By Joe Ramos: On Saturday April 16th at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Casino we all just might get some answers to the questions surrounding two of boxing’s up and coming welterweights Andre Berto 27-0-0 21 ko’s and Victor Ortiz 28-2-2 22 ko’s.
It’s been quite awhile now since we have seen either guy against a fighter with any talent. So it’s fitting that they get to face each other with Berto’s WBC welterweight strap on the line. But before I get to predictions let’s take a look at what they bring to the ring.
Let’s begin with Ortiz. He was Golden Boy Promotions…well Goldenboy. Everytime you seen Delahoya on T.V or doing an interview for anyone, he was hyping Ortiz up to be the next big thing in boxing. Ortiz himself seem to start believing the hype as well. That is until GBP made the mistake of matching Ortiz up with the tough but unknown knock out artist from Argentina, Marcos Maidana.
The fight took place on June 27, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angelas, CA. It was supposed to be sort of a coming out party For Ortiz. It was televised on HBO’s Boxing After Dark, in the pre fight interviews and even entering the ring Victor looked at ease and why shouldn’t he.
Ortiz had his promoters and every fan in attendance cheering him on and boosting his ego, that is until he did the unmentionable, the one thing that NO boxing fan can accept from a fighter they support and that is quit. The fight started off well for Ortiz. He showed blazing hand speed, good movement and some power to back it up. He quickly jumped all over Maidana and had him on the canvas within two minutes into the first round.
Although Maidana was knocked down he did not seem to be fazed by Victor’s power and immediatly got up and delivered a right hand that absolutely leveled Ortiz. After getting up you could tell that Ortiz was shaken and didn’t quite have his legs back. Good thing the round was just about over cause im not sure if Ortiz could have made it to the bell. In the 2nd round Ortiz used his hand speed and accurate punching to put Maidana down two more times, but that’s when the fight went in a different direction.
At that point after having Maidana taste the canvas 3 times in the first 2 rounds, Ortiz knew he didn’t have enough in him to finish off the pressure fighter. Maidana started stalking Ortiz around the ring for the next four rounds until making Victor do his best Roberto Duran impression and quit. In the post fight interviews Ortiz said that “he was young and should not be taking punishment like this”.
Well, Victor, I am sorry to break this to you, but this is boxing and sometimes you just might be punished. Since then Ortiz has been matched against much softer competition. With the exception of Lamont Peterson which by the way was one of the most boring fights I have ever seen, everyone on Ortiz’ resume since then were well past their prime when he faced them. With all this said I believe that Victor does have enough weapons in his arsenal to defeat Berto, the question is Does he have the heart to take it.
Now on to Berto. This is a guy who has compiled an impressive record so far, 27 wins 0 losses and 21 KO’s.
The problem with Berto is, he hasn’t fought anyone! He was slated to take on Shane Mosely in February of 2010 that was until a devastating earthquake rocked Haiti and the fight was called off, rightfully so as far as i was concerned. But instead of seeking out a fight with one of the more talented fighters in the loaded welterweight division Berto chose to go the easy route and fight Carlos Quintana in April 2010 and followed it up with a one punch knockout of Freddy Hernandez in November of last year.
No disrespect to either Quintana or Hernandez both decent fighters in their own right, but there were other fighters calling Berto out. Not only that but Berto himself was calling out tougher fighters. I know it’s boxing and there are a lot of politics behind the scenes but c’mon, really? There weren’t other fights to be made? But let me not get off the topic at hand.
Berto’s toughest fight to date as we all know was Luis Collazo. This was a fight that i thought Berto had lost and why a rematch was never made, who knows? What i do know is Collazo shares some similarities with Ortiz. They are both southpaws, they both throw a very good straight left hand and they are just about the same size. I am sure Berto is hoping that’s where the similarities end. The last thing i believe he wants is to get into another war and have his talents doubted by boxing fans.
And now to my prediction. I think that Berto wins this fight by Unanimous Decision. I see Berto using his hand speed and quick reflexes to out box Ortiz for much of the fight. Now if the “Vicious” Victor Ortiz shows up in Foxwoods Resort Casino on Saturday he might have other plans, but i have not seen that Ortiz in quite some time.
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