Teofimo Lopez Vs. Jamaine Ortiz Breakdown
Teofimo Lopez and Jamaine Ortiz face off on Thursday for WBO Junior Welterweight Title, live on ESPN.
Lopez arrives into the fight as the massive favorite. He is the current WBO champion after having beaten Josh Taylor to give the Brit his first loss. The victory made Lopez a two-weight world champion. Shortly after the win, Lopez announced his retirement only to reverse it. He faces Ortiz, who will be hungry for a win. He has first fight at Junior Welterweight. Ortiz knows a victory spoils Lopez’s plans for a unification fight against Rolando Romero, Devin Haney or Subriel Matias. Let us take a look at the breakdown
Lopez Vs. Ortiz
The two fighters are known for being very explosive as they rely on their athleticism to spring into an offensive position. They possess big right-hands over the top, although Ortiz is the heavier-handed of the two.
This means they lunge forward and leap on the front foot when they throw their rear hand. But in doing so, they drop their hands to keep their opponent on their toes by targeting their guard. They have similar footwork, allowing them to get into position to let off any counter shots.
As they shuffle forward to put on the pressure, the boxers use their low lead hands, leaving them open to a counter right or a jab. This was most notably seen when Lopez was countered with a laser right hand over the top against George Kambosos Jr. Ortiz may look to exploit that since he packs the harder punch.
But Ortiz does tend to move on his back foot initially, which leaves him open to traps. If Ortiz falls short with a mid-range jab and does not have his feet in position, Lopez can exploit that. When it comes to fighting on the big stage, Lopez has more experience.
He has been in with Vasiliy Lomachenko, George Kambosos Jr., Josh Taylor and Richard Commey, showing he knows what it takes at the highest level. In his biggest fight, Ortiz lost to Loma after having initially started well in the first half of the fight. But based on the experience, Lopez is the favorite.
Pre-Fight Comments
“Right now, he is the guy. He is the guy, and once I beat him, I’ll be the guy. To be honest, I thought Josh Taylor was gonna be able to pull it out and beat him. That’s what I was thinking, but Teo did the job. He got it done. … It was a good performance. I can’t say nothing less.
“I think [a win] would bring my career where I always wanted it to be, [to] become a champion, beat a top-level fighter and go for all the big names and all the champions. I think it will put me on the map as a great fighter, one of the best fighters, and that’s what I’m looking to do February 8th,” Ortiz stated
“After I beat Jamaine Ortiz, then I will keep staying in the gym.” “The end result is that ‘The Showman’ is returning. There will definitely be a knockout. It’s not going the distance. I’m not going to leave it in the judges’ hands at all. So, everyone tune in, and get your popcorn ready.”
“It’s been a long journey. And I know what it takes. I don’t want to be known as a fighter who knows how to get to the top but doesn’t know how to keep it. So, I want everyone to tune in so they can see how much I truly love the sport of boxing,” Lopez said
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