By Joe Ramos: Last Saturday night from the Foxwoods Resort and Casino boxing fans were treated to another possible Fight of Year Candidate. In consecutive weeks HBO Boxing was able to make everyone forget about the negatives that have surrounded the sport over the past few years and put together a fight that anyone with a pulse would enjoy.
There was also another individual that made people forget some things. Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KO’s) finally got rid of the ghost that has haunted him for the past 2 years and delivered a performance for the ages. Ortiz, not only had a ridiculously huge sombrero on his head when entering the ring last night to face Andre Berto (27-1, 21 KO’s) with Berto’s WBC Welterweight Belt on the line, he also had a huge chip on his shoulder. But not anymore. Ortiz earned the right to have the “Vicious” nickname back. Every boxing fan knows what happened back in 2009 and from here on out it NEVER has to be mentioned again when discussing Ortiz and his career.
In the weeks heading up to the match Ortiz said that he would be the aggressor in the fight and throw every punch with bad intentions. And he did just that. From the opening bell Ortiz quickly established himself as the bully and wasted no time taking it to Berto. Ortiz had Berto on the canvas with just about a minute into the fight. And although referee Michael Ortega did not count it as a knockdown it was obvious that Ortiz was not going to fight the way that he did in some of his more recent lackluster performances. Shortly after the fight resumed Ortiz caught Berto with a right hand followed by a straight left that clearly had Berto hurt and forcing him to take a knee in the corner.
In the second round it was more of the same. Ortiz came out swinging hoping to finish off the champ, but Berto landed a beautiful right hand that knocked Ortiz off balance and giving him his first knockdown of the fight. Although Berto was able to score the knockdown it was evident that Ortiz was not hurt at all from the punch. For the next few rounds both fighters settled down and started to box a little more with Ortiz getting the better of the exchanges.
In the sixth round is where things got really interesting. Ortiz again was the busier fighter, following Berto around and landing some good combinations. Then Berto caught Ortiz with a brutal right hand that landed right on the button and had him down for the second time in the fight. But unlike the first knockdown Victor was clearly hurt and for a moment Ortiz had the same look in his eyes that he did in the Maidana fight. After the standing eight count Berto quickly tried to take advantage of the still wobbled Ortiz, catching him with a couple of hard shots while he was lying against the ropes and making him remember those ghost i spoke of earlier. But this time instead of giving up Ortiz doubled up the left hook and had Berto down again just before the bell. And that is when I believe Ortiz officially put those demons to rest.
In the end Ortiz won the bout by unanimous decision, picking up Berto’s WBC strap along the way. Also now that he holds one of the alphabet titles in the stacked welterweight division, things can certainly get more interesting for Ortiz who’s career was headed down the wrong path until now. As for Berto, I think he’s a good fighter, he just needs to work on his defense, throw more jabs to setup his punches and quit trying to end every fight with one punch cause as he learned the competition only gets better.
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