The Showman is able to ship a spectacle. Teofimo Lopez will defend his WBO and Ring Journal junior welterweight world titles towards Jamaine Ortiz on Thursday, Feb. 8 at Michelob ULTRA Area at Mandalay Bay Resort and On line casino in Las Vegas.
Within the 10-round light-weight co-feature, U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis steps up towards former two-division world champion Jose Pedraza.
Promoted by Prime Rank, in affiliation with Takeover Promotions and CES Boxing, tickets are on sale now at AXS.com.
Lopez-Ortiz and Davis-Pedraza can be broadcast dwell on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.
Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs) captured the IBF light-weight world title in December 2019 by way of second-round knockout victory towards Richard Commey. In October 2020, he beat Vasiliy Lomachenko to securing the WBA, WBO, and WBC Franchise titles, however misplaced them to George Kambosos Jr. by a shocking cut up determination 13 months later. He moved as much as junior welterweight with a seventh-round TKO towards Pedro Campa in August 2022 and defeated Sandor Martin by way of cut up determination that December. In his final struggle, Lopez shocked the boxing world by defeating former undisputed champ Josh Taylor to earn the WBO and Ring Journal titles.
Ortiz (17-1-1, 8 KOs) dropped a aggressive 12-round determination to pound-for-pound nice Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2022 earlier than returning 11 months later to safe a 10-round determination over Antonio Moran in his junior welterweight debut.
Following a current coaching session on the Prime Rank Fitness center in Las Vegas, that is what Lopez needed to say:
“Earlier than all of this and earlier than I fought Josh Taylor, I used to take a break. I used to not likely practice a lot. I used to not all the time be within the fitness center. However after I bought every little thing again and have become a two-division world champion, I began staying within the fitness center.
“My coach, who’s my father, all the time wished me to remain within the fitness center. So, I began doing that final August. Since then, I’ve gotten quicker. I’ve gotten a lot stronger. My I.Q. is far sharper. And it’s as a result of I haven’t stopped coaching since August of final 12 months. And I’m not going to cease. After I beat Jamaine Ortiz, then I’ll maintain staying within the fitness center.”
“The top result’s that ‘The Showman’ is returning. There will certainly be a knockout. It’s not going the space. I’m not going to go away it within the judges’ fingers in any respect. So, everybody tune in, and get your popcorn prepared.”
“It’s been a protracted journey. And I do know what it takes. I don’t wish to be generally known as a fighter who is aware of easy methods to get to the highest however doesn’t know easy methods to maintain it. So, I would like everybody to tune in to allow them to see how a lot I actually love the game of boxing.”
