Andre Berto charts a new course on his winding journey

Andre Berto, a two-time world champion, looks to propel himself back into the title mix in a stacked welterweight division when he meets Shawn Porter in a fascinating crossroads fight on April 22 (Showtime, 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT).

Boxing fans have been able to follow Andre Berto’s journey through almost every conceivable phase that an elite prizefighter can experience: hyped Olympian turned bluechip prospect, fast-rising contender, undefeated world champion, the sport’s supposed future standard-bearer and pound-for-pound entrant, fall from grace, injury-plagued inactivity, positive drug test, upset losses and, finally, the road to redemption.

Along the way, Berto (31-4, 24 KOs) has morphed from elite talent to crowd pleaser, a fighter blessed with raw athleticism, power and boxing skills, but one with a propensity to find brawls irresistible. Now, at 33, Berto is the elder statesman in boxing’s hottest division, and yet a win over former IBF titlist Shawn Porter — in what would certainly be viewed as an upset — immediately propels Berto back into the division’s elite stratosphere with the likes of Keith Thurman, Kell Brook and Errol Spence Jr.

The past few years for Andre Berto have been peculiar ones defined by extreme highs and lows, and his 4-4 record over his last eight contests reflects the breadth of his experiences as a fighter, a stretch that started with Victor Ortiz handing him his first loss via enthralling, multi-knockdown brawl, only to see Berto finally exact his revenge in April of 2016.

“It meant a lot,” Berto told FanSided over the phone about the Ortiz fight. “Of course, he was the one who gave me my first loss. I think it was a fight that people had been waiting for — it was a fight I’d been waiting for. I always just told myself that before I retire, that’s a fight that I want.”

Indeed, Berto obliterated Ortiz in the fourth round, although he did have to wade through adversity after being dropped in the second stanza. Still, Berto rallied to bludgeon his old rival, dropping him for the count just as they appeared ready to reprise their 12-round war from 2011. For Berto, the win was cathartic and necessary. The swift and impressive ending launched him back into the upper tier mix at 147 pounds.

A peculiar part of Andre Berto’s career is that he’s currently the last man to have fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a bout that was bound to be an anti-climax following Mayweather’s fiasco against Manny Pacquiao. Although Berto was put in an enviable financial position thanks to the match, he had to deal with a chorus of fans and pundits shouting about the fight’s unworthiness.

And yet, Berto brings a unique perspective to the “circus” that is fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. After all he’s been through, Berto views getting to the Mayweather fight as a culmination of sorts. The ability to cope with the aforementioned circus of the promotion and fight week and to go out and perform in defeat is part of this larger narrative of a winding career that Berto’s able to critically assess. Berto asserts that his story is “real” and that his career isn’t about perfection; rather, his myriad experiences have enabled him to taste everything that boxing has to offer.

Because he’s still a viable contender, Andre Berto can profit from that Mayweather experience, even if the majority of outsiders would solely view it as a blemish on his resume. This is all part of a more mature mindset that Berto has fostered as he enters the final major stage of his career.

“It’s a different feeling,” Berto said when asked about his veteran mindset. “I feel a lot more seasoned. But it feels good. My whole career has been in front of that TV screen. Everybody has gotten a chance to know me. I think I was fighting on HBO after my seventh or eighth fight. They’ve seen my rise. They’ve seen me being the hottest young thing out there to getting ready to fight Mayweather. At the same time, they’ve seen and witnessed my downfall. I lost to Ortiz, I lost to Guerrero and I tore my shoulder. They were able to pretty much see my story. And they were able to see me come back.”

The public nature of Andre Berto’s development has seen him deal with polar opposite takes on his abilities as a fighter. At one point, he was heralded as the next Mayweather; when he lost back-to-back fights to Robert Guerrero and Jesus Soto Karass, he was written off as finished and a mere product of a hype machine to begin with. For Berto, finding serenity has come somewhere in between.

There’s an evenness that Berto exudes in conversation now. From a boxing standpoint, he’s worked on balancing his tendency to brawl and aggressively stand his ground with his excellent technical skills. The goal is to bring out the full scope of his boxer-puncher abilities. He’s also learned to stay in the gym, remain busy and take care of his body, which is especially critical during an extended hiatus from live competition. “That’s one thing that I lacked when I was younger,” Berto admitted. “We would just kind of do whatever. If we weren’t fighting, you would not see us in that gym.”

Berto fully understands the stakes of his bout against Shawn Porter, who he views as an exceptional pressure fighter. It is indeed “do-or-die,” but not just for Berto. Porter (26-2-1, 16 KOs) is coming off a loss to Thurman, so there’s plenty at stake for both men. They are each in desperate need of a significant victory, and a loss, especially if it’s one-sided, could prove irreparably damaging.

Or so it would appear from the outside. In nearly 13 years as a pro, Berto has learned to avoid extremes and the tension between being written off after a single defeat or legitimized by a lone triumph. Berto is keenly aware of how one can push back against these false perceptions thanks to personal experience, and he can thus understand the reality of his situation better than most fighters. And because of that, Berto knows what he’s up against and that he has to be ready for anything against Shawn Porter: “[At this level] everybody’s tough, everybody’s in shape, everybody hits hard.”

Although Berto still has plenty he hopes to accomplish in boxing, he finds solace in the charity and relief work he’s done in Haiti. Berto’s parents are Haitian immigrants, and he’s always had strong ties to the country, which were only deepened thanks to his Olympic experience. Berto plans to devote most of his time in retirement to this altruistic mission, and he’s already opened recreation centers, built upwards of 20 water wells and mentored Haitian youth. There’s even the possibility of eventually opening a boxing gym.

“That’s a great inspiration for me,” Berto said of Haiti. “A lot of fighters, once their career is over, or they don’t have boxing, they fall into a real bad depressed state. They don’t have anything else. For me, I think I’ve been blessed with this opportunity for a reason.”

But before devoting even more time to Haiti and his charitable work, Andre Berto has business to attend to in the ring. He’ll enter his fight against Shawn Porter as an underdog, but that’s hardly a concern given what Berto has already been through. Berto will know how to cope with Porter’s pressure, and he arguably possesses better technical skills and more explosive punching power. Whether he can harness all of this at his age against a punishing fighter in his prime remains to be seen.

One thing, though, is for sure: Berto is going out there to show everyone exactly where he stands, and the fact that he’s still in the mix in such a deep division is a testament to his abilities — regardless of whether he lived up to inordinate early-career expectations. In a sense, the realness and rawness of Berto’s journey has made him that much more memorable as a fighter.

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“I’ve been through the ups and downs of this game,” Berto said. “And just to be able to inspire so many other young fighters that have seen my story – that have seen what happened to me, and have seen my rise, fall and rise back – that’s tremendous.”