EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: ANDRE BERTO
By G. Leon

Berto not biting his tongue heading into career defining fight!

GL: Boxingtalk getting the exclusive with Andre Berto as he's about to board a plan heading to Vegas. Tell us all about your big fight with Shane Mosley. "I'm on the plane and I'm ready to go enjoy the festivities over there in Vegas. I'm excited and this is definitely the opportunity that I've been waiting for, for a long time. This right here is going to be the kick-off."

GL: Can you tell us how your outlook has changed now that this fight has gone from discussion to reality?

Andre Berto: "It's like being a young kid and playing football and having that dream of going to the Super Bowl. I've been putting that work in and now I'm going to my Super Bowl. This is my big game and this is my chance to make a huge mark. I feel motivated because I know I'm about to make my stamp in boxing and it takes a big show like this to find out who you really are and what your place is going to be."

GL: The last time we had you on the record you said some pretty harsh things about Shane relating to his recent remarks, you touched on his newfound ability to speak for himself now that he's divorced, is that really how you look at him?

AB: "Yeah, definitely. That's exactly what it is. He's never spoken like he's been speaking, I guess that cage has been taken off his mouth and he's letting it loose. It's all good, now we're going to see what he's about. I'm going to see him in person real soon, so we're going to see if has those words to say to my face. I definitely want to see if it's real and then I'm going to go off that."

GL: Other than him saying he doesn't want to ruin you being insulting, does it lead you to believe that he's going to take you lightly?

AB: "Realistically, I don't think there's any way he's not going to take this fight seriously. I've always seen him at my past fights, and he knows what he's in with. He's told me that he's seen flashes of himself from back in the day and I know he's thinking about that. I'm going to be the fastest and strongest fighter he's ever fought in his career. Even though he has this experience edge on me, I've got a bunch of edges on him that people will see on January 30."

GL: Will we learn more about Andre Berto in this fight than we have in your career thus far?

AB: "Definitely. I'm definitely looking at it like that. Now that the talent is on my level, it's time to step it up and see what it is. We're stepping up the level of talent, I'm going to step up the level of performance. I think this is going to be a terrific view of where I am and now we're going to see what I come out with."

GL: In one of our many private discussions, you made it clear that you think too much was made of Mosley's victory over Margarito. Can you touch on that for Boxingtalkers now?

AB: "I'm not going to take nothing away from him. He fought a great fight. I feel like Margarito went into the ring with a lot of distractions. I feel like Margarito wasn't there the way he was supposed to be. Before he walked into the ring, he had to take his strength away. That's like taking away an AK-47 from a guy to give him a kitchen knife. I felt that was the situation, and he made Mosley look good by being slower and being a punching bag and not mentally being there. He knows that's not the case with me. He knows I have hand speed. He knows I'm strong, he knows I'm not going to stand right in front of him."

GL: Can you hurt Shane Mosley, we've only seen him hurt once against Vernon Forrest?

AB: "That was one time too many. I believe anything is possible, I'm going to say it's going to be an exciting fight. We're putting a plan together and we're going to be able to go at him more than one way, but it's all going to be action packed."

GL: Closing thoughts?

AB: "I'm on the plane now heading to Vegas. Everybody in Vegas should come out to the Mandalay Bay tomorrow morning at 11 for the press conference."

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