marianreviera: Andre Berto Wants to Show Manny Pacquiao What He's Made Of

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Andre Berto Wants to Show Manny Pacquiao What He's Made Of

Filed under: WBC, WBO, Boxing Rumors, HBO, FanHouse Exclusive, Top Rank Promotions

The Caribbean sky is still filled with the smoke and dust from the rubble. Army trucks are everywhere, big jumbo planes are bringing in cargo aide and supplies. Helicopters are passing overhead. It feels like I walked into a war zone. We made the ride over to the Project Medishare hospital, which was the biggest tent hospital on the ground.

As I'm walking into the tent hospital, I stop and make eye contact with my brother Cleveland. At that point we made it clear that whatever was behind those doors we had to be ready. As the doors slowly opened, I walked in and just stood watching hundreds of patients fighting for their lives.

I dropped my bag and went straight to work helping the doctors any way I could. I witnessed hundreds of kids covered in bandages, crying for parents that they'll never see again, and asking to go back to a home that is no more.

When I walk through the aisle, a little girl grabs my pant leg, and I stop and look at her. She has a smile that could light up the darkest day, corn rows in her head, and a little necklace with an angel on it. I asked her what her name was, and she said 'Measha.'

I told her she was beautiful, and she responded 'Thank You,' in Creole. Then she asked me if I could fix her leg because it has been hurting. She pulled the blanket back and her leg had been amputated. I looked in her eyes with emotions leaking from my heart and couldn't believe how much strength this little girl had.

As I looked around the room there were hundreds of patients that wanted that same comfort. On the other side of the tent, I see a handful of doctors rushing over to a patient who just went into cardiac arrest. I walk over to see this wonderful team of doctors try to bring this man back to life but with no success.

The doctors shook their heads in disappointment. They pick him up and walk him out, another life lost. I am overwhelmed. I cannot begin to understand why God allows these things to happen. I don't try to understand. I just have faith.

From the diary of WBC welterweight (147 pounds) champion Andre Berto, written about his trek to Haiti in support of disaster relief following the January earthquake which devastated the island nation. Berto's parents, Diuseul, and, Wilnise, were born in Haiti, which the fighter represented in the 2004 Olympics.

Andre Berto 'Devastated' by Earthquake in Haiti
Devasted Andre Berto Pulls Out of Fight With Shane Mosley

Andre Berto, of Winter Haven, Fla., has dispatched of his past two opponents in devastating fashion. There was the 27-year-old's eighth-round stoppage in April over southpaw former world champion, Carlos Quintana, of Puerto Rico, followed by November's first-round knockout of Freddy Hernandez.

A Haitian-American, Berto (27-0, 21 KOs) ended an 11-month ring absence against Quintana, this after having lost eight of his family members were killed in the mid-January earthquake that rocked Haiti.

In addition, Berto had to overcome a second-round tear in his left bicep against Quintana, who was looking for his third straight knockout in as many consecutive victories. Hernandez entered their bout at 29-1, with 20 knockouts and a 12-fight winning streak that included six knockouts.

In this Q&A, Berto makes his case for being the best among the three candidates being considered for a match opposite eight-division king, Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) in an HBO pay per view televised bout on May 7 from Las Vegas. The others are five-time titlist Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs), and, WBO and WBA lightweight (135 pounds) king Juan Manuel Marquez (51-5-1, 38 KOs).