Lomachenko-Ortiz Preview
Former three-division titleholder and former “Pound-for-Pound” king Vasiliy Lomachenko will be looking to earn his second consecutive win on Saturday against Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz, in a 12-round lightweight (135 lbs) matchup. The bout will headline a ESPN+ card from the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KO) will be returning to the ring after joining a territorial defense battalion in his home nation of Ukraine earlier this year. It will be his first fight since outpointing former lightweight titleholder Richard Commey in December of 2021.
The former two-time Olympic gold medalist is just two fights removed from his decision loss against Teofimo Lopez in October 2020, in which he lost the WBO, WBA and WBC Franchise titles. Lomachenko bounced back the following June, earning a ninth round TKO over Masayoshi Nakatani, before picking up the win over Commey later that year.
Ortiz (16-0-1, 8 KO) was largely unknown going into his matchup with Jamel Herring earlier this year. However the Worcester, Massachusetts native managed to pull off the upset by outpointing the former world champion over 10 rounds. Despite the notable win over Herring, there aren't really any recognizable names on his resume. The 26-year-old is looking to earn his third consecutive win since fighting to a draw with Joseph Adorno in 2021.
The 135 pound weight class has been a roller coaster ride since Lomachenko lost his titles nearly two years ago. Since then, the belts have gone to Teofimo Lopez, then to George Kambosos and now to Devin Haney. If Lomachenko is in usual form and looks impressive against Ortiz, a fight for Haney’s undisputed championship could be a lucrative matchup.
Fighter’s Form (last 5 fights):
Vasiliy Lomachenko
Richard Commey - WIN by UD (119-108, 119-108, 117-110) - 11/12/2021
Masayoshi Nakatani - WIN by TKO 9 - 26/06/2021
Teofimo Lopez - LOSS by UD (119-109, 117-111, 116-112) - 17/10/2020
Luke Campbell - WIN by UD (119-108, 119-108, 118-109) - 31/08/2019
Anthony Crolla - WIN by KO 4 - 12/04/2019
Jamaine Ortiz
Jamel Herring - WIN by UD (97-93, 97-93, 96-94) - 21/05/2022
Nahir Albright - WIN by UD - 18/02/2022
Joseph Adorno - DRAW (76-74, 75-75, 75-75) - 24/04/2021
Sulaiman Segawa - WIN by KO 7 - 28/11/2020
Luis Castillo Leal - WIN by TKO 2 - 28/02/2020
Event Information:
Date: October 29th, 2022
Time: 2 am (GMT), 6pm (PT), 9pm (ET)
Venue: Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Channel: ESPN+
Elsewhere on the card
In the co-main event, contender Robeisy Ramirez (10-1, 6 KO) will face off against Jose Matias Romero (26-2, 9 KO) in a 10-round featherweight bout . The card will also showcase U.S. Olympic silver medalist and prospect Richard Torrez Jr. (3-0, 3 KO) against Ahmed Hefny (13-2, 5 KO).