Andre Berto, Shawn Porter Ooze Confidence Ahead of Showtime Clash

When Andre Berto was picked apart by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2015, it was the last fight of the brilliant career of “Money” Mayweather. Many fans and boxing insiders alike scoffed at Berto as the opponent, but the former world champion didn’t follow Floyd into the Sunset.

A year ago, Berto knocked out old rival Victor Ortiz -- also a former Mayweather foe -- in the fourth round to remain relevant in the sport, but the Floridian of Haitian descent hasn’t competed since. With time running out on his career, the 33-year-old can ill afford to slip up against Porter if he’s remain viable in the championship spectrum at 147 pounds. Though many in the sport have written him off as past his prime, Berto, a former WBC and IBF welterweight titlist feels otherwise.

“I’m still on top of my game,” Berto (31-4, 24 KOs) said at the final pre-fight press conference. “That’s something that’s hard to do. We had a tremendous camp. One of the best I’ve had in years. I was focused the whole time. I’m going to show you what it is to go through adversity in life and make it to the top again. Saturday night, we’re going to make it happen.”

Porter (26-2-1, 16 KOs) is looking to rebound from a heart-breaking close unanimous decision loss to Keith Thurman last June. It was a wild affair and a candidate for “Fight of the Year,” but the fact that it was thrilling doesn’t matter as much to “Showtime” because he came up short. Though Berto is next in line for the Las Vegas resident, his sights are still on Thurman.

“This is a very important fight for me,” Porter said at the same presser. “I've watched Berto since the amateurs and on into the pros. I've seen him do it all. I've seen the best of his career and the worst. I'm going to do what it takes to end up on the right side of this.

“People have definitely seen a great deal of my talent in the last fight with Thurman,” Porter, a former IBF welterweight champ, added. “I'm going to let Keith Thurman know that I'm coming for him. I'm going to make sure that he knows that I want him. I'm going to do everything I can to get that fight after I get past this one.”

The action will begin on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT with Jermell Charlo putting his WBC super welterweight title on the line against Charles Hatley.