The first major boxing match of the year, a junior welterweight world championship, would be overshadowed by the first Super Bowl in Las Vegas if the entire point of scheduling Teófimo “The Takeover” López vs. Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz days before the Big Game wasn’t to max out attendance by marketing to football fans. The fight world is on fire about López’s first defense of his World Boxing Organization and Ring Magazine titles, though, with Ortiz moving up to 140 pounds for the first time in his professional career.
The two faced each other before as amateurs in 2015, with López besting Ortiz on points. Their career paths would diverge, but both would become champions and have pivotal fights against Vasiliy Lomachenko. Brooklyn-born López, who began training under his father, went on win the 2015 Golden Gloves lightweight championship in Las Vegas and represent Honduras, where his parents migrated from, in the 2016 Olympics.
López turned pro in October 2016 and went undefeated for 10 fights before making his mark in December 2018 with a knockout against Mason Menard. A year later, he defeated Richard Commey for the International Boxing Federation’s lightweight title, after which he was joined by Lomachenko in the ring and made it be known he wanted to fight the Ukrainian champion next.
That fight happened during the pandemic with no live audience in September 2020, with López winning by unanimous decision and unifying the lightweight championships. He held the IBF, World Boxing Association, WBO and Ring titles, all of which he lost to George Kambosos Jr. 10 months later in a split decision. He moved up to the light welterweight division and bested Scotland’s Josh Taylor for the WBO and Ring championships on June 10, 2023. Two days later he retired, allegedly.
Luckily for Ortiz, the retirement didn’t take. Like López, he has one loss on his record out of 19 professional fights. He became a major figure during a February 2022 fight when he took the North American Boxing Federation’s lightweight title from Nahir Albright, winning the IBF lightweight title from Jamel Herring the following May. He lost both titles to Lomachenko the following October at Madison Square Garden in a split decision but earned praise from the boxing community for his performance and technical skill.
López and Ortiz are fairly evenly matched. Both have a lot of power in their punches for the 140-pound weight division. Ortiz amply demonstrated his in September with a victory over Antonio Moran, while López is capable of brutally overwhelming opponents as he demonstrated to Diego Magdaleno in 2019. Both fighters can switch stances from orthodox to southpaw. Both have won and lost championships, and are at the top of their game.
Whether López can celebrate a victory with his customary back flip depends on what kind of punishment he takes from Ortiz, providing Ortiz does not prevail. López and Ortiz are known for ending fights with knockouts and going the distance during their single losses. Their fight may not have a halftime show, but it’s a veritable junior welterweight Super Bowl.
Mandalay Bay, 4 p.m. Feb. 8, prices vary. axs.com
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