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- What: WBO and The Ring junior welterweight title fight
- Who: Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz
- Date: Thursday, February 8, 2023
- Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
- How to Watch: ESPN+
This week, we have a rare Thursday night boxing card in Las Vegas. In the headlining bout of that Super Bowl week card, Teofimo Lopez puts his WBO and The Ring junior welterweight titles on the line against Jamaine Ortiz. The fight takes place at Michelob ULTRA Arena and streams on ESPN+. Here is some background on the fighters before we discuss, in detail, the betting breakdown of the Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz title fight.
Teofimo Lopez (19-1 with 13 knockouts) is coming off an upset win over Josh Taylor in June. With his unanimous decision victory in that matchup, Lopez won the WBO and The Ring junior welterweight titles. Lopez earned the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles in 2020 with a win over Vasiliy Lomachenko. He lost those belts to George Kambosos in November 2021. Lopez is 3-0 since his loss to Kambosos. He is currently the top-ranked 140-pound boxer, according to The Ring.
Jamaine Ortiz (17-1-1 with 8 KOs) is the No. 10 fighter in the WBO rankings. He enters Thursday’s fight in Las Vegas coming off a September unanimous decision win over Antonio Moran. His only career defeat was an October 2022 unanimous decision setback to Lomachenko.
Before we look at the junior welterweight title fight between Teofimo Lopez and Jamaine Ortiz, check out the best boxing betting sites, where you can find the best boxing picks.
Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz betting picks
| Fighters |  |  |  |  |  |
| Teofimo Lopez | -700 | -700 | -700 | -700 | -700 |
| Jamaine Ortiz | +450 | +430 | +450 | +450 | +390 |
Teofimo Lopez betting breakdown
The defending champion, Teofimo Lopez, has good head movement and is mostly sound defensively, but he fights with a low lead hand, which gives his opponent, especially one with fast hands, the chance to connect with a lot of jabs. Lopez also tends to leap on his punches, which puts him on an unsteady base. Another liability of Lopez is his tendency to leave himself open for power punches by blocking his opponent’s lead hand with his own lead hand.
On the offensive side of the ledger, Lopez has speed, power, athleticism, a strong chin, the ability to put combinations together, comfort at range or in close. He is also an extremely talented and confident fighter when his mind is right. Lopez was an elite fighter at lightweight, and he is now an elite fighter at junior welterweight.
The one question that might come up concerning Lopez is his mindset. He announced his retirement from boxing not long after he defeated Taylor, and he openly wondered about his place in boxing following his loss to Kambosos, and is coming off a long break where he was dealing with personal issues.
Jamaine Ortiz betting breakdown
Jamaine Ortiz made a name for himself with a gutsy performance against Lomachenko in 2022. Lomachenko was a massive -2500 betting favorite over the +1200 betting underdog, Ortiz in that contest, but Ortiz took Lomachenko the 12-round distance, and even won a few rounds over the former champ. That showing earned him this shot at Lopez. Before his loss to Lomachenko, Ortiz defeated former junior lightweight world champion Jamel Herring.
Ortiz is similar to Lopez, but he’s not at the same elite level as his opponent in this matchup. He’s strong, has power, and can fight well at any range he needs to. He is an intelligent fighter who knows how to use his energy well; with that, he’ll be in the mix for as long as this fight lasts.
One issue facing Ortiz in this matchup is that he does not have youth on his side. He is actually the older fighter in this contest, at 27, compared to Lopez’s 26. That advantage helped Lopez against Herring and Lomachenko, but it won’t help here. Also, Lopez has been in many more high-pressure contests against elite competition. The one advantage Ortiz does have against Lopez is that he’s not expected to win. With that, he can fight looser and push his opponent into positions he can capitalize on.
Ortiz is a tough competitor, and he is not someone Lopez should take lightly.
Best Bets for Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz
From all accounts, Teofimo Lopez is in the right mindset heading into his title fight against Jamaine Ortiz. That’s important. Lopez is an incredibly talented fighter, but he is beatable if he’s not invested in his opponent or interested in what’s at stake. Unless something changed late in his fight camp for this fight, Lopez, who is a monster betting favorite, is the betting pick to retain his titles on Thursday night. The fight’s outcome will be Lopez winning a decision on Super Bowl Thursday.
Best bet for Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz: Teofimo Lopez to win via decision.
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