22945: (Hermantin)Sun-Sentinel-Using dual citizenship, boxer Andre Berto switched allia (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Foreign service
Using dual citizenship, boxer Andre Berto switched alliances during his
Olympic qualifying run and will represent Haiti.



By George Diaz
Sentinel Staff Writer

August 11, 2004

WINTER HAVEN -- The Haitian uniform may not feel right at first, as if he's
borrowing somebody else's clothes.

Andre Berto will enter the Olympic Stadium, marching in the parade of
nations with a handful of other athletes he barely knows, representing a
country he has never stepped foot in, trying to become its Olympic hero.

There will be no regrets when he sees the large United States contingent of
athletes marching into the stadium. He was with them briefly, before a crazy
entanglement of appeals and arbitrators. Disqualified from the U.S. Olympic
Boxing Trials in February, Berto, 20, refused to let the system beat him.

Using a dual citizenship established by his parents, who were born in Haiti,
Berto switched alliances in the middle of his Olympic qualifying run.
Released from all obligations to USA Boxing, Berto became the only Haitian
boxer to qualify for the Olympics.

The U.S. boxing team likely loses its best gold-medal hope. Haiti gathers
momentum for hisď torical relevance: The country has not won an Olympic
medal since 1928, in the team rifle competition. And Berto takes the final
steps of an extraordinary journey that began a decade ago when he was a
chubby little kid from Winter Haven always getting into trouble.

"It's kind of crazy, but I can't really question it because it's a path I
have to take," Berto said after a recent workout. "I can't question it at
all. It's like a blessing in disguise. I don't know what's going to happen,
but I have a feeling it's going to be something great."

Not an opportunist

Some may label him as an opportunist who found a shady loophole into Athens.

Berto knows better.

He has been chasing this opportunity since he was 10, jogging though the
streets of Winter Haven while his father followed in a car. A motivational
nudge would remind Berto to move more quickly if he got a case of the lazy
bones.

He kept going despite the tough love of his father, who made him do 500
pushups and 500 squats in the morning as penance for misbehaving before
going to school.

Eventually, the wild child settled down. A disciplined kid emerged, knowing
that he wanted to do something with his life. Berto didn't know quite know
how it would play out, but he knew he wanted nothing of the loser lifestyle
that would break so many of his friends. And so he trained nearly every day
at the Boys Club.

"I'd always say I was going to be somebody great," Berto said. "I wasn't
just going to get married and have kids."

Berto kept that vision through the years, rising from the pitter-patter of
local fights to become one of the best amateur fighters at 152 pounds in the
world. He became a two-time Police Athletic League national champion, a U.S.
Golden Gloves champion and a silver medalist in the U.S. Championships.

Qualifying for the Olympics seemed easily within reach.

Until it all unraveled in a frustrating moment of anger.

That big mistake

All that remained was 27 seconds.

Berto was out-boxing Cleveland's Juan McPherson in the welterweight division
of the U.S. Trials in Tunica, Miss.

Using his power-punching advantage, Berto built an 8-4 lead going into the
fourth and final round. Berto led 10-8 when he landed a crushing right hand.
McPherson's knees wobble, but he managed to cling to Berto's waist in an
attempt to break his fall.

Finish him, Berto thought to himself.

A few seconds pass, and McPherson remains an unwanted appendage. Referee
Dennis O'Connell does nothing to break up the cumbersome tango.

Frustrated, Berto pushed McPherson toward the canvas. O'Connell called Berto
for a flagrant foul and disqualified him.

And then the legal dance began. The paperwork and depositions involved five
committee hearings and a federal arbitrator's ruling, played out in two
states.

Berto, accompanied by his father Dieusel Berto and coach Tony Morgan, filed
a grievance appealing the decision. He won the first appeal, lost the
second.

Three more rounds of appeals followed until a federal arbitrator in
Cleveland ruled against both fighters. Devastated, Berto cried that night,
until a call from pro boxing promoter Shelly Finkel -- who had been
recruiting Berto -- mentioned the dual-citizenship loophole.

His father began making the necessary phone calls to Haiti, and Haitian
Olympic Committee President Gady Prophete warmed to the idea immediately.
USA Boxing officials, reflecting a deep admiration for Berto, helped the
Bertos through the maze of red tape. The first significant step was
releasing Berto from the U.S. team, allowing him to represent Haiti in an
Americas Olympic Qualifier in March in Tijuana, Mexico.

Although Berto -- boxing cautiously -- lost to the U.S.'s Vanes Martirosyan
25-21 in the final, they both advanced to Athens.

"He feels like he's representing both countries," Dieusel Berto said. "If
you look at the situation, the U.S. is leading us through the door, and
Haiti opened the door for him. Andre still is representing the U.S. in his
mind. All his friends in USA Boxing still look at him the same way. Nothing
changes."

Losing the baby fat

Dieusel Berto arrived in the United States with his family in 1980, leaving
a country ravaged by political and economic chaos. The family started out in
Miami (where Andre was born), then moved to Winter Haven within a few
months.

A tough man by true definition, Dieusel made his living competing in No
Holds Barred Fighting events, mostly in Japan. Two of Andre's two brothers
and one of his two sisters emulated their father, getting into fighting
disciplines.

But Andre, a little chubby as a kid, never really took to martial arts. He
would look at his father flexing in front of the mirror, wanting chiseled
muscles.

"Don't worry about it," Berto told his son. "Keep working out."

Hoping to channel Andre's aggressive behavior -- he once was kicked out of a
day-care center for fighting -- Dieusel Berto encouraged him to take boxing
lessons.

It was a natural fit, and soon the baby fat started to disappear and the
muscle tone developed.

Berto began training at the Winter Haven Police Athletic League with Morgan,
who had about 50 youngsters in the program. None was more focused than
Berto.

"I've missed so much," he said. "A lot of high school dances, a lot of
football games and everything else when I was training or fighting
somewhere. I missed my prom because I was fighting in Las Vegas.

"Growing up, I got off the school bus and ran straight to the gym about
three miles. Everybody would see me running all the time. They didn't know
why I was doing it. I know it was part of training, but I didn't really know
how important it was. Basically this whole city has watched me grow up
running all the time with my dad following behind me in the car. Everybody
thought my dad was crazy."

Berto continues to train six days a week, also finding time to work as a
manager in a jewelery store and attend Polk Community College, though
afternoons are all about gym time.

You can hear his punching power as he hits a water bag and a heavy bag kept
together by a roll of duct tape. The popping sound is like firecrackers
going off.

"It's a reflection of what hard work really does," Morgan said. "If you put
your heart into it, it really pays off. He turned his strength into skill,
dedication into hard work."

His boxing record book has been lost, so all Morgan and Berto can do is
guess about his record. He has fought about 110 times, winning 100 or so.
The first one came at 10, when Andre fought in Orlando.

He wore Haiti's colors.

"I just wanted to show the culture because when I fought, I wore colors of
Haiti," Dieusel Berto said.

Now, Andre Berto wears the colors again, this time with a clearer purpose.

The journey may have taken a few strange turns, but it's all about the
destination.

Andre Berto, boxer, Haiti, is going to Athens.

He knows he belongs.

George Diaz can be reached at gdiaz@orlandosentinel.com.
Copyright © 2004, Orlando Sentinel

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