Victor Ortiz Upsets Andre Berto in a Wild "Fight of the Year" Candidate

In Mashantucket, Connecticut, Andre Berto (27-0, 21 KO) defends his WBO welterweight title against Victor Ortiz (28-2-2, 22 KO).

The 12-round bout will be broadcast on HBO following the Amr Khan vs. Paul McCloskey fight from the UK. Berto, if victorious, is in line to face pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao next.

HBO: Victor Ortiz def. Andre Berto by Unanimous Decision (114-111, 114-112 and 115-110)

Both fighters came out to fight in Round 1. Fast starts by both and high aggression by Ortiz. Ortiz dropped Berto halfway through the round and looked to be on his way to winning by KO. Berto recovered to survive the round and landed a solid right hand to end it.

Berto rebounded in Round 2 with a knockdown of his own late in the round. Ortiz recovered and fired back valiantly.

Rounds 3, 4 and 5 were all Ortiz, who pounded away against an inactive opponent sitting against the ropes for the majority of the round. Ortiz nearly doubling his punch output in the fight.

Round 6 gave us Round of the Year candidate with both boxers scoring knockdowns. The referee almost stopped the fight after Berto dropped Ortiz with a right hand two minutes into the round. Ortiz was visibly hurt and wobbly on his feet, but recovered with enough time left to drop Berto at the end of the round with a left hand.

Rounds 7 and 8 were close and competitive, but Ortiz got the better of Berto with power shots. Berto landed some brutal body shots of his own to establish his own attack.

Berto turned up his punch output in Round 9 but was still relatively inactive compared to Ortiz's consistent attack.

Ortiz lost a point in Round 10 for punching Berto behind the head. He had been warned before, but it was unintentional. Both fighters exchanged wildly to end the round in another Round of the Year candidate.

Round 11 was almost the winning round for Ortiz, as he got Berto on the ropes and had the referee one punch away from stopping the fight.

Round 12 was all Ortiz, as he got the better of Berto with power shots.