Moments ago in Mashantucket, Connecticut, Victor Ortiz captured the greatest victory of his career with a dramatic and thrilling twelve round decision over WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto. It was a fight full of momentum shifts and wild exchanges, as each man scored two knockdowns in the fight, but in the end it was Ortiz’s aggression and greater activity level that secured him the victory.
In the first round Ortiz showed that he had filled out well in his move to 147 pounds, appearing to be the bigger and stronger man in the ring. Towards the end of the round a right uppercut would shake Bert and drop the Haitian-American to the floor and you know that this was going to be a serious fight.
Berto was visibly on wobbly legs but would return the favor in round two, dropping Ortiz with a counter right hand as the Mexican-American was rushing in. Despite being dropped Ortiz still seemed to be fine.
The following rounds saw Ortiz apply pressure and slowly pick Berto apart. Despite Berto showing great courage under fire, he seemed to be out of sorts as Ortiz piled up the points.
Round six was a classic as Berto appeared to gain the edge as he dropped Ortiz with a beautiful left hand. Sensing that Ortiz was injured prey, Berto would go on the offensive, only to be dropped near the end of the round by a counter left by Ortiz.
The second half of the fight may not have been as electric as the first half, as each man was visibly shaken and tired, but the action was still notable. Late in the fight Berto’s trainer Tony Morgan implored that all he had to do was ‘box and everything would be alright’ but the situation seemed much dire.
Ortiz did just enough over the final rounds to steal a couple and, based on the big lead he had over the first six, he appeared to be ahead when the bell rang signaling the end of the fight. Sure enough, scorecards were all read in Ortiz’s favor as he captured his first world title.
Speaking on his huge upset afterwards the Oxnard fighter reaffirmed that he had seen weaknesses in Berto that he felt he could exploit.
“I saw that he was vulnerable on the inside,” said Ortiz. “He’s a great fighter but I had no respect for his power.”
Showing class, Berto admitted that it was Ortiz’s night.
“Nothing was falling into place,” said Berto. “He was just the better man.. [There is] nothing worse than a loss. I just have to get back in the gym and get better.”
Berto mentioned that he would be looking for a rematch while Ortiz said he was going to throw his name into the Manny Pacquiao sweepstakes.
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at [email protected]
