Former
world champions Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto
participated in a media conference call to discuss the
upcoming rematch of the 2011 Fight of the Year on
Saturday, Feb. 11, live on SHOWTIME (9 p.m.
ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast), from the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Ten
months after their classic slugfest that was named 2011
"Fight of the Year" (USA Today, Ring Magazine), Ortiz
(29-3-2, 22 KO's), of Ventura, Calif., and Berto (28-1,
22 KO's), of Winter Haven, Fla., will square off again.
The eagerly awaited 12-round fight is a rematch of a
fiercely contested, multiple-knockdown affair on April
16, 2011, that Ortiz won by a unanimous decision
(114-112, 114-111 and 115-110) while capturing Berto's
World Boxing Council (WBC) 147-pound title. Both
fighters were knocked down twice in the fight, with
Berto being dropped in the first, Ortiz going down a
round later and each of them hitting the deck in a wild
sixth round that many called the "Round of the Year" for
2011.
Here's
what the participants had to say on Wednesday's call:
ANDRE BERTO: "We've already
had a tremendous camp and right now we're going through
the motions every day. We're excited about Feb. 11 and
getting to Vegas for a fight of this magnitude. It's
going to be go time"."
How important was it for you to get back in the ring and
beat Jan Zaveck the way that you did?
ANDRE BERTO: "I think it was
tremendously important after you go through the
situations that I went through not to dwell on it for
too long but to just jump back in action. And that's
what I did. I just wanted to take a little time off and
put this fight together for me and I jumped right back
into action."
Did you get a lot of confidence from that?
ANDRE BERTO: "It
definitely helped, but at the end of the day I know I
can fight. If I had a bad night or if you have a bad
day at the gym, at the end of the day you know you're
going to be able to know how to fight."
What's the most important thing Tony Morgan has done for
your career since you started working with him?
ANDRE BERTO: "Me and Tony are
pretty much like family. We started in this game
together when I was like 10, 11 years old. It's just
been our dream to win a world title and to be at any
type level of this fight game. He taught me a lot about
loyalty, he taught me a lot about family. We had a lot
of big dreams, but then again we never really thought
that we'd get to this point coming from such a small
town that we came from."
How did losing the first fight of your career affect
your psyche? Did it have a major affect on you?
ANDRE BERTO: "Of course. It
played with my mind a bit. You get to a point where I
think any fighter would be affected by that. But you
just brush it off, get back on your feet and get back in
there. And that's what I did."
Did it take another fight to build up that confidence?
ANDRE BERTO: "No. In my last
fight I went in there like nothing happened. I went in
there and went straight to work like nothing happened at
all. At the end of the day, you like to be realistic.
That loss put a lot of different things in perspective.
It made me get back and work hard and made me understand
what kind of team and what type of family I have around
me. They were very supportive. If I'm in this boxing
thing or not, I still have that love from my family and
my friends. Like I said, I have that support so I'm
good."
You seemed a little bit tired in that first fight. Is
that true and is that something you've been working on
since then?
ANDRE BERTO: "Of course. I
believe when we trained for that fight I don't think we
trained like we were supposed to. I believe that's
something that fighters go through. You get in a
situation where you have a lot of success and you stay
in your own little circle, your own little box instead
of trying to look out and find the best situations for
you. I think I suffer from that because after that fight
I found out I was anemic and I had to really reach out
to find some help with that because it got to be pretty
serious. I learned I needed to take a lot better care
of my body."
Do you feel that you're past that and you'll be in a lot
better condition for this fight?
ANDRE BERTO: "Of course.
We're working hard and having our doctors checking on me
to make sure my levels are up and making sure I'm
getting all my vitamins that I need to continue to push
to have the best training sessions. Before, we were so
old school in everything. We didn't take vitamins or
protein shakes or none of that, it was just hard work.
But anybody knows that if you're a world-class athlete
you have to train and you have to take care of your body
like you are a world-class athlete. And that's
something that we're really getting into, and we're
trying to take all the right precautions now."
You had estimated after the fight that maybe Ortiz was
on some illegal substance and then you backed off. Is
that something you still believe?
ANDRE BERTO: "No. Ortiz was
just better that night."
LOU
DIBELLA: "That's also not
going to be an issue in this fight as both fighters
agreed to drug testing and there will be drug testing on
this fight and it's not going to be an issue for
anybody. Both sides have to go out there and do the
right thing and both agreed to testing. I think that's a
big step to take away some of the innuendo and the
problems that do exist in our sport. But all you can
ask the fighters to do is say 'Ok, I'll be tested.' And
that's what these two fighters have done."
When will the drug testing start?
ANDRE BERTO: "I believe
they've already tested me twice for this fight -- urine
tests and blood tests."
How was that for you?
ANDRE BERTO: "It was
different, but I went through that as an amateur so it
wasn't something completely different."
Andre, you know that Victor had to go in front of the
Nevada State Athletic Commission for his actions against
Floyd Mayweather. Do you see it as an issue or
advantage for you?
ANDRE BERTO: "I'm not sure.
I'm a clean guy when I'm in there. We just want to make
sure our team watches out for any type of incidental
situations."
Are you bummed out that there is no fight at stake in
this bout?
ANDRE BERTO: "Probably a
little bit, but like I said, right now I'm just trying
to make good fights. I've won two titles now and I'm
just resorting back to why I fell in love with this
sport, (and getting) back to the basics. This fight
right here is a fight that I wanted, a fight that the
people wanted. It's going to be an exciting one and
that's the only thing that I'm worried about"
What does it say about you that you'll take a fight of
this magnitude?
ANDRE BERTO: "It says a lot
about both of us. You see a kid go through a lot of
success, but then again go through a lot of criticism
and a lot of hate. On both sides I believe. To lose
your first fight and come back and win another world
title and give it up to hopefully make another exciting
fight. And the same thing for Ortiz - he came off a
loss against Floyd, he ended up getting knocked out, but
he overcame that and came back to fight another exciting
fight. It shows where we come from. It's in my heart,
it's in my passion to just put on exciting fights. When
we're done with our careers I don't believe we'll have
any regrets."
Is this a better chance for you or Ortiz?
ANDRE BERTO: "I think it's a
good fight for both of us. I lost the fight and came
back and won a world title. I could have gone a
different route but I wanted to take this one. Ortiz
lost to Mayweather. Either way you look at it, you're
putting together two young guys that love to fight and
put on an exciting show."
How have things changed since the first fight against
Ortiz?
ANDRE BERTO: "A lot of
things. We're definitely a lot smarter, we definitely
matured a lot more. We had a chance to put a lot of
different things in perspective, not just in my boxing
career but in life in general. So I think it definitely
helped me for the better."
VICTOR ORTIZ: "I've been
working hard and keeping it positive. There are no
worries in the world right about now, and Berto is
certainly not one of them. At the same time I know I
have to be tremendously tough for this guy, both in and
out of the ring. I'm not a guy who has to sit there and
run his mouth. The thing is, at the end of the day, the
boxing gloves will do the talking. Apparently Berto has
a chip on his shoulder. Well I have a few chips on my
shoulder due to the first Berto fight - it didn't end
the way I wanted it to end - and my last fight wasn't
the greatest. So my roller coaster is re-launching right
now. I want to climax. I'm nowhere near ready to pull
back, not now or in the near future. It's going to be a
great fight, I will be victorious once again and I will
not take no for an answer."
When you fought Andre could you sense that he was
wearing down physically in the end of the fight?
VICTOR ORTIZ: "No, not at
all. It was the same Berto I trained for, actually
better. The only difference - there was a beast in
there with him."
What do you need to do to match his improved strength in
the ring?
VICTOR ORTIZ: "Once again it
comes back that I'm the underdog. That's the story of
my life. I don't really mind it one bit. At the same
time, let's not forget this much - I was a 140-pounder
in the first fight. Now, I'm a natural 147."
Victor, you say you're always an underdog. Is the
scrutiny fair?
VICTOR ORTIZ: "It's the game.
I'm just here. I'm just here to live another day and
become one of the greatest boxers of all time.
Obviously people go through their ups and downs, but I'm
having fun and I'm enjoying every moment of going
through my ups and downs. At the end of the day I'm
just trying to be one of the greats."
Do you like being the underdog?
"No
way, man. Not one bit. That's good though. I enjoy
being that person that's always counted out."
Why do you think people count you out after you won the
first fight?
VICTOR ORTIZ: "I don't know.
That's my only question. At the end of the day I don't
really care what anybody believes but me. I'm ready for
this guy once again."
What is your point of view of having a fight of this
caliber that isn't a title fight?
VICTOR ORTIZ: "I don't mind
it. Given the circumstances that this guy wants to
fight me, I am more than willing to give him a shot.
Why not? He gave me a shot."
What do you expect different in the ring from Berto?
VICTOR ORTIZ: "I don't really
know, but I'm preparing for the best Berto there is
possible, along with my corner. If he's gotten any
better than, hey, that's awesome. That's what we're
expecting. We're expecting the best Berto to be present
and I'm ready."
How's your mental state of mind coming off a loss to
Mayweather.
VICTOR ORTIZ: "I don't think I
lost. (I still) believe in myself. I still see myself
as a world champion. I will never bow down to not being
a world champion because it wasn't right how it happened
in my eyes. Once again, I'm counted out by Berto's
team. To me it's perfectly fine. I don't care. I'm
going to show him why I beat him the first time.
"It's
Berto's second chance, not mine. What do I lose?
Nothing. At the end of the day it's going to be a great
fight.
