By Luis Sandoval
The rematch between Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto taking place on June 23rd at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA was originally scheduled to take place on February 11th but was postponed due to an injury suffered by Berto during training camp. While the injury not only pushed the fight back, it also left Victor Ortiz on the sidelines as he had to deal with a fighters worst enemy; inactivity.
Even though Ortiz has not fought since last September when he took on Floyd Mayweather Jr, he hasn’t just been relaxing and letting the time off get the better of him. Ortiz has actually kept busy and explained to BoxingScene.com the time off isn’t as big of a problem as most would think.
"I haven’t been out of the ring. I train year round. I enjoy the gym. I enjoy what I do. I love what I do. I don’t believe in taking any time off. My coaches get on my case about it too sometimes. ‘Dude, you need to relax, you need to rest’. I’m just like ehhh” said a smiling Ortiz.
While Ortiz did his best to keep in shape and still remain in the boxing gym, many wondered why he didn’t pursue an interim fight while Berto recovered from his injury. After all, both fighters had put in an adequate amount of time into their camp and it probably would’ve been a good idea for Ortiz to remain active. It turns out Ortiz never had that option to begin with.
“I wanted to but it was on contract with [Andre] Berto and I couldn’t do it. I wanted to but couldn’t” explained Ortiz.
His contract with Berto prevented him from taking any fights before their rematch and forced him to wait on Berto.
The rematch with Andre Berto isn’t the only rematch Ortiz would like to partake in this year if it were up to him. A fight Ortiz would love to have is a second go around with the pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather who knocked him out in the 4th round of their fight in one of the most memorable and bizarre moments in boxing in recent years. Ortiz definitely wants to avenge his loss and will be watching the Mayweather-Cotto fight on May 5th very closely.
“Definitely, [that’s a fight I’d want]. I’ll take the winner” said Ortiz.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @truewest007. You can also tune in to Boxingscene’s official audio show The Boxing Lab every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.
