The “East West Showdown,” featuring World Boxing Council (“WBC”) Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto and WBC #5 rated challenger “Vicious” Victor Ortiz, was held yesterday at The Palm West Restaurant in New York City. The two featured fighters and representatives from their respective camps were in attendance at yesterday’s event.
The bout will be televised live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing starting at 9:45 PM/ET 6:45 PM/PT. The broadcast kicks off with Amir “King” Khan (24-1, 17 KOs) defending his WBA Super Lightweight World Title against Paul “Dudley” McCloskey (22-0, 12 KOs) from the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England.
Below are quotes from Berto & Ortiz:
Andre Berto: “We have already had a tremendous camp. I feel the speed; I feel the power, and the explosiveness.”
“Victor Ortiz is a young exciting fighter who is stepping up the plate. He is young and he has speed, but people who have seen me grow in front of the HBO cameras have seen the way I handle adversity. People saw the way Victor Ortiz handled adversity the first time he tasted it.”
“Don’t miss this fight. This is going to be the start of a wonderful year.”
Victor Ortiz: “I’ve always worked hard, but in my last fight it was one of these things where at the end I felt like a piece of gum on the bottom of someone’s shoes. So I said to myself: ‘It’s my turn.’ I’m going in against some tough opposition. Andre Berto is no chump. But now I’m hungry. I’m tired of people saying that I have no heart or no balls. At the end of the day, I’m not scared of getting in the ring or challenging anyone. On April 16 I’m taking the title home.”
