Teofimo Lopez luckily kept hold of his WBO lightweight title with a shockingly contentious unanimous decision win over Jamaine Ortiz.
Lopez looked undoubtedly labored and out-boxed during Super Bowl week at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. However, Las Vegas did what Las Vegas usually does in the judging department.
Teofimo Lopez nullified
Jamaine Ortiz should have walked away as the new champion as he fought a great strategy to nullify Lopez’s work. Teo came on strong down the stretch, but it wasn’t enough on the WBN scorecard. Ortiz employed a cautious strategy that resulted in exchanges being few and far between. Lopez didn’t have an answer until late on in the fight.
Ortiz, who normally fights from an orthodox stance, boxed from the outside as a southpaw, using footwork and jabs to set up quick counters. Lopez pushed forward, bursting with jabs and right hands, though he had difficulty cutting off the ring, especially following the third and fourth rounds.
In the seventh round, a clash of heads caused a cut on Ortiz’s left eyebrow. After that, he seemed to slow down. But Ortiz continued to pepper shots from a distance while Lopez accelerated his offense.
Unbelievably, respected judge Steve Weisfeld scored the bout 117-111 for Lopez. The other two, Tim Cheatham and David Sutherland, had it 115-113. Lopez swept the final three rounds on all three judges’ cards.
Jamaine Ortiz
WBN scored it 116-112 to Ortiz. At best, it was close and a split, but never 117-111 to Lopez in a million years.
After the fight, Lopez said: “I tried my best for the people. I even tried to box going backward, and he didn’t want to commit.”
Ortiz responded: “I stuck to the game plan. I was listening to my corner and my team. But I was doing good. I thought I was winning. That’s what I believe. I believe I won the fight. What can I say? I came up short once again.
“I just felt like he couldn’t hit me. But I was making him miss all night. I was countering, and I was making him miss. The jab and the check hook were landing all night. I just felt like he wasn’t landing any shots on me.”
He concluded: “I always stay true to who I am. But we’ll go back to the drawing board, make some adjustments, and come back for a title shot.”
On this evidence, Lopez will be hard-pressed to land a big-name for the late summer. Calling out Terence Crawford seems a million miles off after a lackluster performance.
