Berto vs. Ortiz on HBO saturday

[Myk_Myk]

I was rooting for Berto in this fight, but Ortiz won me over and I found myself pulling for him as the fight wore on. The reason wasn't just because of Ortiz's great performance, but because of frustration with Berto.

After the Collazo fight I thought Berto had learned to better utilize his natural skills, rather than trying to out muscle his opponents. In the Quintana fight, I thought he fought a great fight that best utilized his assets. Maybe it was to Ortiz's credit for drawing Berto into that kind of brawl, but for whatever reason Berto fought a fight that IMO wasn't giving him his best chances to win.

Kudos to to Ortiz for a great victory. For Berto, the commentators talked of his stock going up even in defeat, but in my mind it, went down.

Berto does have some natural talent, but he tends to be a one dimensional "slugger" without solid boxing skills. Ortiz for the most part neutralized Berto's power, and when he did, Berto was like a fish out of water, without any backup plan. It's sad to say, but Berto is just not a very smart fighter, and lacks the ability to adjust, he gave away at least 3 or 4 rounds of this fight laying on the ropes and letting Ortiz pound on him, how fucking smart was that?

As for Berto's stock, it pretty much goes in the toilet unless he comes back and looks spectacular in a rematch with Ortiz, but frankly, I don't see Berto doing any better in a rematch.

If you're saying Ortiz neutralized Berto's power because of his work rate buy not allowing Berto to get off, I don't agree with that for about 70% of the time. Berto didn't seem to be able to pull the trigger. He did throw because it appeared like he was looking for a knockout shot and not because of Ortiz's fight plan. If you listen to Berto's corner they keep telling Berto to box. Berto didn't listen. Berto could have done way better.

Ortiz didn't really have much of a fight plan except to out work Berto on the inside by attacking to the body. I'm sure Ortiz will tell you he felt every bit of Berto's power. Ortiz just handled the blows better than Berto. But I think the real affect on Berto was that body attack which seemed to take most of Berto's stamina.

This is exactly what I was getting at. Berto does have a much better skill set than he displayed, but he seems to get caught up in thinking he can just blow the other fighter out of the water with his strength and power. Berto could have used his jab and speed, and taken enough off his punches to up his connect percentage for instance.

One thing that stood out to me was that even with the amount punishment doled out to both fighters faces, neither was noticeably marked up at the end!?

[mafiajoey]

I was rooting for Berto in this fight, but Ortiz won me over and I found myself pulling for him as the fight wore on. The reason wasn't just because of Ortiz's great performance, but because of frustration with Berto.

After the Collazo fight I thought Berto had learned to better utilize his natural skills, rather than trying to out muscle his opponents. In the Quintana fight, I thought he fought a great fight that best utilized his assets. Maybe it was to Ortiz's credit for drawing Berto into that kind of brawl, but for whatever reason Berto fought a fight that IMO wasn't giving him his best chances to win.

Kudos to to Ortiz for a great victory. For Berto, the commentators talked of his stock going up even in defeat, but in my mind it, went down.

Berto does have some natural talent, but he tends to be a one dimensional "slugger" without solid boxing skills. Ortiz for the most part neutralized Berto's power, and when he did, Berto was like a fish out of water, without any backup plan. It's sad to say, but Berto is just not a very smart fighter, and lacks the ability to adjust, he gave away at least 3 or 4 rounds of this fight laying on the ropes and letting Ortiz pound on him, how fucking smart was that?

As for Berto's stock, it pretty much goes in the toilet unless he comes back and looks spectacular in a rematch with Ortiz, but frankly, I don't see Berto doing any better in a rematch.

If you're saying Ortiz neutralized Berto's power because of his work rate buy not allowing Berto to get off, I don't agree with that for about 70% of the time. Berto didn't seem to be able to pull the trigger. He did throw because it appeared like he was looking for a knockout shot and not because of Ortiz's fight plan. If you listen to Berto's corner they keep telling Berto to box. Berto didn't listen. Berto could have done way better.

Ortiz didn't really have much of a fight plan except to out work Berto on the inside by attacking to the body. I'm sure Ortiz will tell you he felt every bit of Berto's power. Ortiz just handled the blows better than Berto. But I think the real affect on Berto was that body attack which seemed to take most of Berto's stamina.

This is exactly what I was getting at. Berto does have a much better skill set than he displayed, but he seems to get caught up in thinking he can just blow the other fighter out of the water with his strength and power. Berto could have used his jab and speed, and taken enough off his punches to up his connect percentage for instance.

One thing that stood out to me was that even with the amount punishment doled out to both fighters faces, neither was noticeably marked up at the end!?

Possibly because Berto's skin pigment hides the bruises better. If you put a tattoo on Ortiz and Berto you will see it on Ortiz.....Probably won't see it on Berto. So in essence Ortiz tatted Bertos face rather well I would assume.