Fight Week: Teofimo Lopez returns to ring against Jamaine Ortiz on Thursday

FIGHT WEEK

Junior welterweight titleholder Teofimo Lopez is scheduled to defend his belt in opposition to Jamaine Ortiz on Thursday in Las Vegas.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ (19-1, 13 KOs)VS. JAMAINE ORTIZ (17-1-1, 8 KOS)

Date: Thursday, Feb. 8
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT (foremost occasion later in present)
The place: Michelob Extremely Area, Las Vegas
TV/Stream: ESPN, ESPN+
Division: Junior welterweight (140 kilos)
At stake: Lopez’s WBO title
Pound-for-pound: Lopez, Honorable Point out
Odds: Lopez 5-1 favourite (common of a number of shops)
Significance (as much as 5 stars): ****
Additionally on the cardboard: Keyshawn Davis vs. Jose Pedraza, lightweights
Background: Lopez reclaimed his place among the many greatest within the enterprise on June 10, when he defeated beforehand unbeaten Josh Taylor by a convincing resolution to regain a share of the140-pound championship. The 26-year-old native of Brooklyn had misplaced his 135-pound belts in a shocking upset in opposition to George Kambosos Jr. in 2021, though it was later decided that Lopez fought with a harmful well being situation. He rebounded to cease Pedro Campa, narrowly outpoint Sandor Martin and take down Taylor. The final victory lifted him again onto the Boxing Junkie pound-for-pound checklist. Ortiz shall be preventing for a serious title for the primary time. The resident of Worcester, Massachusetts made a splash when he outpointed former 130-pound titleholder Jamel Herring in Might 2022 however got here up quick in his subsequent battle 5 months later, a unanimous resolution in opposition to Vasiliy Lomachenko. The Ukrainian star deserved the nod however Ortiz gave a stable efficiency, bolstering his fame. He simply outpointed Antonio Moran in September, his most up-to-date battle. He’s ranked No. 10 by the WBO.

HAMZAH SHEERAZ (18-0, 14 KOs)VS. LIAM WILLIAMS (25-4-1, 20 KOS)

Date: Saturday, Feb. 10
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (foremost occasion later in present)
The place: Copper Field Area, London
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Division: Middleweight (160 kilos)
At stake: No main titles
Pound-for-pound: None
Odds: Sheeraz 4-1 favourite (common of a number of shops)
Significance (as much as 5 stars): ***

Additionally on the cardboard: Sam Noakes vs. Lewis Sylvester, lightweights; Anthony Yarde vs. Marko Nikolic, gentle heavyweights; Masood Abdulah vs. Qais Ashfaq, featherweights
Background: Sheeraz has dominated marginal opponents, together with knockouts in his final 12 fights. Now comes what may very well be a real take a look at within the type of veteran Liam Williams. Sheeraz is a 6-foot-3 middleweight contender from England with each boxing potential and formidable punching energy, as his KO document suggests. The 24-year-old final fought on Aug. 26, when he stopped beforehand unbeaten Dmytro Mytrofanov in two rounds in Poland. None of his final 4 opponents has lasted 5 full rounds with him. Williams, 31, is also a rugged, hard-punching contender. The Scot bounced again from back-to-back losses to Liam Smith to earn a shot at then-middleweight champ Demetrius Andrade’s title in 2021 however got here up quick in his solely title battle, dropping a one-sided resolution. He then misplaced a transparent resolution to Chris Eubank Jr., which threatened his profession as an elite fighter. Nevertheless, he subsequently defeated journeymen Nizar Trimech and Florin Cardos to earn at the very least yet one more large battle.

ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK

SATURDAY

Liam Dillon vs. Reece Bellotti, junior lightweights, Newcastle, England (DAZN)
Austin Brooks vs. Julio Carrera, junior lightweights, Lengthy Seashore, California (Fox Deportes, Fubo TV)