Two-time former welterweight world champion Andre Berto suffered an injury during sparring on Saturday that resulted in a torn bicep muscle, and is forced to withdraw from his bout against Miguel Cruz that was scheduled for this weekend at the Barclays Center.
Berto tweaked his left bicep muscle during sparring earlier last week and tore the tendon during his final sparring session on Saturday in preparation for the Cruz bout. After an MRI revealed the extent of the injury, doctors advised Berto to withdraw from the fight and have surgery as soon as possible.
“Saturday was the last day of sparring and I was trying to finish and keep going strong,” said Berto. “I threw a left hook and I felt a squeeze and a pop. I started yelling and cursing, because I knew what happened. I’ve had injuries before. Even though it was bad, I thought it was something that I could get a cortisone shot and fight with. But the MRI showed that the tendon was torn from the bone and I need surgery as soon as possible.
“It’s devastating because I worked hard for eight weeks and I’m in dog shape. I was just ready to go. This just kills me. It’s so freaky that it happened on the last day of sparring. When I hurt it on Tuesday, I just taped it up and went back to work. The doctors say there was a slight tear on Tuesday because there was still some inflammation when I came back to spar on Thursday and Saturday. They say it would have torn during the fight.”