By Jim Dower: Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KO’s) and Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KO’s) will be doing it again next month in a rematch on February 11th a the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. This time there won’t be any title belts on the line, as Ortiz lost his World Boxing Council welterweight title in his last fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year in September, and Berto recently vacated his IBF welterweight title that he won against Jan Zaveck last September.

Ortiz handled Berto pretty well last time they fought, taking Berto’s early bombs without getting knocked out and then coming on in the second of the fight to wear Berto down and win a decision. Ortiz was like a man possessed in that fight. He felt disrespected by boxing fans and he was going o prove that he deserved to be fighting for a title. Still, it was a close call for Ortiz, as he was knocked down twice and badly hurt on the second knockdown.

The difference in the fight seemed to be that Berto didn’t have the fuel to finish off Ortiz when he had him down and badly hurt. Berto made some serious mistakes in the fight, starting with his habit of laying against the ropes and trying to fight Ortiz at close quarters. Berto didn’t have the skills to compete with Ortiz in close and it was like watching Amir Khan flounder around on the inside against Lamont Peterson. Berto didn’t resort to fouling like Khan did in order to escape the inside attacks from Ortiz and he was forced to take a lot of heavy shots in the fight.

Berto will likely try and fight differently in the rematch by staying in the middle of the ring and using the entire ring to take advantage of his better quickness. However, Ortiz gets around the ring really well and it might not be much of an advantage for Berto to stay in the center of the ring unless he’s got a plan to try and neutralize Ortiz’s offense. The best way to beat Ortiz is to get him early before he’s relaxed and fighting at full strength. This was done by Marcos Maidana and also by Mayweather recently. Ortiz is vulnerable in the first six rounds of his fights if he’s attacked hard. He seems to lose his confidence a times when he’s put under a lot of pressure and is hit hard. Berto has to to all out in the first six rounds and stay off the ropes if h wants to win this fight. If he gasses out in the second half of the fight then so be it but he’s got to really put some pressure on Ortiz early if he wants to make a quick night of it. Ultimately, I think it will save Berto from having to take a lot of punishment.