which both fighters were dropped twice before Ortiz (31-5-2, 24KOs) prevailed by unanimous decision in their hellacious war to claim a welterweight belt.

His reign was short-lived, suffering a 4th round knockout at the hands of Floyd Mayweather later that September. The ending sparked considerable debate, as Ortiz – after being disciplined for an intentional headbutt – attempted to overcompensate for the foul by offering to repeatedly touch gloves. Mayweather obliged one time, but took advantage of the second act by landing a two-punch combo to put him down and out in their Pay-Per-View headliner.

The setback kicked off a stretch of three straight losses for Ortiz, suffering stoppage defeats at the hands of Josesito Lopez and Luis Collazo. The 29-year old California-based southpaw has since rebounded with a pairof knockout wins, including an 8th round stoppage of late replacement Gilberto Sanchez-Leon last December in San Antonio.

Berto (30-4, 23KOs) has struggled to reclaim past form following an impressive amateur run capped by a spot on the 2004 Haiti Olympic boxing team, along with a welterweight title reign lasting nearly three years. The 32-year old Floridian is 3-3 in his last six starts, although hitting the lottery in landing a plush assignment as the final opponent of Mayweather’s historic career. It came in the form of a one-sided loss to the unbeaten, all-time great last September in Las Vegas.

Prior to the loss, Berto headlined the first installment of PBC on Spike, rallying to knockout out Josesito Lopez in six rounds last March. There were talks of the thickly-muscled