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Victor "The Lion Heart" Ortiz

By Liz Parr 

MASHANTUCKET, CONN.-Victor Ortiz is now WBC welterweight champion of the world. 

After a twelve round fight that had everything a boxing fanatic could hope for, Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs) emerged victorious over Andre Berto (27-1, 21 KOs) who until then had been undefeated. 

When the first bell rang Ortiz rushed towards Berto and set the pace for the rest of the fight. It was apparent Ortiz was in the fight of his life and was showing stunned Berto he was not going home without the belt. Ortiz was taking every opportunity Berto gave him to unload all his punches in one instance Berto went down but the referee ruled it as a slip. Ortiz pressed on and once again sent Berto to the ground on his knees, but this time it was no slip. 

Second round, Berto knew he had to step up his game and began to throw more punches with plenty of power. Ortiz was doing great with his defense but Berto landed a knock down with a right hand that sent Ortiz down and caused him to touch the ground with his gloves. The fight continued with exciting exchanges, but Ortiz was getting the better part of Berto landing hard uppercuts, working him against the ropes, and firing back anytime Berto landed a punch. 

Berto came back in the sixth round strong landing solid shots. Ortiz began to fall back and look tired when suddenly Berto landed a stiff shot to Ortiz's chin that sent Ortiz down and nearly was out cold. Ortiz got up, took a deep breath, and held on when Berto came charging to finish him off. Ortiz was almost finished but held on long enough to fight back and land a great left-hand shot that sent Berto down. With only a few seconds left of that round. Both fighters managed to walk back to their corners to catch their breath. 

The later rounds were followed with Ortiz boxing Berto to catch his breath but coming in every now and then and exchanging punches with Berto to ensure he was still winning the fight. Berto started to look very tired and started to lean on the ropes a lot. Ortiz picked his shots and landed flurries of punches that also had power. 

The crowd was screaming for Ortiz in the last round, as everyone one in the arena saw that Ortiz was about to become the new champion of the world. Ortiz fought with the heart and the hunger of a lion. The determination and heart Ortiz showed was one that could quite possibly make this the Fight of the Year. Judges scored the fight 115-110, 114-112, 114-111. 

 “I wasn’t expecting an easy fight. I expected a war. I studied him and he’s no joke. He knocked out some good guys but I saw the Luis Collazo fight. He (Collazo) was the first to beat him (Berto),” said Ortiz. “Nobody gave me a chance.” 

Berto was not surprised at the scoring. 

“I knew he was going to come out strong,” Berto said. “He was just the better man tonight.”

Other bouts

Scheduled for eight rounds Thomas Dulorme (11-0,10 KO's) from Carolina, Puerto Rico absolutely annihilated Harrison Cuello (21-16-3,15KO's) from Bronx, NY. When the second round came Dulorme threw a powerful straight left that put Cuello to sleep. Dulorme KO'd Cuello 1:27 in the second round.

Deandre Latimore (22-3,17KO's) was in for a real good fight when he stepped into the ring with Dennis Sharpe (17-7,4KO's). Latimore was clearly more powerful than Sharpe, but Sharpe had a chin boxers would love to have. Latimore landed stiff jabs and great hooks and Sharpe did his best to retaliate but didn't have sufficient power to cause any real damage. Latimore moved beautifully picked his shots landing uppercuts and body shots at will. As devastating as his punches were Sharpe was not going going down, it just wasn't an option. The fight went the distance, 8 rounds all for Latimore. All three judges scored the fight 80-72 for a unanimous decision

Bantamweights Luis Rosa (6-0,5KO's) and Joseliz Cepeda (4-2) both came out fighting as soon as the first bell rang. Starting off lefty Rosa unloaded fast and powerful punches that really shook Cepeda but Cepeda quickly fired back with some great left hooks that landed flush every time. Rosa soon found out Cepeda was no stepping stone, he was there to fight. When the fifth round came around Rosa was still fresh and just as powerful as the beginning of the fight. Rosa attacked Cepeda to the body until he could no longer take Rosa's power. TKO in the fifth round, victory goes to Luis Rosa.

Heavyweight women Sonya Lamonakis (5-0,1KO) and Gigi Jackson (2-2) gave the crowd what they came to see. The women fought a four round fight and never once stopped punching. The crowd went wild when Lamonakis was announced the winner.

With a major body punch Joe Elegle (12-0, 10KO's) floored Indiana's Angel Hernandez (14-10,11KO's) in the second round and was counted out. Elegle remains undefeated.

Detroit's J'Leon Love (6-0, 5KO's) devastated JC Peterson and managed to finish off the fight in the second round. Love remains undefeated.