Andre Berto Cancels His Fight With Mosley After Earthquake In Haiti

WBC welterweight champion Andre “The Beast” Berto canceled his January 30 title defense versus “Sugar” Shane Mosley in lieu of the devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti last week.

Haitian Prime Minister Jena-Max Bellerive estimated that the country’s most severe earthquake ion over 200 years would likely leave “more than one hundred thousand dead.”

Berto (26-0, 19 KOs), a two-time National Golden Gloves champion who won 22 state titles in Florida, was born in Miami.

Nevertheless, as a proud Haitian-American, Berto represented Haiti at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

“As a result of this disaster, I am mentally and physically exhausted and therefore I have no choice but to withdraw from my bout,” said Berto, 26.

“I lost several family members to the earthquake and after two days without word, was relieved to learn that my sister, Naomi, and her daughter, Jessica, survived, but were left homeless. I have seen the pain in my parents’ eyes as they attempt to understand what has happened to our homeland and recognize a place they once called home.”

Berto visited Haiti for the first time last March when he served as one of the Board of Directors for a charitable organization called “Carma Foundation.”

“I got a chance to see the poverty-stricken areas, and we gave away 10,000 pairs of shoes and some food,” said Berto, who captured his crown in June 2008 when he defeated Miguel Rodriguez by seventh round technical knockout.

“This hurts me even more what has happened there and what the people are going through because I was there a few months ago and I got a chance to hear, see and touch some of the people and feel the love that they had for me. It’s a tough thing to deal with.”

Berto has become a very popular fighter in the Boston area because Massachusetts has the third largest Haitian population in the United States and is home to approximately 70,000 to 80,000 Haitians.

Haitians initially began moving to the Bay State in the 1950’s primarily due to its employment opportunities and quality education system.

The largest contingent of Haitians is located in the Boston neighborhoods of Mattapan, Dorchester, Hyde Park and Roxbury.

“This is something that is very hard for me to deal with,” said Berto. “But, it is something that I have to deal with.”

Promoter Richard Schaefer stated that he is now attempting to arrange a matchup between Mosley (46-5-1, 39 KOs) and former WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (40-0, 25 KOs) for either May 1 or May 8 in Las Vegas.

“I’m going to do whatever I can to pull it off,” Schaefer said. “I’m cautiously optimistic we can put something together. It would be a great fight, a long anticipated fight.”

Schaefer conceded that he doesn’t know if Mayweather would demand blood testing for Mosley like he did for Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs).

Still, Schaefer revealed that both Mayweather and Mosley want the fight to transpire.

“Mayweather is interested and so, of course, is Shane,” said Schaefer. “Now it’s a matter of negotiating the right deal structure that makes everyone happy.”

Meanwhile, Berto said he appreciated the support that he has received since the cataclysm occurred and he hoped that the people of Haiti would remain in everyone’s thoughts and prayers.

“The rebuilding of Haiti is not something that will happen overnight,” said Berto. “But, I am fully dedicated to helping the Haitian people recover from this catastrophic event.”

Boxing is simply a sport.

Last week’s tragedy is significantly more important than what amounts to a game played in a ring with gloves.

Many individuals in and around Beantown are grieving alongside Berto and those same people will be cheering for “The Beast” whenever he feels he is ready to return to prizefighting.

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