A rematch five years in the making is on the verge of being announced that would see Victor Ortiz once share the ring with old welterweight rival Andre Berto.
The pair originally met in what was affectively a final eliminator to face Floyd Mayweather back in 2011 and lit up Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut for six rounds of an entertaining WBC title encounter.
Berto was defending his green title at the time and fancied to triumph, but was shocked by the challenger in the very first round when dropped unceremoniously to the canvas. Ortiz then tasted the floor himself in the next session as the pair pounded on each other in one of the most dramatic fights of the year. Both fighters went down in the sixth round, which then seemed to be the realisation by the fighters that the contest couldn?t go on this way.
The protagonists then played out the final six rounds using less-than-entertaining tactics until title holder Berto was eventually dethroned by Ortiz on the scorecards.
Ortiz made a first defense against Mayweather that September, losing his belt controversially when blind-sided by the pound for pound king before returning nine months later to face Josesito Lopez. A shock ninth round stoppage loss ended any hopes Ortiz had of a rematch with Berto at the time, whilst a 2014 attempt to pit the two together again was scuppered when the Winter Haven man was halted by Jesus Soto Karass.
Finally, a second fight is on the cards for the StubHub Center in Carson, California on April 30 and could be backed up by a featherweight contest between Fernando Montiel and Jorge Lara.
More is expected to be revealed soon as Berto bids to make his return from losing to Mayweather himself last September in what was the last fight of the ?Money? man?s undefeated career.
