Former welterweight world champion Andre Berto will have Shoulder surgery on Wednesday according to Dan Rafael of espn.com
“Surgery is obviously never something that anyone wants to deal with, but adversity is nothing new to me,” Berto said in a statement on Monday. “I know that Dr. [Neal] ElAttrache is one of the best in the business, so I am in good hands. I’m going to tackle this latest obstacle head on and I plan to be back in the ring full force in 2014.
“I really appreciate all the support that my fans have given me over the last few weeks and promise that you are going to see much more from me in the future.”
“I threw a punch in the second round, and when Soto Karass blocked it, my right upper arm connected with his and it felt like fire shot through my arm,” Berto said. “I had no power at all in that right arm and couldn’t hold it up to defend myself. I kept trying to use it, but midway through the fight, I realized I couldn’t and just tried to work my left hand and throw jabs.
“I threw it [instinctively] in the heat of the battle later in the fight and yelled from the pain shooting through my arm. I could see that Soto Karass and the referee heard me, and the referee and doctor kept coming to the corner between rounds to check on the injury, but there was no way I was going to quit.”
