DiBella, Hearn on Berto-Brook

DiBella, Hearn on Berto-Brook

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

September 9, 2011

As the dust settles on Andre Berto's newly-claimed welterweight crown, Leave It In The Ring speaks to promoters Lou DiBella and [Matchroom Sports’] Eddie Hearn—who represent the latest IBF champion and undefeated Englishman Kell Brook, respectively—on the possibility of a meeting between the two welterweights.

“Well, we are fighting [Rafa] Jackiewicz who has beaten Jan [Zaveck] and Jackiewicz is #5 in the IBF, so when we beat him we will be right there for a shot at Berto,” stated Hearn just days after the enthralling but brief bout between the Haitian-born Berto and Jan Zaveck.

The now former Slovenian titlist had finally started settling into a groove before Berto opened a couple nasty gashes, ultimately stopping the match.

“I always saw Berto winning the fight. Berto is what he is, strong and powerful but limited in areas,” Hearn asserted when asked whether or not Berto would have encountered problems had the fight continued. “Ones that I think Kell would exploit fully. It would be a great fight and huge in the UK.”

Questioned about the likelihood of a Berto-Brook bout, Hearn was optimistic.

“I know Lou very well, we worked together on Froch versus Johnson and made Barker versus Martinez. The money is there in the UK for Berto, then the winner can fight Khan.”

Concerning Berto’s next step, Lou DiBella seemed possessed of a different opinion. DiBella has his eyes set on the winner of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Victor Ortiz. As a contingency? A moving up in weight Amir Khan.

“Most of the big names at 140 are moving to 147, Amir Khan and Berto would be huge,” exclaimed DiBella in a phone interview late last week.

“There will be no shortage of big fights for Andre Berto. He also has a really interesting mandatory against Randall Bailey who is obviously the biggest puncher at the weight.”

Though DiBella expressed confidence in Brook’s abilities, he was less certain in regards to an imminent match against Berto.

“Kell Brook has to be built up,” argued DiBella. “Brook is a very good fighter. If he can translate that popularity from the UK over here, it can become a big fight. Right now I think Amir Khan is a bigger fight.”

As well, DiBella made clear how enthused he was by Jan Zaveck's performance against Berto, especially given the flak he received for matching Berto with an unknown commodity on HBO.

“I knew it wasn't an embarrassment of a fight. I knew Zaveck was a top guy. He was terrific competition and has an exciting style. I could name you a handful of high quality 147 pounders he beats.”

When asked if DiBella would be interested in helping find Zaveck another big opportunity, he was far from averse.

“We are actually having those conversations and I can tell you flat out, I like him as a person, he has a championship mentality, and he is a f***ing warrior. With the right matchup he will be in great fights.”

DiBella then deliberated on the response to Berto-Zaveck—especially after mention of HBO’s initial reluctance about the match as a unification prior to Berto's meeting with Victor Ortiz… and their consequent about-face following [Berto’s] loss.

“If he would have had two belts, they would have had a Fight of the Year candidate. It would have proved itself to be a war and Berto would have had two belts. The funny part about the second time, I respect HBO and am thrilled they bought the fight, but they sort of ignored it like it didn't exist. They didn't have an expectation of what it would be.”

“I already knew that Zaveck was tough. I would have preferred for Zaveck, the champion, to get more rounds, though I feel it would have been the same result. Frankly, you saw enough to know two things: Berto is back and Jan Zaveck is a good fighter.”

Without a doubt, Jan Zaveck is a good fighter—but now that fact is also known outside of Slovenia. There's no reason to think that Kell Brook, a young fighter who boasts an unbeaten record and the bravado to boot, couldn't make a comparable impression on American viewing audiences.

Obviously, and with good reason, Team Berto is seeing dollar signs after picking up another strap. Whether they will cash in remains to be seen. If they fail to secure the Floyd-Ortiz winner, or win the Manny Pacquiao or Amir Khan lottery, there exists a mile-long list of intriguing possibilities to explore, Kell Brook topping it.

Let's just hope Berto strays from the Freddy Hernandez route for awhile.