Jonathan Yaghoubi details the press conference for the May 30 bout between Andre Berto and Juan Urango.
Before the New York Yankees opened up their new ballpark today with their first ever regular season game there, boxing took center stage for the new stadium's first sports "event" yesterday. WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (24-0, 19 KOs), will defend his title against light welterweight Juan Urango (21-1, 16 KOs) in a 12-round bout on May 30th at the Seminole Hard Rock hotel, in Hollywood, Florida.
Berto will be making his third defense of his championship. Berto defeated Steve Forbes in his first defense of his WBC belt, in an easy 12-round unanimous decision in September 2008.His next fight was not as easy as Berto took on former welterweight champion Luis Collazo. Berto did not look like the dominant champion that many people seem to think he can be. Andre would come back from a slow, rugged start by beating Collazo in a narrow 12-round unanimous decision this past January. Berto took a lot of punishment in that fight and was fortunate to escape with a decision.
"The last fight with Collazo, I did not come in at 100 percent so it was not the performance that people expect from me," said Berto at the press conference. "I had a lot of flu complications coming into the fight and had some problems with sparring partners. But I still got the job done but this time I will be 100 percent ready."
Collazo wanted a rematch. However, Berto knew better. It's a good thing, too, because Berto might not do so well in a rematch, and it's best for him not to have to face a talented fighter like Collazo unless he absolutely has to. It was rumored that Berto was a possible opponent fort Miguel Cotto in June those talks broke down and Berto had to settle on Urango. When asked about a fight with Cotto, Berto indicated that it could have happened.
"It was real close to happening. A fight with Cotto was something I was really pushing for badly," said Berto. "Unfortunately, there were some contract issues for the fight and it could not happen. I would love to fight the winner of Cotto-Clottey. It doesn't matter to me. The sky's the limit for me."
As for Urango, this will be his second biggest fight of his career as he looks to take a big step up from his last big fight. Urango was defeated by Ricky Hatton in a 12-round lopsided decision in January 2007.Urango was badly overmatched against Hatton as he was able to land power punches at will. Urango would rebound from that defeat, beating a couple of journeyman and then defeating Carlos Wilfredo Vilches by a 4th round KO in the IBF light welterweight title eliminator in April 2008. In his last fight in January, Urango defeated a timid Herman Ngoudjo by a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision to win the vacant IBF light welterweight title. Urango will look to unify the titles in one of the biggest his fights of his career. Urango is trained by Evangelista Cotto, the famed uncle of welterweight king, Miguel Cotto. Evangelista came in sporting some sunglasses and a gash right next to his right chin. It is no secret where he received that treatment. He refused to comment any further on the incident and was relatively quiet during the presser. Urango let the people know he is going to how far he has come.
"I am going to show everyone how far I have come since the Hatton fight," said Urango. "My hand and head movements are better. I am a lot quicker, stronger, and much better than before. Moving to 147 is going to be a great shot for me."
Also on the same card, light middleweight contender Alfredo Angulo (15-0, 12 KOs) will face former welterweight champion Kermit Cintron (30-2-1, 27 KOs). Cintron, 29, is coming off a 12-round majority draw with Sergio Martinez in February 2009.
Angulo is coming off a 5th round TKO win over Cosme Rivera. Angulo has stopped his last 11 opponents and is looking to be at the top is his game right now. With a high work rate that typically averages between 90-100 punches thrown per round and with his big power, he's very dangerous for any fighter.
