Bad Left Hook

The latest word on Andre Berto's arm injury, which canceled his February 11 rematch against Victor Ortiz, comes from Team Berto nutritionist Victor Conte, who tells Ryan Maquiñana of BoxingScene.com that Berto won't undergo surgery.

"[Trainer] Tony [Morgan] said he was told eight to 12 weeks for recovery," Conte informed BoxingScene.com. "It’s a tendon tear near his left armpit."

Berto (28-1, 22 KO) had surgery on this bicep two years ago, but in a different location. It's a worrisome thing going forward from here, and could become the type of injury that haunts his career long-term. If you missed the photo of the injury, Showtime shared that on Tuesday night.

With surgery out of the picture, it's now a question of whether or not Victor Ortiz and Golden Boy will wait for Berto or take an interim fight. Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KO) could do something with low risk in the meantime, just to stay sharp, but it's a tough proposition to get a fighter at his level to fight without TV involved anymore, and dates are precious to both Showtime and HBO. Other networks, like ESPN, can't afford an Ortiz fight, and a Golden Boy-produced, low-cost pay-per-view with Ortiz against a weak opponent might be more trouble than it's worth.

Eight to 12 weeks is 2-3 months, and Ortiz has already been out of the ring since September. Richard Schaefer recently said that if it's "not an extended period" of recovery, they'd have Ortiz wait and go straight into a new date with Berto. So this might be workable from their side.