By Dan Ambrose: The last time Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KO’s) and Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KO’s) met up last April, both Ortiz and Berto hit the canvas two times a piece and it was a pretty close affair until Berto ran out of gas in the second half of the fight. However, this time it’s going to be different. Ortiz is coming into this fight with a purpose after losing by an embarrassing 4th round TKO to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September. Ortiz let his guard down in the fight by trying to be a nice guy and apologize after headbutting Mayweather.

The knockout loss taught Ortiz a valuable lesson to never show weakness nor ease up on his opponents in the ring. Ortiz already has the blueprint in how to beat Berto from the last time they fought. Ortiz knows that Berto can’t handle pressure well, can’t fight on the inside and can’t fight at a high pact for more than three rounds without wearing down.

Berto had been working on trying to fix his stamina problems before his last fight against IBF welterweight champion Jan Zaveck, but Berto looked just as faded after the 3rd round in that fight as he was against Ortiz. As you can see there hasn’t been any improvement in Berto’s stamina and this is going to be a big problem for him against the younger, busier Ortiz. He’s going to take the fight to Burt and force him to fight at a fast pace that he can’t sustain for any length of time.

Berto is one of those type of that can fight well when he’s the one setting the pace and fighting in fast, controlled spurts. He’s a lot like Jean Pascal with his tendency to fight in brief bursts followed by rest breaks. Ortiz didn’t let Berto get those rest breaks last time out and he faded out after the 3rd round. Berto briefly got a little more energy in the 6th when he knocked Ortiz down, but from then on, Berto was fighting on fumes.