Could Berto vs Ortiz, Be A Defining Fight?

[Rantcatrat]

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.

[generalbulldog]

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

[Gandalf]

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.

[miron_lang]

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.

[ono]

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.