 Andre Berto finally stepped up to the plate for his first true test as a champ, when he faced Mexican-American boxer, "Vicious" Victor Ortiz on Saturday (April 16) at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT., and boy, was it an exciting fight.
Ortiz was looking to vilify himself from his 2009 performance against Marcos Maidana, in which he was accused of giving up in the sixth round; and Berto was trying to erase doubts in his championship reign in the welterweight division.
The result: a slugfest, several knock-downs, and a new champ.
The Mexican fighter, who moved up to welterweight to take on Berto, erased his quitter reputation Saturday, claiming the 147-pound title in a sensational fight in which he handed Andre Berto his first defeat.
Over 12 brutal rounds, Ortiz dropped Berto twice, but also had to pick himself off the canvas twice as well. But, he never stopped hounding the unbeaten Berto, both fighters brawling for almost the entire evening.
Berto fell to the canvas quickly in the first, but it was ruled a slip by referee Michael Ortega. Shortly after, however, Ortiz dropped him for real when he landed a solid right hook and an uppercut during a flurry with about 50 seconds left in the round. The now-former champ picked himself up and turned things around the very next round, when he knocked down Ortiz with a counter right that stunned him enough that his gloves in the canvas.
However, the Mexican fighter composed himself and got back to his game plan -- more brawling!
In a wild sixth round -- that will be remembered in boxing for years to come -- Berto seemed to have gained control when he caught Ortiz with a perfect straight right hand that dropped him right where he stood for the second time in the fight. While Ortiz managed to get up, he hadn't recovered. He was wobbled, and Berto smelled blood, so he went in for the finish. Just when screaming fans thought he had him, Ortiz shocked everyone when he caught the champ with a couple of lefts that sent Berto to the deck with seconds left in the round.
It was back and forth the rest of the way as the crowd took turns chanting for each fighter -- and booing Floyd Mayweather Jr. when he was shown on the big screen from the front row.
When the bell sounded in the 12th, everyone knew who the winner was. Ortiz prevailed with a unanimous decision.
"This was the moment I have been working for my whole life," Ortiz said. "This was my dream. I wasn't going to stand for anything less."
After the fight, commentators called Ortiz boxing's newest star. That's probably too much too fast, but if he continues to put on fights like this, he'll quickly become one.
Berto, in his post-fight interview, took his hat off to Ortiz, but was still disappointed by the loss. He basically said: "That wasn't me in there tonite." But, he promised to go back to the drawing board, and would be ready for the rematch.
"Berto didn't have a good night, no excuses," said Lou DiBella, Berto's promoter. "Ortiz beat him, that's it. It was a great war. If that's not a rematch fight, no fight should be a rematch. That could be three fights."
"Yeah, I want a rematch," Berto said.
According to SI.com, a stretcher waited for Berto outside of his locker room to take him to the hospital to treat a broken right hand and a possible concussion.
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