The announcement last month of Jamaine Ortiz as Vasiliy Lomachenko’s next opponent probably surprised plenty of people.
The 26-year-old Ortiz has long believed, however, that he would eventually earn the opportunity to prove himself against a three-division world champion he has admired for quite some time. The unbeaten Ortiz, of Worcester, Massachusetts, reflected on the potentially life-changing chance he’ll receive October 29 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York during a recent interview with BoxingScene.com.
“I always viewed myself fighting him one day,” Ortiz said. “Ever since like five years ago, I was like, ‘One day I’ll probably fight Lomachenko.’ I used to say that, so I’m not surprised. It’s just part of the process.”
Facing Lomachenko became more realistic for Ortiz once he defeated former WBO junior lightweight champ Jamel Herring on May 21 in Las Vegas. Ortiz out-pointed Herring (23-4, 11 KOs), a 2012 U.S. Olympian from Coram, New York, decisively on points in a 10-round encounter ESPN aired from Resorts World Las Vegas.
Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) is promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc., which co-promotes Ortiz (16-0-1, 8 KOs) along with Jimmy Burchfield’s CES Boxing. Ukraine’s Lomachenko wanted to fight again before he moves toward a showdown early in 2023 against undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney (29-0, 15 KOs), but Ortiz is confident he is capable of denying the two-time Olympic gold medalist his shot at Haney’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 135-pound championships.
Ortiz appreciates how far he has come since he headlined “ShoBox” cards on Showtime as recently as February 18, but this is the type of fight in which he has long felt he belongs.
“Just because he was one of my favorite fighters at the time and I figured if I really think I’m on that level, your idols become your rivals at some point in time,” Ortiz said. “So, I always viewed myself as the top pound-for-pound one day. And at that time, he was pound-for-pound. And I was like, ‘Well, I’m gonna catch up and eventually I’m gonna fight him.’
Most oddsmakers have installed the 34-year-old Lomachenko as at least a 20-1 favorite over Ortiz. Being dismissed as an underdog incapable of beating a skillful southpaw who will end a 10-month layoff has motivated Ortiz even more as the biggest fight of his career approaches.
“It’s gonna be something special,” Ortiz said of upsetting Lomachenko, “something great, especially for the team, the guys at the gym, to know anything is possible if you just work hard and put your mind to it.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.