Ortiz, Berto speak

By Mariano A. Agmi

Quotes from today’s teleconference featuring Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz:

Victor Ortiz: “Preparations have been as I anticipated: nothing easy about camp.  Mike Tyson once said, ‘Everyone has a plan until he gets hit.’ Everyone says he’s powerful, well, so am I.  He’s speedy, so am I.  I’m taking that green belt at the end of the day.  I’m going to do whatever it takes to bring that belt home with me.  I know where I’m going, I know what I want.  I don’t just want to be, but I must be champion of the world.  Berto has been touted as being the next big thing.  I completely disagree.  I’m just trying to dare to be great.  Berto was the only one to give me a shot, and I just want my belt.  I’m going to be crowned no matter what.”

Andre Berto: “I caught the end of Victor’s call and it seemed like a lot of the guys asking questions were from his gym and they were really gassing him up.  April 16 will be a reality check for him.  His coaches can tell him anything they want, but the ring is a really cold place and he’s going to find out the truth.  This fight is definitely not going the distance.  At the end of the day, skills are gonna pay the bills.  He can fight, but he’s very limited in a lot of areas.  He has to be set on his feet to try to throw certain types of punches.  If I would have hit him with the shots that Peterson hit him with, it would have been over in three [rounds].

“Every time I fight I have the heart of a lion, because that’s just how I’m built.  As for him, you have to question his heart, because that’s what he showed against Maidana.  That was only one occasion, but it still happened.  In every other fight, he’s knocking guys out and beating them up and this was an instance where someone fought back.  He feels he has a lot more to prove and maybe he feels that he’s ready to die this time, but you can’t teach that thing that beats in your chest.  You can learn all types of skills, but you either got it or you don’t.”

Tony Morgan (Berto’s Trainer): “I can see why Victor didn’t want to be on the same call as us, he always seems to run away from confrontation, like he did against Maidana.  Peterson touched him a couple of times, and Victor even ran away from Lamont!  Maidana is a hard puncher, but he doesn’t punch anywhere as hard as Andre.”

Lou DiBella: “This is a terrific fight style-wise between two young fighters.  I expect an explosive and action packed fight.  This is the most difficult, fan friendly fight that was available for Andre.  It’s the fight that HBO wanted.  [Ortiz] is a 140 pound fighter who starves himself to make weight, but he’s weighed more than Andre ever has on fight night.”

Richard Shaefer: “This is by far the most dangerous fight for Berto.  Victor gained 16 pounds on the night of the fight against Peterson, which gave us an indication that he was ready to move up to welterweight.  If you see them next to each other, Victor is the bigger guy and the younger guy.  This is the Victor we all knew… who will again show how vicious he is.  He is out there to prove to us what he is all about.  I know he will deliver on April 16.”

March 31st, 2011

For all the latest boxing news, click here.