Jaimaine Ortiz doesn’t want to leave it to the judges when he challenges Teofimo Lopez for his WBO light welterweight title this Saturday, February 8th, on ESPN and ESPN+ in a 12-round doubleheader at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. Keyshawn Davis and Jose Pedraza fight in the co-feature in a lightweight contest.
(Courtesy: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Ortiz: No More Questionable Decisions
Ortiz, 27, learned the hard way what happens if you let the judges decide when he lost a close 12-round decision to Vasily Lomachenko in 2022.
Going up against the popular A-side fighter Teofimo, it’s even more important that Jamaine score a knockout so that he doesn’t wind up losing another questionable decision.
Jamaine’s gas tank failed him in his loss to Vasily Lomachenko and his eight-round majority draw in 2021. In both fights, he started out strong but then faded late.
It’s believed that the struggle for Ortiz to get down to 135 took something out of him, causing him to lose energy in the championship rounds. Jamaine is now fighting at 140, so he should be stronger at this weight.
“I don’t expect anybody to pull it out of me. I expect to pull it out of myself,” said Jamaine Ortiz to Top Rank Boxing, talking about the effort that he’s putting into preparing for his fight against Teofimo Lopez this Saturday night on ESPN.
“I should have knocked his a** out. Don’t leave it to the judges,” said Jamaine about his twelve-round unanimous decision loss to Vasily Lomachenko in October 2022.
Teofimo Battles Self-doubt
“I don’t see this fight going the distance. I’ve faced Jamaine Ortiz before, and I’m not overlooking him,” said Teofimo Lopez. “I just know there are certain things that certain fighters have and certain things that you need to have as a champion, and he doesn’t have that.
“He doesn’t have that champion heart, and I’m going to press it on him come Saturday night. It’s a good turnaround for me. I get to revision everything and how I want to take this next chapter.
“In my gut, I did want to retire from boxing. In the six months that I was losing, and that was myself,” said Lopez.
“He’s so motivated right now. I’ve never seen him so happy in my life,” said Teofimo Sr. about Teo. “The show goes on, and we’re lucky to have him again on February 8th.”
