Andre Berto's Loss to Victor Ortiz Assures He Won't Fight Manny Pacquiao

Andre “The Beast” Berto lost his WBC welterweight championship to Mexican-American “Vicious” Victor Ortiz by unanimous decision Saturday night at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. 

In a brutal slugfest, Berto (27-1, 21, KOs) was floored twice in the first and sixth rounds and Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs) hit the canvas twice himself in the second and sixth rounds.

Ortiz, who has not been defeated since he suffered a six round TKO loss to Marcos Maidana in July 2009, told SportsIllustrated.cnn.com the fight went basically as he anticipated it would.

"I didn't prepare to knock him out," said Ortiz, 24, a southpaw named ESPN’s 2008 Prospect of the Year. "I pictured both my eyes closed after this fight. But I wasn't walking away without that belt."

Berto, a two-time National Golden Gloves champion who won 22 state titles in Florida, suffered a broken thumb in the second round and the proud Haitian-American didn’t hide how dejected he was by his performance.

"That wasn't me in there tonight," said, Berto, 27, who last fought in November when he recorded a brutal first-round TKO victory over Freddy Hernandez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. "I would rather have won than just be in an exciting fight.”

Lou DiBella, a graduate of Tufts University and Harvard Law School, is Berto’s promoter and he expressed major interest in arranging a rematch between the two combatants.

The rematch would likely occur in a bigger venue and the styles of the two brawlers virtually ensure another crowd pleasing affair.

Prior to his defeat, Berto was mentioned as a possible opponent for both legendary prizefighters Manny Pacquiao and former titlist Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) was really a moot option, considering he has only fought on two occasions in approximately four years

However, Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs), the first fighter to capture 10 world titles in eight different divisions, was a genuine candidate to face Berto.

Ortiz actually received advice from the “Pac-Man” prior to his scintillating performance this past weekend.

"Manny told me to stick to my game plan," Ortiz said.

Due to Berto’s enormous power, he would have had the proverbial “puncher’s chance” to trump Pacquiao.

Nevertheless, Berto is poorly trained and extremely sloppy in the ring and he would have been thoroughly dissected by the “Fighting Pride of the Philippines.”

DiBella should work to quickly cement Ortiz-Berto II.

Ortiz is the only logical opponent for Berto at this juncture.