Teofimo Lopez will be taking on Jamaine Ortiz, live in Las Vegas, on February 8th. It’ll be a battle for the WBO super lightweight belt, as Lopez is attempting to make his first defense of it.
Lopez, for those unfamiliar, is entering with a record of 19-1, with 13 of those being recorded knockouts. The Brooklyn native will go against an equally talented Ortiz, who has a professional record of 17-1-1 with eight knockouts.
Jamaine Ortiz Feels Prepared, Confident Ahead Of Fight
When reporters caught up with Ortiz ahead of this massive bout, he said that he’s in amazing shape, feeling tremendously well. He was also asked what it feels like to be competing for something like this, and he said, “I was ecstatic. I was excited. It’s been a long time coming. You’re patient in this game. Boxing is not an easy sport, and there are a lot of ups and downs. And finally, from a little kid to years in the professional ranks, and all the politics involved, to finally getting that world title shot was just a dream come true.”
Ortiz isn’t unfamiliar with the big stage, as he knocked down a former world champion before in his career. That victory came against Jamel Herring, also taking place in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, that momentum was halted soon after with his first professional boxing loss to Vasyl Lomachenko at Madison Square Garden. That loss was right after the win over Herring. It’s not something he’s ignored either, as the loss has seemingly prepared him for this battle. Ortiz pointed out that the loss was the first time he went 12 rounds before, and now he understands how to prepare for this next 12-round title fight.
Teofimo Lopez Will Be A Very Stout Challenge For Any Opponent
As for Lopez, he’s coming in with a load of confidence. He said, “To the boxing fans around the world, I look to not only dominate and break down Jamaine Ortiz but do it in such a fashion that my division will be put on alert.” Of course, Ortiz responded by claiming that he will knock him out. Lopez, however, feels strongly that he’s going to come out and dominate from the very beginning.
Lopez has been incredible throughout his boxing career. His lone loss came in New York back in 2021 when George Kambosos Jr took him down. Lopez was currently defending WBO, WBA, IBF, and The Ring titles at the time. Despite the fact that it was a shocking defeat, he didn’t let it ruin his future.
We’ve also seen him put together a few dominant performances against strong opponents in the past, such as a huge win over Vasily Lomachenko, the same guy that took down Ortiz. As it currently stands, everybody seems to be anticipating Lopez to come out into the ring and pick up this hard-fought win. The problem is that Ortiz knows he’s an underdog and will do anything in his power to steal that title.
Ortiz said, “Give them another upset. They always have me as the underdog in my previous fights, and this gives me more motivation. It gives me more hunger to prove all the doubters wrong.” It might take an otherworldly effort for him to take down Lopez, but stranger things have certainly happened in the boxing world.
