LAS VEGAS (AP) — Teofimo Lopez Jr. unanimously outpointed Jamaine Ortiz to retain the WBO junior welterweight title Thursday night, just days before Super Bowl at nearby Allegiant Stadium.
Judge Steve Weisfeld scored the fight 117-111, while Tim Cheathem and David Sutherland both had it 115-113, an announcement met by a roar of boos from an announced crowd of 6,206 at Michelob Ultra Arena.
Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) was making his first defense of his title and was stepping into the ring for the first time since June, when he beat Josh Taylor by way of a unanimous decision.
“I am champion. I am king,” Lopez said. “Glory is next for me. None of these guys want to fight me. I’ll fight (Terence) Crawford at a catchweight. I’m here. I’m ready. I’ve always been ready. I’m younger, prettier, and a two-time unified champion at 25.”
Lopez was minus-750 at FanDuel Sportsbook, which means a bettor would have had to lay $750 to win $100.
Lopez opened the match fighting downhill, forcing himself upon Ortiz (17-2-1), who was fighting in his first world title match and appeared prepared to challenge Lopez after vowing to knock him out, but then spent much of the fight back peddling.
By the start of the seventh, the left side of Ortiz’s face began to swell. Making matters worse for him, a clash of heads left Ortiz bleeding near his left eye a little more than one minute into the round.
The eighth and ninth rounds were more than frustrating for Lopez, who spent more time chasing Ortiz than fighting him. Ortiz on the other hand landed timely counters, getting in and out of combinations to stave off Lopez’s pursuit.
“We cannot for one second claim these people, these fighters that don’t want to come and fight,” Lopez said. “I am a champion. I bleed for this, I sweat for this, and I cry for this every time.”
It wouldn’t be until the 12th round that a steady stream of action with both fighters delivering combinations, Lopez walking through punches to land his own and Ortiz firing back while still moving around the ring.
Per CompuBox stats, both fighters landed a bout-high 15 punches. Overall, Lopez landed 78 of 384 punches thrown (21%), while Ortiz landed 80 of 409 (20%).
“I believe I won the fight,” Ortiz said. “What can I say, I came out on the short end of the stick once again. … He couldn’t hit me. … He wasn’t landing any shots on me.”
In the co-main event, a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout, American Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis stopped former Puerto Rican two-division world champion Jose Pedraza with a sixth-round TKO.
Davis (10-0, 7 KOs) began imposing his will in the third round, landing thunderous combinations to both Pedraza’s head and body. And while he appeared to do most of his damage with straight shots to the face, Davis inflicted most of his punishment with continuous shots to the body in ensuing rounds.
“Throughout this whole training camp, I’ve been saying that I’m the best at 135,” Davis said. “Everyone kept saying, ‘You’ve got to get the stoppage. You’ve got to get the knockout.’ But I told everyone to not worry about it and just watch me work. And that’s exactly what happened. I got the stoppage.”
Now, Davis has his sights set on Lopez.
“Teofimo has been doing a lot of talking lately,” Davis added. “I’ll go up to 140 and fight Teofimo. What’s up? … You already know how I’m coming. You and your father. So let’s set it up. I’ll come straight to 140. Let’s go. And if you’re scared Teofimo, then (Emanuel) Navarrete. He is a great fighter. He is a hell of a fighter. It would be an honor to get in the ring with you after you capture the WBO title. So let’s do it.”
Pedraza, who returned to the lightweight division in hopes of capturing another world title, dropped to 29-6-1.
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