Berto totes Haiti’s hopes into ring vs. Hernandez

Andre Berto can’t wait for the calendar to turn. He and his native Haiti have had quite enough of 2010.

A devastating earthquake rocked Berto’s homeland in January, leaving the unbeaten WBC welterweight champion so distraught by the loss of family and friends that he pulled out of a Jan. 30 fight against Shane Mosley.

Hurricane Gustav hit Haiti in August, as did Hurricane Tomas last month, and a cholera outbreak has occurred there.

This time Berto is soldiering on. He’ll keep his date to fight Freddy Hernandez on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden, and Berto said his people’s ongoing plight is inspiring him to lift their spirits.

“It’s a tough situation,” he said. “The people there can’t seem to catch a break. We need to stay positive and bring whatever joy we can to them.”

Berto (26-0, 20 knockouts) did his part April 10 when he stopped Carlos Quintana at Sunrise, Fla., retaining his belt with an eight-round technical knockout. Berto said he will enter the ring against Hernandez (29-1, 20 KOs) in a better frame of mind. The fight is on the undercard of the lightweight title bout between Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis.

“I’m much better mentally for this fight than for Quintana,” Berto said. “When I fought Quintana, I was dealing with things back home. I’m still dealing with things as I get ready for this fight, but it doesn’t seem like it was in April.”

Berto, who beat Quintana essentially with one arm after tearing his right biceps in the second round, said the injury is fully healed and he is eager to return to Las Vegas after pulling out of the Mosley bout at Mandalay Bay.

“I want to put on a good show for the people there,” Berto said. “I felt bad that I had to pull out of the Mosley fight, so I want to make up for it.”

If Berto defeats Hernandez, he would like to schedule a new bout with Mosley. But Mosley is pursuing a spring date to fight Manny Pacquiao, a far more lucrative opponent than Berto. If they can’t agree to terms, Berto said he’s more than willing to meet Pacquiao.

“Pacquiao’s been beating up a bunch of old guys,” said Berto, 27. “(Antonio) Margarito was so slow, he was like a punching bag. It’s time for him to take on some of the young bucks.”

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, said he would be willing to match Berto against his fighter if he can’t make a deal with Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Mosley, in that order.

■ MARQUEZ-KATSIDIS ODDS — Marquez opened as a 3-1 betting favorite at Station Casinos and remains a minus-330 choice to beat Katsidis. The take-back on Katsidis is plus-250. The fight is a pick on whether it will go nine full rounds, with both sides at minus-110.

Also at Station Casinos, WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan is minus-300 to beat Marcos Maidana in their Dec. 11 title fight. Maidana is plus-220.

■ TOP RANK LANDS BEY — Junior lightweight Mickey Bey (16-0) signed with Top Rank after his six-round unanimous decision over Eric Cruz on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas. Bey, who was 182-9 as an amateur, is managed by James Prince and trained by Jeff Mayweather.

“He has a ton of ability,” Top Rank’s Brad Goodman said. “We’re going to help him get where he wants to go — a world title opportunity.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.