By Jake Donovan
Given the odds on the fight, his campaigning at a new weight class and what his career had become in recent years, it seemed that fans of “Vicious” Victor Ortiz would’ve simply settled for a strong showing on Saturday night.
Instead, he reminded the boxing world why such lofty praise once surrounded his career.
Ortiz overcame two knockdowns by scoring a pair of his own in outfighting Andre Berto en route to an upset win and ownership of alphabet welterweight hardware in their 12-round thriller Saturday at Foxwood’s MGM Grand in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
Scores were 115-110, 114-111 and 114-112 in a Fight of the Year candidate worthy of a return go.
Well before and also in the days and weeks leading up to the fight, both fighters had received more than their fair share of criticism.
Reviews forever remain mixed on the potential of Berto, a welterweight titlist for nearly three years but viewed as little more than a pampered paper champion who remains relevant due more to his industry connections than the results produced in the ring.
Conversely, Ortiz is best remembered exclusively for what he’s done in the ring, namely bailing out in the sixth round of his June 2009 shootout with Marcos Maidana. The bout headlined an HBO card that evening in efforts to introduce the then-highly touted Ortiz as the future of the sport. Instead, he decided to quit once momentum swung heavily back in Maidana’s favor, this after flooring the Argentinean three times but hitting the deck himself and sensing that the worst was yet to come.
It’s taken nearly two years for him to live down what took place that night, and not helping matters any was the comeback tour, largely comprised of made-to-order opposition. Even at that, his 10-round draw with Lamont Peterson late last year raised questions as to whether or not he truly wanted to be a fighter, and why boxing fans should go out of their way to watch him perform.
Then came the opening round of his welterweight title challenge against Berto.
Ortiz came flying out of the gate, sending the titlist to the canvas twice in the round. The first trip was ruled a slip by referee Michael Ortega, but a right hook and follow-up uppercut later in the round produced the first true knockdown of the evening as well as the first sign that Berto’s reign was in serious jeopardy.
Berto refused to go down without a fight, dusting himself off and roaring back to score an official knockdown of his own in the very next round. A right hand left Ortiz unsteady, touching the canvas with his glove, which the third man correctly ruled a knockdown.
What could’ve been a turning point for the defending titlist instead proved disastrous, as he would claim afterward that he injured his hand in the very same round. Ortiz wasn’t very interested in verifying the legitimacy of the injury, as he regained control of the fight in the third and continued to apply pressure in the ensuing rounds.
The seeds were being planted for a major upset in the works, but Berto came roaring back in the sixth round. The sculpted Floridian scored his second knockdown of the evening with a right hand that came on the heels of an uppercut that had Ortiz dazed and confused moments earlier.
It was the very same round nearly two years ago that saw Ortiz fold when it became clear that things were not going his way. But on this night, the 24-year old southpaw refused to back down or let adversity of any kind get the best of him. What could’ve been a disastrous round instead turned into the defining moment of the night for Ortiz, who ended the frame with a monster left hand to send Berto to the canvas, giving each fighter two knockdowns apiece on the evening.
The second half of the bout didn’t feature quite as much drama as the front six, but that was largely due to Ortiz pressing forward while Berto struggled to regain his rhythm.
The only instance making the fighter that much closer was Ortiz being docked a point in the 10th round for hitting behind the head, having received a warning for the infraction the round prior.
Other than that, it was a masterful performance by Ortiz, fighting as a true welterweight for the first time in his career after having spent of it at or around the junior welterweight limit.
His campaigning at a higher weight was called into question by some, wondering how he could be a force seven pounds the division in which he never came close to living up to the high praise that once surrounded his career,
But by night’s end, it was Ortiz who had the last laugh and earned the industry’s respect as he improved his record to 29-2-1 (22KO).
Berto loses for the first time as a pro, falling to 27-1 (21KO). He was taken to the hospital after the fight for precautionary measures, being checked for injuries to his right hand and also a possible concussion.
Even in defeat, it’s doubtful that many will scoff at Berto’s performance, other than to say that he fell short. His career has been heavily criticized for receiving lofty paydays and preferential treatment by HBO despite boasting a fairly thin resume.
While the paydays aren’t quite the same on Ortiz’ end, much of the same criticism could be heard in his circles, that his level of competition in the wake of his loss to Maidana didn’t warrant as many showcase appearances as he was granted.
But after his strong showing against Berto on Saturday evening, he can for the first time in two years make fans momentarily forget about the worst night of his career and instead remind them why industry experts once fell in love to begin with.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .