Berto back in business against Guerrero

 Hbo World Championship Boxing Welterweight Fight: (12 Rounds)SaturdayBerto     vs    Guerrero     04:00 SS5

Friday, November 23, 2012
Andre Berto (left) and Robert Guerrero (right) face off Saturday night in Las Vegas. Net photo.

Hbo World Championship Boxing Welterweight Fight: (12 Rounds)SaturdayBerto     vs    Guerrero     04:00 SS5LOS ANGELES - Andre Berto, sidelined more than a year by injury and a drugs ban, is ready for his ring return.The former two-time welterweight champion faces American southpaw Roberto Guerrero in Ontario, 80 km east of Los Angeles, on Saturday night.Guerrero’s WBC interim welterweight belt is on the line. The champion believes a victory over Berto could finally "push me over the hump,” enabling him to fight elite opponents.But Berto wants to get back on track after his rematch with Victor Ortiz was first delayed by injury and then, in June, scuppered by his positive test for the steroid nandrolone.He lost his WBC welterweight title when Ortiz beat him on points in April last year after both men had been knocked down twice.In September, Berto returned to stop Jan Zaveck in the fifth round to claim the IBF title, which he surrendered to get a rematch with Ortiz, but he never got the second chance.Berto, who has claimed he did not take performance enhancing drugs, said the experience has made him a more mature person and fighter."This has been one of the hardest years I have had to go through,” Berto said this week. "It has matured me as a man; to get ready for everything in your head.Guerrero originally shied away from Berto because of the doping, but now says he’s looking forward to the bout as a chance to show he’s worthy to take on Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.