Lopez makes first defence of WBO title

Teofimo Lopez makes the first defence of his WBO junior welterweight title when he faces Jamaine Ortiz at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas on Thursday night.

Lopez (19-1; 13) won the IBF lightweight title in 2019 when he stopped Richard Commey in two rounds and then upset the talented Vasyl Lonachenko to win the WBA Super and WBO titles.

However, he lost the titles to George Kambosos Jr. in New York on a split decision, and then moved up to junior welterweight and won on a seventh-round stoppage over Pedro Campa.

In his next fight he had to come back from a knockdown against Sandor Martin in December 2022, to win on a split decision.

In June last year he won the WBO junior welterweight title on a points decision against Josh Taylor.

Ortiz (17-1-1; 8) from Worcester, Massachusetts, will be making his first challenge for a world title after a seven-year pro career and comes off a win over Antonio Mpran in his most recent fight.

The talented Lopez should have enough to retain the title on points.