Could Berto vs Ortiz, Be A Defining Fight?

Andre Berto is one of those fighters thats consider a high risk, low reward. Therefore, he's the last option of the best opposition. I will love to see Berto in the ring with a world class fighter. But whose out there thats willing to take this high risk. Mosley, a champion and fears no fighters, was the only to step up. But we all know what happen to that. Since then, Mosley got a major fight against Mayweather and now lined up to fight Pacman. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is. Could this fight against Ortiz be the defining fight that gets him the major fight he crave for?

Victor Ortiz has all the potential to being a very good fighter. Can't say great because of his one hiccup. Ortiz quitting against Maidana!!! We can all say thats was just one fight. But who really knows what will happen when he feels like his opponents just won't slow down or stop? Yes, Ortiz bit down against Peterson. But because of that fight, I have to still question his heart. Peterson is not known as a big puncher and had Ortiz backing up. Ortiz has a lot to prove. And alone with Berto has his own motivation. His conqueror, Maidana went on to fight Amir Khan and now headlining a card against Morales. Motivation? HELL YEAH. Could Ortiz come into this fight knowing he have something to prove and then proving it? Could this fight be a defining fight for Ortiz?

Who wins and where do they both go from there?

the peterson and maidana fights make ortiz look like he was an overhyped prospect, or at least that he just doesnt have what it takes at the top level

i dont think this will be a defining fight, if ortiz wins then he will be back in the big time for sure but if he loses i think he has a long way to go to be considered top level again

if berto loses then it will be a massive blow for his career, losing his title to a faltering light welterweight, Berto has to win well to gain anything from the fight (appart from money obviously)

I think Berto will win inside the distance

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by erics44

the peterson and maidana fights make ortiz look like he was an overhyped prospect, or at least that he just doesnt have what it takes at the top level

i dont think this will be a defining fight, if ortiz wins then he will be back in the big time for sure but if he loses i think he has a long way to go to be considered top level again

if berto loses then it will be a massive blow for his career, losing his title to a faltering light welterweight, Berto has to win well to gain anything from the fight (appart from money obviously)

I think Berto will win inside the distance

---

Ortiz won't beat Berto. If somehow he pulled the upset, he'd be setting himself up for big, big fights, and Berto would suffer a major set-back. However, it won't happen. Berto will win again and again he has somehow managed to make a ton of money not fighting the guys in the upper echelon fighters in his division.

i'm rooting for Ortiz, if anything he deserves credit for even taking the fight, and IMO if he's able to get it together mentally he can give Berto problems, both guys are leaky in defense, Berto has speed but IMO Ortiz has better power, both guys have been hurt the difference is Ortiz was against one of the hardest hitters in his weight class (Maidana) and Berto was against one of the pillow punchers of his weight class (Collazo), i think the fight's gonna be a lot more competitive than most think

I think it's going to be a very good fight. If Berto loses it will be a major step back, however i think if Ortiz loses and it's a competitive fight he will take a step back but not as drastic as Berto.

This fight to me is a classic case of a promotor who is throwing in the towel on a prospect. He either sinks or swims. This is not a good fight for Ortiz, he should be a huge underdog and if he loses he's going to have a long, long road back. I think Berto wins this fight with a KO. I think Golden Boy isn't seeing what they want from Ortiz and that's why he's in this fight.

I'm hoping it will be a good fight but Berto is the prohibitive favorite. If Berto wins he needs to fight the top guys no matter what. If Ortiz wins it's going to have major ramifications for the welterweight division for years.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jdonaher1

This fight to me is a classic case of a promotor who is throwing in the towel on a prospect. He either sinks or swims. This is not a good fight for Ortiz, he should be a huge underdog and if he loses he's going to have a long, long road back. I think Berto wins this fight with a KO. I think Golden Boy isn't seeing what they want from Ortiz and that's why he's in this fight.

---

Exactly, GBP is serving up Ortiz to Berto. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a down payment on another title shot later from someone else in the stable or possibly a signing. Anyone know when Bertos contract is up? He can't get big defining fights, GBP has got a lot of stroke. Sounds like a match. Win/Win for oscar & co.

2 guys who are young, fast, hard hitters, like to trade and are hungry...
This can go 2 ways.
1. They both come out catious and fight tactical
2. They both come out guns blazing and turn it into a shoot out.


I see Berto getting the TKO win but not before tasting the canvas 1st.

I see Berto takin the TKO win in the middle roundz 6 or 7th

I'm one of the few that thinks berto gets pissed on way too much. People cry about how much he gets paid for the limited comp he faces like they'd turn it down if they were in his position. Berto may hug a bit too much but he's fast, strong, smart and has beat everyone he's faced. He's not facing the best but outside of martinez no one is. Pac is fighting shane (who everyone was quick to say was finished instead of give floyd credit for destroying) , haye has faced no one gamboa and juan ma take turns beating up on the same tomato cans instead of each other, khan is fighting god knows who Mc someone......anyhow. Berto imo will have no or little problems beating ortiz, and i like ortiz.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mar

I'm one of the few that thinks berto gets pissed on way too much. People cry about how much he gets paid for the limited comp he faces like they'd turn it down if they were in his position. Berto may hug a bit too much but he's fast, strong, smart and has beat everyone he's faced. He's not facing the best but outside of martinez no one is. Pac is fighting shane (who everyone was quick to say was finished instead of give floyd credit for destroying) , haye has faced no one gamboa and juan ma take turns beating up on the same tomato cans instead of each other, khan is fighting god knows who Mc someone......anyhow. Berto imo will have no or little problems beating ortiz, and i like ortiz.

---

thing though Pac has already fought at an elite level, Haye is lined up to face Wlad (for the moment) and already beat game opposition at Cruiserweight, Juanma took on Marquez his last outing and already has guys like Luevano, Ponce Deleon, Concepcion, and Penalosa on his record, and Berto has only 2 decent wins on his record one questionable (Collazo & Quintana), Khan just fought the guy everyone wanted him to in Maidana, that said i have no problems with Berto taking on Ortiz cause i don't think it'll be as easy as you think

If Berto win, would it be wise for him to step up to 154? Besides Manny and Floyd, theirs no one else at 147 that's going to make him some money. Since he's fighting a GB fighter, how about Berto vs Alvarez? I would say Cotto but we all know Cotto vs Margarito 2 is coming. Or since Manny is scared of Martinez, Can Martinez come down to 154 and Berto go up?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mar

I'm one of the few that thinks berto gets pissed on way too much. People cry about how much he gets paid for the limited comp he faces like they'd turn it down if they were in his position. Berto may hug a bit too much but he's fast, strong, smart and has beat everyone he's faced. He's not facing the best but outside of martinez no one is. Pac is fighting shane (who everyone was quick to say was finished instead of give floyd credit for destroying) , haye has faced no one gamboa and juan ma take turns beating up on the same tomato cans instead of each other, khan is fighting god knows who Mc someone......anyhow. Berto imo will have no or little problems beating ortiz, and i like ortiz.

---

My opinion, which counts for very little, is that Berto is a fighter that hasn't earned the right to be showcased as much as he is on HBO, to take it further, I don't believe beating Victor Ortiz is taking a big step up. That's the reason he gets flack. If he were fighting these opponents on Showtime or ESPN, no one would say anything bad about him. Berto isn't even calling out the big names. He shares a promoter, Al Hayman, with Floyd Mayweather and Paul Williams, two of the biggest names at or around his weight class, and Berto hasn't called them out once.

Another example of this phenomenon is Saul Alvarez. Saul was showcased on HBO in a fight against Matthew Hatton. Alvarez is at the bottom of the top ten and Hatton isn't in the top ten, yet, somehow they headline a HBO night of boxing. Now, if that fight were on Showtime or ESPN or an independent ppv, I wouldn't have any gripe with it. It's on HBO because he has a powerful promoter, but on paper it wasn't a competitive fight, like Berto's last fight.

You bring up Martinez and you are right Martinez is a good example of a fighter who is on HBO, but who HBO forced to face tough competition.

Pac is fighting Shane. Now, I myself don't have a problem with this fight because if Pac beats Shane he effectively has cleaned out the entire welterweight division. Floyd has fought at welterweight for two more years than Pac and he hasn't faced a third of those top guys. I also didn't have a problem with Floyd facing Shane. Shane may be passed it, but he still is a top five fighter at 147. I am intrigued to see how Pac's performance compares with Floyd's too. Do I believe Pac will win? Yes, but I don't believe it'll be as easy as everyone says it is. To go back to your point, the difference also with Pac is that he has faced top, top competition over his career. Berto has faced Collazo and Quintana, but somehow he is already getting gimme fights.

Haye didn't do too much at cruiserweight and hasn't done all that much at heavyweight, but Haye hasn't been showcased on HBO like Berto has. In addition, Haye is getting in the ring with the current heavyweight champion in his next fight.

Khan faced a big puncher in Maidana when it looked like he was avoiding punchers. I give him credit. It was a gutsy choice of opponent. Moreover, it looks like Khan will be facing Bradley if he gets by McCloskey. That's the biggest possible fight at 140.

I want Gamboa and Lopez to fight too. I think that fight has been built up enough. I won't argue with you there.

I just realized something, Berto has never fought a top 5 welterweight in his career that's an interesting fact isn't it?

No, it is not a defining fight for either guy. Ortiz is a young guy bouncing back after a loss and has never been elite and as GB points out, Berto has hardly been taking on the best. When he did fight someone good, Collazo had him IMO. Berto is a flawed hype job as is Ortiz really.

Berto is the naturally bigger man.
he's confidence still in tact compared to Ortiz who might be having some thoughts on his place after the Maidana fight.

It is a defining fight for both fighters, but probably not the sport in general. Neither fighter is really good enough yet, for the outcome to have any dramatic effect on the sport.

Berto is expected to win, so if he does, he'll basically have just done his job. Ortiz has already shown his weaknesses and unfortunately for him, they're always going to be there, and everyone knows about them.

Berto is also the bigger guy. If Ortiz loses, his dreams of being a headliner are probably close to being over. He won't get too many shots after that.

If Ortiz wins, it still won't erase what happened against Maidana or Peterson. It'll just mean Berto was never as good as many people though.