ESPN sources have actually verified that Teofimo Lopez and Jamaine Ortiz are close to reaching an arrangement to contend for Lopez’s WBO junior welterweight title on February 8th in Las Vegas. The 140-pound champion match will be the centerpiece of Top Rank Boxing on ESPN on a Thursday night, simply 3 days before Super Bowl LVIII in the very same city.
Lopez, an increasing star in the boxing world, is fresh off a remarkable success in June where he controlled Josh Taylor by means of consentaneous choice to declare a two-division champion. This win followed a previous battle to protect a split choice over Sandor Martin. Prior to that, Taylor had actually abandoned 3 of his 4 titles, making the success much more substantial for Lopez.
Despite briefly thinking about retirement after the success, Lopez eventually chose to continue his profession. The 26-year-old, who is presently ranked as ESPN’s No. 2 fighter at 140 pounds, has a career-best efficiency of a unanimous choice success over future Hall of Famer Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020. Lopez later on lost his light-weight champion to George Kambosos in ESPN’s 2021 Upset of the Year fight.
Ortiz, on the other hand, has actually likewise revealed his worth in the boxing world. The 27-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, showed his abilities on top level with a strong efficiency against Lomachenko in October 2022, in spite of eventually fading down the stretch. He likewise had an advancement win over previous titleholder Jamel Herring previously that year.
The upcoming match in between Lopez and Ortiz holds additional significance, as Lopez beat Ortiz in the 2015 National Golden Gloves Quarterfinal. Now, almost ten years later on, they will reunite with far higher stakes.
“I was impressed by Ortiz, truly,” Lopez stated of his upcoming challenger. “I believe total Jamaine Ortiz is still skilled sufficient to provide everyone else larger and much better battles also.”
