Fightnews had the chance to catch up with world champion Andre Berto as he arrived in Montreal to attend tonight’s fight between undefeated Chad Dawson and Haitian born Jean Pascal. We were able to get his view on tonight’s HBO televised match-up and what his thoughts were regarding both fighters.

Fightnews: So tell me Andre, what brings you to Montreal .

Berto: Chad Dawson is a friend and I wanted to come by and support my Haitian brother Jean Pascal, I just thought I’d come by and make the trip and pop up and show my support.

Fightnews: With Chad being a friend and Jean being a fellow Haitian, who will you be cheering for tonight?

Berto: I’m just hoping for a good fight, I’m looking forward to seeing an entertaining fight. I think it’s going to be real entertaining, both guys have different styles. Chad is very skilled and Jean is fighting in his hometown and he has a lot to fight for.

Fightnews: What have been your impressions since you’ve been here? I imagine Jean fighting at home isn’t a luxury that a lot of U.S. fighters have all the time.

Berto: I was surprised that they’d come here and fight in his hometown. Now Jean has that luxury so he has to take advantage of it with Montreal coming out to support him. We’ll see what he does.

Fightnews: Any predictions?

Berto: It should be very entertaining. I’ve sparred with Chad a couple times and he’s very solid and a very technical guy. I think Jean will be surprised by the power he has. But Jean is very explosive and he has a lot of heart, so he’s definitely not going to back down too much.

Fightnews: It should be interesting in the fact that Pascal likes to explode in short bursts while Dawson has a way of controlling the tempo of the fight.

Berto: That’s what I’ve been thinking. Chad is very good at setting the pace because he sets his dominance early. He shows his strength and shows his boxing ability early and sets the pace. I believe that if the fight was anywhere else, it would be a lot easier for him just to go in there and take over, set the pace, and have an easy fight. But with Jean fighting here in Montreal , he’s popular and has a lot of fans so he has a shot at it.

Fightnews: Have you had a chance to talk to Jean before?

Berto: He gave me a call just before they made the fight to ask my opinions on it. I just told him I believe it’s a good fight and that it’s a huge fight for him and that he has to realize that he’s fighting for a lot more now, just because he’s of Haitian descent. It takes big fights like this to really be known on a broader scale and it’s going to help the cause as well. So he has a lot more to fight for.

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