Jamaine Ortiz will seek revenge and title glory tonight against WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs) at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Ortiz (17-1-1, 8 KOs) lost to Teofimo a decade ago when the two fought in the amateurs, and he finally gets a chance to avenge that loss against the fighter he’s labeled a “clown” in their headliner LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. The event starts at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Ortiz admits that he’s not well known, so he’s got to fight a little harder for him to get the win against the popular A-side star, Teofimo, who gamed fame for his victory over Vasily Lomachenko in 2020.
Teofimo’s ambition has gone out the window since that win because he’s only fought four times since, and the only significant win came against Josh Taylor, who is on his last legs.
Revenge Fuels the Fire
“We’re definitely going to settle our differences inside the ring on Thursday night,” said Jamaine Ortiz to Boxing Social about his fight against WBA light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez tonight on ESPN.
“It was like ten years ago,” said Ortiz about his loss to Teofimo in the amateurs. “It’s going to be great when it happens. It’s going to be one of those nights that I remember for the rest of my life.”
If Ortiz can pull off an upset of Teofimo tonight, it would be huge, and it could lead to some bigger fights down the road, assuming there’s no rematch clause in the contract.
“That’s always been a case for me. Because I’m not well known, I often get overlooked and I’ve been overlooked in the past. It doesn’t bother me because I’m not a person that tunes into the media and hears all that stuff and lets it feed into my head.
Lomachenko Experience as Preparation
“I know what I’m capable of doing. I believe I’m the best, and I’ll become world champion on Thursday night, and that’s all that’s in my conscious mind,” Jamaine continued. “Definitely, being able to go the championship rounds taught me a lot,” said Ortiz about going the distance in his fight with Vasily Lomachenko.
“Being a headliner on ESPN against one of the great fighters in the world. So there was a lot of attention. It’s a similar situation, and just being able to replicate it here,” said Ortiz.
