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It?s no secret that there is a little bit of bad blood between former champions Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto heading into their February 11th rematch at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ortiz edged Berto via unanimous decision last April 16th, registering two knockdowns and surviving a pair of his own in one of the year?s best fights. The loss was so devastating to Berto that he secluded himself for a short period in order to find ways of coping with his first defeat.
Ortiz thought he had pulled out his most defining win without controversy but was appalled to see Berto hint on June 1st that Victor was under the use of performance-enhancing drugs in their first encounter. Ortiz took extreme exception to Berto?s claims and hasn?t seemed to let go of those assertions.
?He sat there and accused me of certain things that I won?t even get into,? Ortiz told me this past Monday in Ventura, California moments before his latest training took place. ?I can just say that he spoke the truth about himself, just using me as a face,? Ortiz continued. ?He threw curveballs this way for no reason. He?s trying to convince himself that he never arrived that night. The world knows he did. Everyone who knows boxing knows Berto was on his game that night.?
The words from Ortiz?s camp have been strong but instead of returning fire of his own, Berto has embraced a low-key and steely focus heading into his revenge opportunity. During a recent media workout in Van Nuys, California, Berto admitted there were lessons he took from that fateful night last April.
?To never look past an opponent,? Berto stated on Tuesday afternoon from the Ten Goosen Gym in Van Nuys. ?And just making sure I do everything I have to do to come into the fight so I won?t have any doubts. I definitely learned a lot from and it and we?re here today and we?re ready to go.?
And if his workout session, though rather brief, was of any indication, you can tell that Berto is getting primed for February 11th as he hit the mitts with great fervor with his coach Tony Morgan and later punished the heavy bag for a short spell.
Berto has always had explosive capabilities given his solid pop and great speed. He will likely have to put everything together in order to overcome Ortiz and he seems to be leaving little room for error.
