Andre Berto, Victor Ortiz Get Ready For WBC Welterweight Title Clash On April 16th At Foxwoods

On Saturday, April 16th, Foxwoods Resort Casino will hold another scintillating boxing match-up when undefeated WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (27-0, 21 KO's) defends his title against "Vicious" Victor Ortiz (28-2-2, 22 KO's) in a scheduled twelve-rounder. Today, at the beautiful Palm West Restaurant in New York's Times Square, Berto and Ortiz met face-to-face at their press conference to officially announce the fight.

"I'm going to take that belt," exclaimed Ortiz. "I assure you I am taking that belt."

Ortiz is unbeaten in his last five fights (4-0-1) since being stopped by Marcos "El Chino" Maidana in the 6th round of a war on June 27, 2009. He appears to be over that difficult night in 2009. However, if any lingering effects arise from the Maidana fight during his battle with Berto, can Ortiz handle that added pressure?

"I go to bed and I sleep fine," responded Ortiz. "I have nothing to worry about. I came back the next fight to knockout Antonio Diaz."

Ortiz did not express any negative feelings about his opponent, only displaying a high-level of confidence heading into his showdown with Berto.

"It's been a long, long run for Berto," stated Ortiz. "'Is he great? Not in my eyes.' They say he's the best thing since slice bread. I agree to disagree. He has a very pretty record, but I'll take care of that on April 16th."

Ortiz' training camp has been going exactly as he visioned it.

"Training camp has been fun and tough at the same time," commented Ortiz. "It's been a tough stage of that next level, but I am handling it quite well."

If he beats Berto, would he ever rematch Maidana?

Ortiz replied, "I tried. I'm definitely the wrong guy to ask. Maidana had me as a mandatory. It made me angry. 'You can't give me a rematch, a guy who you supposedly exposed and knocked out?' Give me a shot, and 9 out of 10 times I will beat you!"

Andre Berto is very happy Ortiz accepted this fight, and fully understands that Ortiz' knockout power could present a problem to him, if he lets it.

"He stepped up to the plate," said Berto. "If you make a mistake, he will KO you."

Berto does not believe that Ortiz is psychologically over his TKO loss to Maidana, and feels those memories will come back to haunt him in the ring on April 16th.

Berto remarked, "He's trying to convince himself, so he appears to be a lot more confident. He dreams about Maidana. I'm strong and I have speed. And, I'm intelligent with it."

As a result of Ortiz' bout with Maidana, Berto thinks he can simply outfight him. 

"I'm stronger and faster," claimed Berto. "We've both had our backs against the wall. You've seen how he's reacted, and how I reacted. We'll test him out and see what's up."

Tickets are priced at $350, $200, $125, and $65 and went on sale today through the MGM Grand at Foxwoods box office. Tickets can be purchased online at www.mgmatfoxwoods.com, by calling the MGM Grand at Foxwoods at 1-866-646-0609, or in person at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods box office.

For information about DiBella Entertainment, including a list of all upcoming bouts, please visit www.dbe1.com, or follow Lou DiBella on twitter, @loudibella.

For information on Golden Boy Promotions, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, on twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing or Victor Ortiz @VICIOUSOrtiz.

Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com/boxing and on twitter @hboboxing.