Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s decision to fight Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KO) has been roundly criticized based n Berto's 3-3 record in his last six fights, with two of the three losses coming vs. former Mayweather opponents.
In a piece written by Berto, he described why he feels the matchup garnered so much negative press when it was announced, even though he is known as an action fighter.
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"Once the fight was first announced there was a lot of negative feedback of course. My opinion was more so of the fact that Floyd didn't give these people their money's worth last time and they just weren't sure what they were going to get. But now a lot of things are changing," Berto told CBS.
"We're getting a lot of love now and getting a lot of people that really want me to try and get this done. Really night and day from the beginning when the fight was announced."
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Berto is referencing Mayweather's May 2 bout vs. Manny Pacquiao, which broke box office records but fizzled inside the ring. Later Pacquiao revealed he had fought with a torn labrum that he suffered during training camp. Berto has been through a torn labrum himself; his most recent loss, a 12th-round knockout at the hands of Jesus Soto Karass, involved Berto tearing his own labrum in Round 2 and continuing to fight.
"In the Karass fight I tore my shoulder in the second round, but never in my mind did I think about stopping. I fought [Robert] Guerrero with both my eyes shut. I never even thought about stopping. I always feel like I can still win the fight, so if there's one thing that people do know about me, they know that I have a heart that's as big as it can be," Berto said.
Nonetheless, Soto Karass had eight losses coming into that fight, and Berto's reputation took a big hit. He has since won two straight fights, most recently knocking out Josesito Lopez in March. What Berto lacks in the quality of his recent resume, he claims he makes up for in physical gifts.
"I think it's been a while since Floyd has fought somebody else with great speed and power like me - it's a rare combination and I feel I can probably offset a lot of things that he's doing. I'm really looking forward to interrupting anything that he's trying to do in the ring."
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