Vasiliy Lomachenko will face Jamaine Ortiz on Saturday night with an eye on a title shot against Devin Haney.
VASILIY LOMACHENKO (16-2, 11 KOs) VS. JAMAINE ORTIZ (16-0-1, 8 KOs)
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 29
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
- Cost: $9.99 per month or $99.99 annually
- Division: Lightweight (135 pounds)
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: Lomachenko No. 8
- Odds: Lomachenko 13-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Robeisy Ramirez vs. Jose Matias Romero, featherweights; Richard Torrez Jr. vs. Ahmed Hefny, heavyweights; Duke Ragan vs. Luis Lebron, featherweights; Nico Ali-Walsh vs. Billy Wagner, middleweights
- Prediction: Lomachenko UD
- Background: Lomachenko, the WBC’s No. 1 contender, must defeat Ortiz to remain in position to challenge undisputed 135-pound champion Devin Haney. The 34-year-old Ukrainian hasn’t fought since he easily outpointed Richard Commey last Dec. 11, more than 10 months ago. That followed a ninth-round knockout of Masayoshi Nakatani the previous June, his first fight since he lost his lightweight titles to Teofimo Lopez by a unanimous decision in October 2020. Ortiz is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Jamel Herring in May, which retired Herring and put Ortiz on everyone’s radar. The 26-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, was an outstanding amateur. He fought in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials and reportedly finished his career in the unpaid ranks with a record of 100-14. He’s 2-0 since he drew with capable Joseph Adorno in April of last year, the only blemish on his record.
[lawrence-related id=26855]
[vertical-gallery id=26867]