Andre Berto Dreams of Conquest in 147-Pound Division

For Andre Berto, the visions of glory are ever present in his thoughts and in his dreams, so much so, that he often finds himself throwing punches at imaginary opponents.

"The faces change from time to time. With the left hand, I see Shane Mosley. With the right hand, I see Manny Pacquiao. Left hook, I see Miguel Cotto. It's just that I have all of their spirits just haunting me in the gym," said Berto, the 26-year-old WBC welterweight (147 pounds) champion.

"They pop up from time to time in my sleep, too," said Berto, who is 25-0 with 19 knockouts. "I've already envisioned myself fighting all of those guys, and seeing the outcomes, seeing how the fight will end up."

A Haitian American who represented his native country in the 2004 Olympics, Berto is considered a rising star in a 147-pound class stocked with talent, including Floyd Mayweather, Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey.

"It's just a matter of getting the right fight done and putting it into play," said Berto, who earned his title as a 24-year-old with a June, 2008, seventh-round knockout of Miguel Angel Rodriguez. "We're trying real hard to make that a reality right now."

Berto's radar is presently set on Mosley, a bout that could take place on Jan. 30 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas.

"We're still negotiating to see if it's going to happen. If not, it seems like we still have that date. But we might have to go with another opponent," said Berto, adding that a second option could be IBF champion Isaac Hlatshwayo (29-1-1, 10 KOs) of Soweto, South Africa.

"Time is on my side, so if it doesn't happen with Shane, hopefully, I can fight a guy like Hlatshwayo, and maybe pick up another title and make a bigger fight more intriguing for the networks," said Berto, who was born in Miami and lives in Winterhaven, Fla.

"I want Shane, but I'm not going to chase him," said Berto. "If Shane doesn't happen, there are a few other options. We're just trying to see what happens."

Berto's promoter, Lou DiBella, believes that "the likelihood is that we'll get a deal done" for Mosley (46-5, 39).

"It's not done yet. I'll be working on that for the next week or two. I think that the fight would likely be January 30, but it's not done yet. If it's Mosley, then it will be at the Mandalay Bay," said DiBella.

"For a very young kid like Berto, who has just turned 26, it's a great opportunity to fight a first ballot Hall of Famer like Mosley. You have to take that opportunity, because a victory changes your life immediately," said DiBella.

"Frankly, a really good performance, even if it doesn't result in a victory, is still a victory when you're fighting that level of guy," DiBella said. "But I think that Andre is strong enough, fast enough and fresh enough that he would have a great chance to upset Mosley."

Berto says that he has kept his ears on the pulse of his fans' opinions concerning his skills as a fighter, as well as his chances against some of his division's top players -- Mosley in particular.

"There's a lot of mixed reactions. A lot of people say that Shane may have too much experience for me, and that I'm too young for Shane," Berto said of Mosley, who, at age 38, is exactly 11 years older than Berto.

"Some people feel as if I have too much energy for him and that he's a little to old now," said Berto, who, like Mosley, was born on Sept. 7. "Some people think I have the speed, I'm too young for him. I'm too fast and have too much power, and that youth will be served. I'll beat him easily. I'm just hearing a lot of different things."

DiBella certainly believes Berto has the potential to be a star.

"Andre's got a great personality, and he loves to market himself. He's always on twitter and on the internet communicating with people, and he's out there engaging as many people as he can," said DiBella. "He really wants to be a star, and I think that he has the personality combined with the talent that he can pull it off."

Berto also has the pedigree.

"Fighting is literally in his blood," said DiBella. "Andre's father was among the first guys to be involved in Pride fighting -- the predecessor to the UFC. His sister is an MMA fighter, and his brother is also a UFC guy."

Berto, who is trained by Tony Morgan, said that the talent "trickled down" from his father, Dieuseul "Tiger" Berto, to himself and his siblings, including a brother, Cleveland Berto, who was a state champion wrestler in Florida.

At one point last year, Andre and Edson Berto were believed to have become the first brothers to have their fights televised nationally in seperate disciplines on the same night – Andre in New York On HBO Boxing, and, Edson, in California an hour later on Showtime for EliteXC.

Berto is remarkably candid concerning his growth over his past three title defenses -- decisions over veteran Steve Forbes, skillful Luis Collazo, and tough KO artist Juan Urango (22-2-1, 17).

"For Forbes, definitely, fighting somebody with so much experience, I had to learn to adjust pretty quickly for the first two or three rounds. He was very experienced and he touched me a couple of times, which kind of surprised me. I had to adapt to Forbes' style pretty quickly," said Berto.

"The Collazo fight, I learned never to underestimate an opponent and to always be prepared," said Berto. "That was really the first time I came in kind of half-assed, and it showed. That cost me. The Urango fight, I just stuck to the game plan. I just need to keep continuing to learn."

Berto will also continuing dreaming those visions of glory.

"Whoever I'm fighting, I want to see his face and his expression change. I want to watch the look of disbelieve when he realizes that he just doesn't have a chance," said Berto.

"I've been blessed with speed, power and a lot of different other things that will allow me to go in there and be smart -- that's my strength," said Berto. "That's what I did in the beginning of my career, and that's the one thing that I'm looking forward to -- imposing my strength and my aggressiveness on my opponent."