WAfter bursting back into prominence with an upset of Josh Taylor, polarizing pugilist, Teofimo Lopez, makes the first defense of his WBO Super Welterweight title tonight (Thurs., Feb. 8, 2024) against dangerous contender, Jamaine Ortiz, inside Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of tonight’s ESPN+-streamed main card below. The broadcast begins at 10:30 p.m. ET, with Lopez and Ortiz likely to make the walk closer to 11:30 p.m. ET. Bet on boxing at DraftKings Sportsbook.
“The Takeover” experienced one of the more dramatic rises and falls in recent memory, taking three belts from pound-for-pound great, Vasiliy Lomachenko (watch highlights), and promptly dropped them to heavy underdog, George Kambosos Jr. (see it here). The defeat sent him from Lightweight to Super Lightweight, where he scored a pair of uninspiring wins before out-classing Taylor in June 2023.
Lopez has not been shy with his callouts, naming the likes of division bogeyman, Subriel Matias, as potential targets, but first he has to get past Ortiz. “The Technician” notably sent former Lightweight champion, Jamel Herring, into retirement in 2022 and pushed Lomachenko to the limit five months later.
The co-feature sees Olympic silver medalist, Keyshawn Davis — considered one of boxing’s brightest prospects — face his toughest challenge to date in veteran Jose Pedraza.
Lopez Vs. Ortiz Quick Results:
Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz — Lopez def. Ortiz by unanimous decision (117-111, 115-113 x2)
Keyshawn Davis vs. Jose Pedraza — Davis def. Pedraza by TKO at 1:09 of Round Six
Lopez Vs. Ortiz Round-By-Round Updates:
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WBO Super Lightweight Championship: Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz
Round one: Ortiz comes out southpaw. Both men flicking out their jabs, neither has found the range yet. Ortiz with a left downstairs. Lopez trying to time the counter right. Halfway through. Low-high 1-2 from Lopez. Ortiz to the body. Nice jab by Ortiz. He tries to triple up the left. Lopez corners him, gets reversed, clinch. 10-9 Ortiz.
Round two: Quick combination from Ortiz as he continues to circle. Lopez doubles up the right. Clinch. 1-2 just misses. Halfway through. Ortiz not landing a ton off the back foot, but doing well at playing matador so far. Two-piece just misses for Lopez, clinch. Nice counter left by Ortiz, 1-2 downstairs. Lead right by Lopez lands clean. Lopez wades in with a combo, eats a left. 10-9, 20-18 Ortiz.
Round three: Lopez steps in and Ortiz spins him, drawing a chiding from the ref. Solid left inside by Ortiz. 1-2, spin, double left. Lopez digs a right downstairs. Ortiz darts in with a left. They trade in the center halfway through. Ortiz avoids a combo and puts together one of his own. Double left by Ortiz. Lopez whiffs on a left hook. Again, not much landing from Ortiz but it’s more than Lopez has. Pull counter from Ortiz, glancing right from Lopez. They trade at the bell. 10-9, 30-27 Ortiz.
Round four: Double right from Lopez in the early going. Ortiz to the body, clinch. Ortiz pivots off the ropes with body shots. Right downstairs by Lopez. Body jab, good trade in the center. Left hook finds the mark for Lopez halfway through. Dart left by Ortiz. They trade in the corner, Ortiz gets the better of it. Lopez waving Ortiz on, cornering himself. Ortiz obliges with rapid-fire combos inside. Nice check hook by Ortiz. Double jab. 10-9, 40-36 Ortiz.
Round five: Counter left by by Ortiz. Continuing to sharpshoot off the back foot. Lopez struggling to consistently get inside. Halfway through. Clinch. Right to the body from Lopez and they trade in the clinch. Some taunting from Lopez. Ortiz obliges with body shots. 50-45 Ortiz.
Round six: Dart left by Ortiz, counter from Lopez. Body shot by Ortiz, clinch. Halfway through. Good combo by Ortiz after Lopez waves him on. Long right lands for Lopez. Lopez struggling to cut off the ring, eats a body shot. Lopez calls him on and Ortiz lands a combo. 10-9, 60-54 Ortiz.
Round seven: Lopez can’t hunt Ortiz down; he’s taunting and lunging but can’t get inside. Body shot from Lopez. They trade in the corner, neither lands clean and their heads collide, opening a nasty cut over Ortiz’s left eye. They let it continue and the matador act resumes. Lead right by Lopez, combo from Ortiz on the ropes halfway through. Lopez tries to open up, gets clinched. Overhand left lands for Ortiz. Check hook. Nice lead right by Lopez, who tries to turn it up and gets clinched. Combination in the center. Solid uppercut from Lopez, who eats a pull counter. 10-9 Lopez, 69-64 Ortiz.
Round eight: 1-2 from Ortiz. Lead left. Check hook. We’re back to the usual pace. Right downstairs from Lopez, sharp combo by Ortiz and a check hook halfway through. 1-2 downstairs by Lopez. Short right uppercut by Ortiz on the exit. Lopez combo falls short, 1-2 from Ortiz. Clinch. He tries a pull counter at the bell. 10-9, 79-73 Ortiz.
Round nine: 1-2 from Ortiz. Solid body shot by Lopez. Short right hook by Ortiz on the exit. Lopez still can’t cut off the ring. Halfway through. Combo by Ortiz. Lopez corners him, gets reversed, weathers a combo. He slips awkwardly. Ortiz whacks him with some lefts in the clinch at the bell. 10-9, 89-82 Ortiz.
Round ten: More of the same to start the tenth. Lopez lands a right hand downstairs. Halfway through. Ortiz reverses in the corner and tries to swat in the clinch. 2-2-1 by Ortiz. Combo by Ortiz inside. Lopez digs a right downstairs and ties up. Straight left by Ortiz kicks off an exchange in the corner. 10-9, 99-91 Ortiz.
Round eleven: Double right from Lopez to start. Body jab. Nice straight left by Ortiz. Ortiz combo, Lopez body shot. Quick check hook lands for Ortiz against the ropes. Ortiz body shots. Halfway through. Chippy clinch. Lopez body shot blocked. Ortiz landing the jab, eats a body shot. Lopez tries a combo in the corner, no dice, takes a glancing right hook. 10-9, 109-100 Ortiz.
Round twelve: Lopez looking aggressive, lands a pair of solid right hands. Quick check hook by Ortiz. Lopez tries a combo on the ropes, eats jabs. He doubles up the right, gets clinched. Counter left into the clinch by Ortiz. Right from Lopez, body shot from Lopez. Good exchange in the corner halfway through. Clinch. 1-2 just misses for Ortiz, who takes some body shots. Combination from Lopez in the corner. Lopez whiffing with bog swings. Short shots by Ortiz and they slug in the center. 10-9 Lopez, 118-110 Ortiz. This was all swing rounds, so these’ll be some weird cards.
Final result: Lopez def. Ortiz by unanimous decision
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Lightweight: Keyshawn Davis vs. Jose Pedraza
Round one: Pedraza stings Davis with an early right hand as Davis pumps teh jab. Clinch. Lots of head movement from both. Another sharp right by Pedraza met by a fast two-piece. Trading in the center. They’re staying at point-blank range, neither man getting a clear advantage. Halfway through. Nice body shots from Davis met by one from Pedraza. Lots of clinching. as Pedraza steps inside. Good exchange. 10-9 Pedraza.
Round two: Pedraza trying to get inside and smother. Heavy left hand by Davis. Lead left into the clinch by Pedraza, then a swatting right hand. Stiff right jab, forcing Davis back. He lunges in head first and they collide in the corner. Pedraza punches into the clinch again. Halfway through. Solid counter 2-3 by Davis. 1-2-3. Pedraza tries to flurry inside. Davis doing a better job of staying out of the clinch and sharpshooting. Hard body shot, then a combo upstairs. Stiff jabs, both men rip the body inside. Sharp right hand from Davis to end the round. 10-9 Davis, 19-19.
Round three: Davis seems to have found his groove, preventing Pedraza from tying up and landing sharp combinations. Heavy right hand forces Pedraza back and Davis sits down on some bombs. Heavy body shots into a 1-2. Davis just clubbing Pedraza, who finally wakes up and comes back with a series of body shots. Solid right hand, then a couple of lefts from “The Sniper.” Halfway through. Rapid-fire from Davis in center ring. Pedraza looking to get inside and fire his own but he’s getting outgunned. Pedraza’s still advancing and throwing volume but there’s so much more on Davis’ shots. Hard double left by Davis, then a right to cap things off. 10-9, 29-28 Davis.
Round four: Pedraza continuing to pursue, but not landing anything significant. Davis potshotting off his back foot. Pedraza wades into the clinch, eats body shots. Davis not showing the same vigor as the last round but still landing well. Halfway through. Pedraza lands some body shots, eats heavier shots from a suddenly switched-on Davis. More crisp combinations to the head and body from Davis. Sharp check hook in the corner. One last exchange. 10-9, 39-37 Davis.
Round five: Pedraza continues to push forward but it’s all arm punches from him. They trade at close range before the ref breaks them up. Straight punches from Davis, clinch. Check hook, pull counter, clinch. Halfway through. Davis staying on his bike, lands a two-piece in the center. 2-3-pivot, trading in the clinch. Crisp combos before the bell. 10-9, 49-46 Davis.
Round six: There’s not much entertainment to be found at this point; Pedraza doesn’t have enough on his shots to make his pressure effective and Davis seems to have resigned himself to not finding the knockout, so it’s just Pedraza marching forward, Davis picking him off, and clinching. As I type that, a 1-2 finally stings Pedraza and Davis goes back on the attack. 1-2 sends Pedraza staggering to the corner and in comes the ref for the save.
Final result: Davis def. Pedraza by TKO
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