Fact: Berto tired greatly down the stretch yet hung in there for 12 exhausting rounds in what would be named USA TODAY's fight of the year.

Fiction: Berto chalked up his loss to a tough action fight and lack of conditioning and went about his business as usual.

Fact is, Berto discovered after the fight that he was anemic, and he did something about it.

He hired former BALCO bad boy Victor Conte to help work on his fitness and says he's in a better place now. He's taken up a new regimen, which he hopes will serve him well in his highly anticipated rematch with Ortiz on Feb. 11 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET).

"We didn't train for that fight like we are normally supposed to," Berto said Wednesday. "You get in a situation where you have a lot of success and you stay in your own little circle, your little box, instead of trying to break out and find the best situation.

"I think I suffered from that, because after that fight I found out I was anemic and I had to reach out and try to find some help. It got to be pretty serious. It opened my eyes to realize I had to take better care of my body."

Berto says he now has doctors constantly monitoring his health closely and giving him the right vitamins. The changes have allowed him more frequent optimal training sessions.

"Before, we just did it the old school way — we didn't take vitamins, protein shakes, none of that stuff. We just did hard work," Berto said. "But everybody knows, if you're a world-class athlete, you have to train and take care of your body like you are a world class athlete, and we're trying to take all the right precautions now."

Ortiz, asked if he noticed Berto tiring during their fight, said, "Not at all. It was the same Berto I studied for, even better. The difference? There was a beast in there with him."

Berto's new regimen helped him in his last fight, a win against Jan Zaveck for the IBF welterweight title. Zaveck had to retire after the fifth round.

Lest anyone wonder if Conte's presence raises any suspicions of performance-enhancing drugs, Berto (28-1, 22 KOs) and Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KOs) are submitting to full random drug tests, including blood and urine tests. Berto, 28, has already been tested twice.

Ortiz, who also did full testing for his fight against Floyd Mayweather last September, said he has no problem with it.

"I'm a clean fighter. I don't have to use no substances," he said. "I don't have to use any kind of booster for anything. My performance speaks for itself through hard work and my corner.

"So it's not a difference at all."

Berto's promoter, Lou DiBella, said full testing is a big step in a sport that has at times been under attack for use or suspected use of PEDs.

"It takes away some of the innuendo, some of the problems that do exist in our sport," DiBella said. "But all you can ask the fighters to do is say, 'OK, I'll be tested.' And that's what the two fighters in this fight have done."

DiBella says the Nevada Athletic Commission has helped make the testing much more affordable, and he'd like to see it become the norm in big fights.

If Berto suffered physically after his loss to Ortiz, the first of his career, he also suffered a bit of a crisis of confidence in realizing he was, after all, not invincible.

"Of course it played with my mind a bit. You get to a point that when you're undefeated and get your first defeat, any fighter would be affected by that," Berto said. "But you have to brush it off, and get back on your feet and get back in there.

"My last fight (against Zaveck), I just went back in there like nothing happened. Just went straight to work. At the end of the day, to be realistic, I lost and it put a lot of things in perspective. It just made me realize what type of team, what type of family, I have around me.

"If I'm in this boxing ring or not, I still have this love from family and friends, so I'm good."

Ortiz, who is coming off a bizarre fourth-round knockout at the hands of Floyd Mayweather after he had intentionally head-butted Mayweather and was trying to apologize, was asked if he was prepared for a stronger Berto this time around.

"Once again, it comes back that I'm the underdog. That's the story of my life," said the 24-year-old who rose from a childhood mostly devoid of parents to become a world champion. "I don't mind it one bit. At the same time, let's not forget this: I was a 140-pounder the first fight. Now I'm a natural 147.

"So, somebody's in trouble," he chirped.

While this fight has no title implications, Berto says taking a tough fight in his prime with no title on the line is not necessarily a bad thing, or a stupid move.

"Right now I'm at a place where I just want to make good fights," he said. "I've made good money in the sport. I've won two titles, and this fight is one that I wanted and definitely one the people wanted. It's going to be an exciting fight. That's the only thing I'm worried about.

"Same thing with Ortiz. After being knocked out by Floyd, he's willing to come back and offer exciting fights. It just shows that it's in our hearts and it's our passion.

"When we're done with our careers, I don't believe we'll have any regrets. We just fought our hearts out for the sport."