Ryan Maquiñana reports that Andre Berto recently discovered that he's been anemic for the past two years, and with that knowledge, the fighter and his team feel he'll be better prepared going forward, and that the stamina issues that have plagued him in the past will be history:
"I found out I was anemic the last two years. ... My dad always just taught me to work hard, and you’ll achieve what you got to achieve. Before I would just beat guys on raw talent, but now I’ve learned a lot and I’m more scientific about the way I approach things. ... I had trouble with [endurance] in the past. Like I said, I found out I was anemic, and we’ve been working on that. I feel stronger. I feel my body recovering faster."
With corrections and monitoring of the anemia, Berto really could be a much different fighter going forward. The raw talent is there. I don't think anyone disputes that. But the stamina issue was a big one, and affected him even in fights he pretty easily won, which he did win, as he says, largely just on talent. With Victor Conte on his team, Berto does have a very knowledgeable guy around who can help him with a lot of the things that have given him trouble.
Another thing I like hearing is that nobody on Team Berto is looking past Jan Zaveck. They're confident they'll win, but promoter Lou DiBella and now trainer Tony Morgan have both praised Zaveck after studying him on tape. Berto has also complimented the opponent, and what I'm really happy with there is that nobody should be writing this off as a gimme win for Berto. I can imagine Berto's natural talents being much too much for Zaveck, but Zaveck is a good, formidable fighter, and a potential win over him should get proper credit. This isn't a bad fight at all.