Victor Ortiz: Berto Has Big Mouth, I Created Blueprint To Beat Him

By Carlos Boogs

Former welterweight world champions 'Vicious' Victor Ortiz (31-5-2, 24 KOs) and Andre 'The Beast' Berto (30-4, 23 KOs) will finally get in the ring for a rematch of their 2011 'Fight of The Year' war - where both boxers were dropped twice.

The rematch takes place on April 30 as the headline bout of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on FOX, from the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.

Ortiz won a twelve round decision in the first. The win gave him the WBC welterweight title and a high profile fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the fall.

Berto has been out of the ring since losing a twelve round decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It was Mayweather's final career bout. Prior to that, Berto stopped Josesito Lopez in six rounds last March, but the fight was razor-close before they entered that round. Ortiz had his jaw broken and was stopped by Lopez in 2012.

Ortiz has not been very active in the last few years. It took a long time to recover from the jaw injury in the Lopez bout. He returned a year and a half later to suffer a second round knockout loss to Luis Collazo in January 2014. He's won his last two, with TKO wins over Manuel Perez, and Gilberto Leon last December.

Ortiz wants to punish Berto in the rematch. He believes his performance in the first fight created the blueprint that other opponents used against Berto in future outings.
 
"I know I'm in for another war," said Ortiz. "I've always been open to a rematch because Berto has a big mouth and something to prove. After our fight, he went on a losing streak, because I gave his opponents a blueprint on how to beat him. My losses have been unfortunate, but I wouldn't want to come up against me at this stage in the game. My name is Victor and that's no coincidence."