Andre Berto

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Andre Berto

Statistics
Real name Andre Mike Berto
Rated at Welterweight
Nationality Flag of HaitiFlag of the United States Haitian American
Birth date September 7, 1983 (1983-09-07) (age 24)
Birth place Miami, Florida
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 21
Wins 21
Wins by KO 18
Losses 0
Draws 0
No contests 0

Andre Mike Berto (born September 7, 1983) is a Haitian American welterweight professional boxer, who represented Haïti in the 2004 Summer Olympics.

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[edit] Personal life

Raised one of seven children in Winter Haven, Florida after moving from his native Haiti when he was five years old, Berto was indoctrinated into boxing by his father, who competed professionally in mixed martial arts and taught the sport at a school in Winter Haven. For Berto, the sport of boxing became a solace to stay out of trouble. His brother, Edson Berto, is a professional mixed martial artist. Berto is often called "Mike", his middle name.[1]

[edit] Amateur career

Berto had a stellar amateur career. He won a bronze medal in the 2003 World Amateur Championships, was a two-time National Golden Gloves champion, a two-time National PAL champion, a three-time U.S. amateur championship medalist, and also won 22 state titles in Florida.[1]

[edit] 2004 Olympics

During the box-off, Berto was disqualified during his bout against Juan McPherson. This eliminated Berto from qualifying to represent the United States at the Olympics. Following this disappointment, Berto then attempted to qualify by opting to represent Haiti, which is his parent's native country.

The result was that Berto faced his friend and fellow American Vanes Martirosyan during the North American qualifications. Berto lost the bout but both fighters qualified for the games anyway.

Berto lost in his first round fight to French boxer Xavier Noel.

[edit] Professional career

from December 2004 to October 2006, Berto won 15 fights, with 13 coming by way of knockout. On December 12, 2006, at the Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas, Berto stepped up in competition and fought Miguel Figueroa. Berto put together a one-sided destruction of Figueroa, eventually forcing the referee to stop the fight in round six. He was named ESPN.com’s 2006 Prospect of the Year.

His next fight took place on February 17, 2007, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, New York, against Norberto Bravo of The Contender. Berto defeated Bravo by first round technical knockout after Bravo was knocked down three times, triggering the three knockdown rule. On May 19, 2007, Berto defeated Martinus Clay by seventh round technical knockout.

On July 27, 2007, at the City Center in Saratoga Springs, New York. Berto fought Cosme Rivera. Berto was in full control until he was down for the first time in his career in round six. He was able to recover and open up a bad cut over Rivera's right eye in the seventh round. Rivera stood his ground in the remaining rounds to test Berto, but Berto won by unanimous decision.[2] On September 29, 2007, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Berto defeated David Estrada by eleventh round technical knockout to win the NABF welterweight title. Rounds three and eight were described by BoxingScene.com as "round of the year" candidates as both men went toe-to-toe with flush power shots. The end came when Berto dropped Estrada with an uppercut that was followed up by a huge right hand. Estrada made it to his feet, but could not defend himself as Berto attacked with more damaging shots that prompted the referee to jump in and stop the fight.[3]

On February 9, 2008, at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California, Berto fought Michael Trabant in his first defense of the NABF welterweight title. Trabant stayed on the defensive for the entire fight with Berto landing a variety of punches from all angles. In the fifth and sixth rounds, Trabant was barely able to land a single punch, as he was frequently taking punches to the head. Trabant told the referee after round six that he was no longer willing to continue with the fight. It was the first time that Trabant had ever been stopped..[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Schulberg, Benn (2006-02-06). Andre Berto: New Star in Town. The Sweet Science. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  2. ^ Vester, Mark (2007-07-28). Andre Berto Gets Off The Deck To Beat Rivera. BoxingScene.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  3. ^ Vester, Mark (2007-09-29). Andre Berto Stop David Estrada in a Thriller. BoxingScene.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  4. ^ Vester, Mark (2008-02-09). Andre Berto Batters Michel Trabant in Six. BoxingScene.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Berto, Andre
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Berto, Andre Mike
SHORT DESCRIPTION US-American-born Haïtian boxer
DATE OF BIRTH 7 September 1983
PLACE OF BIRTH Miami, Florida
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Languages