Lomachenko vs. Ortiz Preview
The Hulu theatre in New York City will play host to a major fight in the lightweight division between former pound for pound great Vasiliy Lomachenko and surging prospect Jamaine Ortiz.
Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KO) has won two straight since losing his WBA (Super) WBO lightweight titles to Teofimo Lopez in 2020. He most recently defeated former champion Richard Commey by a dominant unanimous decision in December.
Lomachenko took the boxing world by storm in 2014 when he became a champion in just his third professional fight after an extensive amateur career. From there he went on to become a three-weight world champion in the span of nine fights (the fastest to do so) with a total of nine title defenses. From 2017 to 2020 he was widely considered the best pound for pound fighter on Earth.
Lomachenko was on the verge of fighting for another title in February, that was until Russia invaded his home country of Ukraine. So he quickly made the choice to fight for his country rather than fight for a title. He will be making his return to the ring after seven long months of fighting a battle much bigger than him.
"That's a clear decision, a normal decision, for any man when it's time to defend his home country,” said Lomachenko.
The 34-year-old believes in his nation. "We have a lot of courageous people, people who are willing to sacrifice for the sake of our nation," he said.
The two-time Olympic champion is a big favorite in the fight with Ortiz, but the former champion is ignoring the odds and is focused on victory. “I’m not his promoter,” Lomachenko said. “I’m not his trainer. I’m not thinking about if this step up is too much for him or not. My goal is to win this fight and get closer to my goal of fighting for the undisputed title.”
He continued, “Ortiz is a well-trained boxer,” Lomachenko said. “He exhibits skills from the amateur school. He’s agile, he has good timing and I expect this to be an interesting fight.”
Aside from Commey, Lomachenko has a long list of key victories over the likes of Luke Campbell, Anthony Crolla, Jose Pedraza, Jorge Linares, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Miguel Marriaga, Jason Sosa, Nicholas Walters, Ramon Martinez and Gary Russell Jr.
Ortiz (16-0-1, 8 KO) is coming off the biggest wimn of his career with a unanimous decision victory over former champion Jamell Herring in May. The 26-year-old has respect for Lomachenko but has his sights set on a title shot. "Lomachenko is a great fighter, but I’m here to win," Ortiz said. "Once I win this fight, I’m targeting a world title opportunity. This is a dream come true."
The Massachusetts native has had a fight with Lomachenko for quite some time now. “I always viewed myself fighting him one day,” Ortiz said. “Ever since like five years ago, I was like, ‘One day I’ll probably fight Lomachenko.’ I used to say that, so I’m not surprised. It’s just part of the process.”
Ortiz went on to say, “Just because he was one of my favorite fighters at the time and I figured if I really think I’m on that level, your idols become your rivals at some point in time,” Ortiz said. “So, I always viewed myself as the top pound-for-pound one day. And at that time, he was pound-for-pound. And I was like, ‘Well, I’m gonna catch up and eventually I’m gonna fight him.”
The main card can be seen on ESPN +
