Teofimo Lopez Vs. Jamaine Ortiz Confirmed For Super Bowl Week
Teofimo Lopez will make his first-ever defense of his WBO 140-pound belt against Jamaine Ortiz on February 8, 2024.
The clash takes place during Super Bowl Week from the Michelob ULTRA Arena, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. Lopez secured the belt by giving Josh Taylor his first-ever loss in a comprehensive unanimous decision victory. The win made Lopez a two-weight and two-time lineal champion since Taylor was formerly undisputed. In the aftermath, Lopez wanted several big fights. A $1.5 million offer was reportedly given to Lopez to fight Ryan Garcia. The ‘Takeover’ rejected it because the purse was not high enough.
Lopez Vs. Garcia
“When you’re the best, when you are the guy, when you bring major sponsors, endorsements, big major business deals, when you offer me a 1.5 [million dollars] stake in the piece—f–k you. So yeah I declined the offer. What’s next for me is world wide takeover, that’s what’s next. I want to go to Italy, I want to take it to other places in different ways. I got a lot of fan base in Africa, too, I want to go out there. My whole thing is taking it global because nobody else is going to help me in the boxing game no more,” Lopez said
Jose Ramirez also rejected an offer and has since entered into final negotiations to sign with Golden Boy Promotions after leaving Top Rank. A unification with Subriel Matias failed. They were in talks to fight in February. But the IBF champion’s hand injury prevented the fight.
“Just spoke to the manager of Subriel Matias, the IBF champion. Confirmed that Teofimo Lopez and his team sent an offer to fight in February Super Bowl weekend. Unfortunately, Matias’ team had to turn it down due to a hand injury. They are now working on rescheduling the fight for April after therapy. A person with Knowledge of the situation tells me Teo is fighting on his Date of February. Teofimo Lopez showing huge Heart,” The Boxing Voice said
Lopez Vs. Ortiz
Ortiz enters the fight with a big challenge. He takes on Lopez for his first fight at junior welterweight after moving up from 135 pounds. Ortiz followed his defeat to Vasiliy Lomachenko by overcoming Antonio Moran in his last fight. He faces a challenging task against Lopez. The latter’s only defeat came against George Kambosos Jr., a loss from which he has bounced back.
In chief support, Keyshawn Davis faces Jose Pedraza in a fight at 135 pounds. They were initially on course to square off on December 9, 2023. Those plans were scuppered after Davis failed a test for marijuana. He was given a 90-day suspension, and his victory over Nahir Albright was overturned into a no-contest. Pedraza is on a poor run of form, with no wins in three fights. Davis remains undefeated and will aim to do the same once again.
‘Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com’
