Report: Ortiz-Berto On For Jan. or Feb.

You just plain have to give the man credit. All of us are shaking off the tryptophan and Dan Rafael is breaking news.

Rafael writes that Victor Ortiz will take on Andre Berto in a rematch of their April scrap, on either Jan. 28 or Feb. 11.  Rafael says the bout will run on Showtime, not HBO, which is a surprise, because Berto is an HBO fighter. You’ll recall that Ortiz and Berto took turns hitting the deck in the first tussle, and Ortiz emerged the victor, via UD12. Berto seeks revenge, because that win gave Ortiz a shot at Floyd Mayweather and his career best payday.

As Rafael pointed out, this is a splashy move for the new Showtime captain, Stephen Espinoza. Boxing fans could be the beneficiary if a bidding war between him and ex Showtime boss Ken Hershman, who starts at HBO on January 9, becomes a regular thing. Espinoza used to work at Golden Boy, so we could see more Oscar fighters on Showtime.  Ideally, we see promoters offering the best fights to both nets, and we don’t have one network favoring one promoter excessively.

Ortiz-Berto II, who do ya like?