Can Andre Berto avoid the power of Vicious Victor to pull off the big payback?
Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto put on a great performance in their first meeting in April of 2011 by producing exciting round after round action en route to creating one of the best fights in 2011.
Going into that fight, most experts felt that Berto should win the fight easy and successfully defend his WBC welterweight title against a fighter in Ortiz who many felt was simply unsure of his boxing abilities, not to mention making his welterweight debut. Of course, Ortiz fooled a lot of people.
In their first meeting, the two combatants were able to produce four knockdowns with both fighters tasting the canvas twice, and neither fighter backed down from the other as both fought like their lives depended on it.
In the end, Ortiz was awarded the twelve round unanimous decision victory and became the new WBC welterweight champ. After the Berto fight, Ortiz went on to lose the WBC welterweight title to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in September of 2011, while Berto picked up the pieces after he suffered the first loss of his professional boxing career and went on the capture the IBF Welterweight crown from Slovenian Jan Zaveck.
Now Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto are all set for Act II which will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV on February 11, 2012, in a fight that could end up becoming the leading candidate for 2012 fight of year.
Tale of the Tape
“Vicious” Victor Ortiz is 24 years old with a professional record consisting of 29 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws, and 22 victories coming by way of knockout. He stands at 5 feet 9 inches tall with a 70 inch reach, fighting out of the southpaw stance.
Andre “The Beast” Berto is 28 years old with a great record consisting of 28 wins, 1 loss, and he also has 22 victories that came by way of knockout. He stands at 5 feet 8 and one half inches tall with a 70 and one half inch reach, fighting out of the orthodox stance.
Victor Ortiz vs. Andre Berto Preview
“Vicious” Victor Ortiz is the former WBC welterweight champion. Born in Garden City, Kansas, the story of his rough childhood has since become well known. Ortiz had a great amateur boxing career as he won the Kansas Golden Gloves and became prominent in the national circuit.
Ortiz won the Junior Olympics in 2003 at the age of 16 in the 132 pound weight division, and would later be discovered by Robert Garcia, current trainer of boxing sensation Brandon Rios and Antonio Margarito, and at the age of 17, Ortiz would move again, this time to Oxnard, California to be trained by Robert Garcia.
After being eliminated from the 2004 United States Olympic Trials, Ortiz would turn professional and begin taking the boxing world by storm with his aggressive, hard punching style. He would become one of the hottest prospects until the sport until he was derailed by Marcos Maidana, infamously quitting in the bout after a seesaw, violent six round encounter. Under the tutelage of Danny Garcia, he slowly rebuilt his confidence before he moved up to welterweight and got the huge win against Berto, and the huge opportunity against Mayweather.
Andre “The Beast” Berto is the former two-time welterweight champion. (He relinquished his IBF title in order to secure the rematch with Ortiz). Raised in Winter Haven, Florida, the Haitian-American was introduced to boxing by his father who was a mixed martial arts fighter at the time.
Berto had a great amateur boxing career as he won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Amateur Championships, was a two-time National Golden Gloves champion, a two-time National PAL champion and a three-time United States amateur championship medalist. After turning pro, he began to become prominent as he defeated a string of fighters including David Estrada, Miguel Angel Rodriguez in which he landed the uppercut from Hell to capture the WBC welterweight title, Steve Forbes, Luis Collazo, Juan Urango, and Carlos Quintana.
Ortiz vs. Berto II Prediction
This fight has the potential to become the fight of the year for 2012. Berto has the ability to play the game “hit and not be hit,” but he chooses to brawl. In this fight, I expect both fighters to start out firing away again as both have so much at stake. Therefore, the question will be whether or not Berto can deal with Ortiz’s pressure, and power. If not, I expect for lightning to strike twice and Ortiz will have his hand raised in victory once again.
In the end though, I expect Berto to settle down in this fight and box Ortiz more than brawl with him and use his elusive skills and speed to catch Ortiz with a lot of hard counterpunches. I feel Berto will take his lumps as well, so if he wants to get back into the good graces of the boxing community, he’ll need to survive those tough moments and propel himself forward.
I feel that both fighters at some point in this fight will have the other in serious trouble and I also feel that this rematch will not go the distance. On February 11, 2012, two will enter ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV, but only one will get knocked out.
Prediction: Berto by eighth round knockout.
