Devon Alexander and Andre Berto, both former welterweight world titleholders, will fight each other hoping to earn a bigger bout in one of boxing’s deepest divisions.
Alexander and Berto will meet in a scheduled 12-round bout on Aug. 4 in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions card (Fox and Fox Deportes, 7:30 p.m. ET) at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, PBC announced on Thursday.
Alexander and Berto were supposed to meet on the undercard of the Mikey Garcia-Robert Easter Jr. lightweight unification fight on July 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles until the fight was shifted.
“Andre Berto and Devon Alexander meet in a high-stakes crossroads battle with the winner emerging one step closer to another shot at the welterweight crown,” said Lou DiBella, who will co-promote the card with Tom Brown of TGB Promotions.
In the opener, former middleweight world titlist “Kid Chocolate” Peter Quillin will face J’Leon Love in a 10-round super middleweight fight.
Alexander (27-4-1, 14 KOs), 31, of St. Louis, also a former junior welterweight titlist, headlined the last PBC on Fox card on Feb. 17 and appeared to easily outpoint former welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz but came away with a disputed draw. The fight was Alexander’s second following a 25-month layoff due in part to treatment for an addiction to painkillers.
“I’m very excited about this fight. Berto and I have history going back to the amateurs,” Alexander said. “I know him very well, but we’ve never fought. I have to show that I’m still one of the best in a stacked division. This is all business for me because at this point in my career I’m approaching every fight as if it’s my last. This is prime time for me.
“My mentality is that Berto is still the killer that he was 10 years ago. So I’m looking at him like he’s lost nothing. I’ve got one mission, and that’s to beat Berto. I’ll be technically sound and 100 percent focused on accomplishing that task.”
Berto (31-5, 24 KOs), 34, of Winter Haven, Florida, has been inactive in recent years. Since losing a lopsided decision in a world title fight to Floyd Mayweather in September 2015, Berto has fought just twice. He is coming off a one-sided ninth-round knockout loss to former titlist Shawn Porter in April 2017 but knows how big of a boost beating Alexander would be to his career.
“This is a great fight that has been a long time coming,” Berto said. “We share some common opponents, but we have different styles of fighting and styles make fights. I’ve had a lot of success with southpaws. I’m looking forward to seeing him in front of me and capitalizing on what I’m working on now.”
Since Quillin (33-1-1, 23 KOs), 35 of Brooklyn, New York, lost by shocking first-round knockout to Daniel Jacobs in a heavily-hyped middleweight title bout in December 2015, he has only boxed once. Last September, Quillin moved up to super middleweight and struggled in an eight-round decision win over journeyman Dashon Johnson.
“I’m excited to be back at home in New York in front of my fans and people I love so dearly,” Quillin said. “I’m coming back more polished and more seasoned and a man of God. I’ve definitely always been a guy who steps out and does what people think I can’t do. I know J’Leon is looking to make a splash. He needs a name on his resume. I have to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen. Either he’s going to have to learn a hard lesson or give me a hard lesson.”
Las Vegas resident Love (24-1-1, 13 KOs), 30, a Mayweather protégé, knocked Johnson out in the sixth round in 2016 though a win against Quillin would be the most notable of his career.
“I think this is a really good matchup,” Love said. “Peter Quillin is a very talented fighter and a former world champion who is always in great shape. He’s someone you have to train very hard for and that you definitely cannot take lightly. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to fight a spectacular fighter like him. We’ll put on a great fight.”
The winner can expect a bigger fight.
“The Peter Quillin and J’Leon Love winner factors heavily in the super middleweight championship mix,” Brown said.
Before the Fox broadcast, two 10-round undercard fights will be featured on Fox Sports 2 and Fox Deportes beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET with light heavyweight contender Marcus Browne (21-0, 16 KOs) taking on Lenin Castillo (18-1-1, 13 KOs) and former welterweight world titlist Luis Collazo (37-7, 20 KOs) meeting Bryant Perrella (15-1, 13 KOs).
Browne, 27, a 2012 U.S. Olympian from Staten Island, is taking the fight because he was dropped from an Aug. 4 shot at world titleholder Sergey Kovalev on HBO when news of an arrest on a domestic violence charge surfaced.
“I feel good about fighting close to home in New York,” Browne said. “Lenin Castillo is definitely a good, hungry, up-and-coming fighter who has one loss to Joseph Williams. I’m not overlooking him, but right now I’m trying to keep my top position in order to vie for a title, so I have to destroy him.” Castillo, 29, of the Dominican Republic, has won three fights in a row since the loss to Williams in February 2017.
“Marcus Browne is a boxer I’ve been following a long time because we were both Olympians,” Castillo said. “This is a good style matchup that I think will make a fun fight for the fans. We’re looking for the victory. Both of us know that a win here can take us to a world title shot and I’m not planning on wasting my opportunity.”
Collazo, 37, of Brooklyn, has not fought since an impressive sixth-round knockout Sammy Vasquez in February 2017. Collazo was supposed to fight last fall but suffered a torn biceps during training and underwent surgery. Fellow southpaw Perrella, 29, of Fort Myers, Florida, bounced back from a fourth-round knockout loss to contender Yordenis Ugas in September 2016 to win an eight-round decision over Alex Martin in December.