Ortiz Can’t Catch Break, Fight With Berto Is Off

By Rich Mancuso

Victor Ortiz said he was in the best shape of his career. And the return bout with Andre Berto was significant after handing over the WBC welterweight title belt to Floyd Mayweather Jr. So on Tuesday, when Berto had to bail out of their Showtime February 11th engagement it was back to work for Ortiz.

Back to work as to finding another opponent soon for Ortiz, or waiting again for another good opportunity,

In essence, the Golden Boy promoted fighter can’t seem to catch a break. Berto injured his left bicep in training Monday, and though results from an MRI are still pending, Berto is unable to continue training and not able to be ready for the anticipated second bout with Ortiz.

This is one of those bad things that occur in boxing. Injuries are an aspect of the sport, both in and out of the ring. For Ortiz, as with any other fighter, that training period for a major fight, and getting word about a sudden turn of events, well, that can adjust a major game plan for the year ahead.

Lou DiBella, promoter of Berto echoed those sentiments saying “It is one of those sad things that happens.” Berto, reportedly was in the best shape of his career and ready to avenge his unanimous decision loss to Berto last April televised on HBO that was classified as one of the fights of the year.

The first title defense in September for Ortiz was classified as one of those not memorable fights and a loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. He has not been in the mix for another fight with Mayweather, and there was no plans or speculation for Ortiz to fight Mayweather on May 5th. Still to be determined, who will Mayweather oppose on that day at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas and it does not appear it will be Ortiz with the latest turn of events

Regardless, Ortiz won’t be the opponent as Golden Boy, his promoter, is looking for another date because the entire Showtime card from the MGM Grand Arena has been cancelled.

Depending on extent of the injury to Berto, the fight can be rescheduled within three months. But that all depends on how Berto recuperates, and Ortiz will need a fight sooner after the loss to Mayweather. Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy, would not say more than that there was an unfortunate postponement of the fight.

So where does this leave Ortiz who could not be reached for comment? Schaefer said through Golden Boy spokesperson, “Victor is 25- years old and we would not want him to sit around and wait.” That means of course that every attempt will be made to get Ortiz a fight soon.

The opportunity to fight Maywether again would be unexpected, and Ortiz has stated that he wanted another chance at the undefeated champion. If that were to happen, Ortiz would have the opportunity for redemption. And of course, the talk of Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao once again would put on hiatus.

This does pose another interesting point of speculation. Would Pacquiao be willing to take his early June date and oppose Ortiz? Top Rank is still awaiting an answer as to the next opponent for Pacquiao. Ortiz is willing to stay at 147, or a catch weight of 154.

And Ortiz has always stated that two fighters he wanted to meet were Mayweather and Pacquiao. Top Rank said there would be no interest in a possible Pacquiao-Ortiz fight, and Bob Arum has been on the record saying that Ortiz is not a pay-per-view fighter, not a good enough draw to match with Pacquiao.

This post is sponsored in part by Bay Club & Massachusetts Insurance Directory