A big super lightweight championship fight takes place in Vegas this week as Teofimo Lopez defends his title for the first time against Jamaine Ortiz.
Lopez comes into the fight on a three-fight win streak having won the title in his last outing at Madison Square Garden, while Ortiz has won three of his last four fights to earn this title shot for a chance to become a world champion for the first time in his career.
So what will happen? We take a look at both fighters and preview the bout, while providing you with our best free boxing picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while watching a great scrap.
Teofimo Lopez v Jamaine Ortiz information
- Thursday, February 8th 2024
- 20:30 ET start time
- Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas
- WBO Super Lightweight championship (140lbs limit)
- 12 x 3 minute rounds
Teofimo Lopez v Jamaine Ortiz odds
- Teofimo Lopez - (-700)
- Jamaine Ortiz - (+515)
The reigning champion comes into this fight as the overwhelming favorite to claim victory, being priced at -700 with BetOnline sports betting.
Lopez has a professional record of 19-1 with 13 knockouts, with the biggest win of his career so far to date coming when he claimed a unanimous decision win to beat Vasiliy Lomachenko to retain his IBF title and win the WBO, WBA and The Ring lightweight crowns.
But he followed that up with a defeat to George Kambosos Jr in a shocking result that had many questioning his performance levels and his place at the top of the boxing world.
Since then though he has bounced back by claiming a knockout win over Pedro Campa, before a split decision win over Sandor Martin and a unanimous decision win over Josh Taylor last time out.
Ortiz on the other hand is a huge underdog coming into this fight with a high price of +515, with a professional record of 17-1-1 including eight wins by knockout.
"The Technician" bounced back from a draw with Joseph Adorno to earn unanimous decision wins over Nahir Abright and Jamel Herring, before taking on Vasiliy Lomachenko and being dominated to a unanimous decision defeat.
He returned to winning ways last time out over Antonio Moran to set up this fight after almost a year away from the ring.
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
Teofimo Lopez v Jamaine Ortiz preview
Lopez is one of the most naturally talented boxers on the planet. You can go back and watch him fight as even a 21-year-old and see how talented he was at such a young age and he has proved that by bouncing back after defeat to Kambosos Jr.
Ortiz is a very good young talent as well and has the capability of switching from southpaw to orthodox and has shown legit speed from both stances. He is quick, uses his feet well offensively, and can fight from the inside at a high level, throwing slick uppercuts and getting out of the pocket swiftly.
But Ortiz's biggest issue is and has always been his cardio, and Lopez should look to drag this into the latter rounds to really be able to take over this fight and dominate with his jab and combination work.
The game plans are a question mark for these guys going into this big bout. Lopez is probably going to want to get Ortiz on the back foot because that’s when the challenger is least comfortable, but Ortiz will be working to do the same to Lopez. This might turn into a firefight, which makes betting on this even more interesting.
Boxing picks: Lopez via knockout @ +170
When Teofimo Lopez is on his game, he's easily one of the best fighters in the world and can make anyone he faces look like a class below.
He operates like a surgeon and has so many tools to negate his opponent’s strategy, and the wherewithal to adjust on the fly. However, for every night where he rolls over a Vasiliy Lomachenko or Josh Taylor, there are nights where he makes someone like George Kambosos a household name, or nearly suffers a career-threatening loss to Sandor Martin.
There is plenty of reason to worry about where Lopez’s head may be at any given time, but I don’t believe he’ll be anything but 100% focused on former amateur rival Ortiz. He will know that a win here could set up a mega-fight with Devin Haney later this year, and will want to ensure it's him getting that fight.
It will help Ortiz is carrying the biggest flaw of the two. An athletic boxer with a volume-orientated offense, Ortiz darts in, fires off combinations and resets his opponents before attacking from another angle.
Simply put, Ortiz’s cardio is a bad match for his style, and he can’t maintain his output for 12 rounds. Lopez is the better-conditioned fighter with superior punching power and experience, and Ortiz’s constant attacking will have him playing into Lopez’s hands.
Expect Lopez to do enough to win the early and middle-rounds before really pouring it on to an exhausted Ortiz to get the statement stoppage late on.
Check out our review for MyBookie sports betting here.
