Jamaine Ortiz, the unbeaten, reigning USBA and NABF lightweight champion and No. 9-ranked lightweight in the WBC, faces Lomachenko live on ESPN+ Saturday, October 29 at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The 12-round Ortiz-Lomachenko bout headlines a loaded fight card promoted by Top Rank in association with CES.
Ortiz’s October 29 bout against Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) is undoubtedly the biggest of his career as he faces a former three-division world champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and one of the sport’s all-time, pound-for-pound greats with the opportunity for a life-changing world-title shot looming on the horizon. The 34-year-old Ukranian has held world titles at featherweight, super featherweight, and most recently lightweight, a stellar record over the course of just 18 pro fights since the beginning of his meteoric rise in 2013.
After losing his IBF, WBO, and WBA titles to Teofimo Lopez in 2020, Lomachencko has won his last two bouts, beating Masayoshi Nakatani and Richard Commey in 2021. October 29 will be his first fight of 2022; Lomachemnko was in the process of finalizing a deal to face George Kambosos Jr., who briefly held all three titles after beating Lopez in November of 2021, but in March he joined a territorial defense battalion in Ukraine and flew from Greece to his home outside of Odesa to be with his family during the Russian invasion. Like fellow Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk, Lomachenko received permission in August to leave his home country and return to the United States to begin training for his fight against Ortiz.
The potential payoff from October 29 is a shot at the IBF, WBC, WBO world and WBA super world lightweight titles, all of which are currently held by undefeated 23-year-old Devin Haney, who defends the belts October 16 against Kambosos in a rematch of their world title bout in June, won unanimously by Haney.
While the boxing world is buzzing over the potential of a Haney-Lomachenko mega-fight further down the road, the fact is both sides need to take care of business this month, and Ortiz has made it clear he’s coming to New York to win, not to be a stepping stone for Lomachenko on his journey back to the top of the lightweight division.
“I’m excited about this fight,” Ortiz said. “Vasiliy Lomachenko is a great fighter, but I’m here to win. Once I win this fight, I’m targeting a world-title opportunity. This is a dream come true.”
“I want to thank Bob Arum and all of my friends at Top Rank Boxing for this opportunity. Throughout my career, I have represented many athletes and champions, none more special than Jamaine Ortiz,” said CES president and CEO Jimmy Burchfield Sr. “He represents Worcester, Massachusetts; all of New England; the United States; Puerto Rico; and the Dominican Republic. He is a future world champion and this fight is the next step in his journey to the top. This is going to be an exciting fight!”
The 26-year-old Ortiz, nicknamed “The Technician,” is 16-0-1 with eight knockouts. He most recently faced former Olympian Jamel Herring in May, winning the fight by unanimous decision in front of a worldwide audience on ESPN.
A former apprentice carpenter and member of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters (NASRCC) Local Union 107, Ortiz has won three major titles in just under six years, first capturing the WBC World Youth Championship in 2019 followed by a victory over Nahir Albright on Showtime to add the NABF title. The win over Herring earned Ortiz the USBA title and a top-10 world ranking in addition to a seat at the table among the sport’s elite lightweights.
The October 29 card also includes the featherweight co-feature between Robeisy Ramirez (10-1, 6 KO) and Jessie Magdaleno (29-1, 18 KO) in addition to separate bouts featuring undercard lineup includes Delante “Tiger” Johnson (5-0, 4 KO), Duke Ragan (7-0, 1 KO), Troy Isley (7-0, 4 KO), Abdullah Mason (4-0, 3 KO), and Haven Brady Jr (7-0, 4 KO).