulling out of the Mosley fight. He saw his Haiti mission as something of a calling. It changed his outlook on life.

"What happened in Haiti was something that just hit me," he says. "It hit a lot of people around the world. I did what I did for a reason. I could never take back a situation like that, me going over there to help people in need instead of getting a paycheck.

"It was something I don't regret. I'm young, I have a lot of fight in me and I'm ready to go full force."

As happens often in natural disasters such as the Haiti quake, says Berto, it's kind of forgotten outside of the disaster area after a month or so. He's trying to make sure that doesn't happen.

That's why this fight is billed as "Fighting for Haiti." A percentage of proceeds from the fight and surrounding events will go to Berto's Dynasty Foundation, which will send funds to Haiti. Also, HBO will show footage from Berto's Haiti visit during the fight.

"We're putting a gameplan together to make sure that everything we receive gets to the people," he says. "We're two feet in."

Berto says the Haiti tragedy helped him realize his purpose.

"At the end of the day I was blessed with a talent," he says, "and I believe that a lot of people don't really see their purpose within their talent. I've really had a chance to find that purpose.

"This foundation is going to continue to give me the vehicle to help others, when it comes to Haiti, or the local boys and girls clubs or a lot of other situations I've already been a part of. It's been a motivating factor for me and I'm happy."

What could help Berto more than anything is using what he witnessed in Haiti to help him handle adversity in the ring.

"Everything I saw down there is an experience I'll never forget," he says. "What I'll face in the ring at any time is not going to be anything compared to what I've seen and been a part of in Haiti.

"It's matured me and made me stronger and I'm going to show it all on fight night."

Floyd returns:

He's baaack. And the people at HBO's all-access series 24/7 couldn't be happier that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and family will be part of the four-episode run-up to the May 1 welterweight title fight between Mayweather and Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The series will debut Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, as a lead-in to the Berto-Quintana fight.

HBO's cameras will follow Mayweather & Co. around his Las Vegas gym and nearby home, while Mosley will be filmed at his Big Bear, Calif., training camp.

Source: usatoday.com