Berto Arm Injury Forces Cancellation of Rematch Against Victor Ortiz; Postponement Dates Being Discussed as Possibility
Due to a left biceps injury sustained while training on Monday, January 30, Andre Berto will be unable to compete in his scheduled February 11 Showtime televised bout against Victor Ortiz at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., forcing a cancellation of the event on that date. All parties involved are actively seeking a possible postponement date for Ortiz vs. Berto II.
Information regarding previously purchased tickets being honored for a possible postponement date will be released as it becomes available or, alternatively, ticketholders can contact their place of purchase for refunds.
More information will be announced as it becomes available.
This is an unfortunate turn of events not only for Berto and Ortiz, but also for the boxing world which has been desperately looking forward to the start of some big, competitive and entertaining fights for the year.
All of the boxing news stories so far in 2012 have basically been centered on the big what if of Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. Ortiz vs. Berto II was right around the corner, a rematch of the 2011 Fight of the Year, and would have been a welcome respite.
Now that’s not going to happen, although hopefully the two sides can come together and get something figured out sooner than later rather than cancelling the fight for good.
Berto’s injury became public knowledge on Monday afternoon, at which point things were looking cloudy at best for this fight, although some people were trying to keep up some optimism about everything still going off as planned. However, when the fighter ends up in the hospital checking out an arm injury less than two weeks before fight night, it’s never a good sign.
So, Ortiz vs. Berto II is cancelled, and potentially will be postponed to a later date. Boxing fans will have to keeping waiting for the first big fights of the year. At least this weekend’s Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Marco Antonio Rubio and Nonito Donaire vs. Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. HBO doubleheader should provide some entertainment.
