It was the biggest win in Jamaine Ortiz’s career…until it wasn’t.
Outside of a few close friends, family, and his training team, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who believed Ortiz could pull it off. It was hard to blame them. Beating Vasiliy Lomachenko was something that was normally reserved for boxing’s elite. Ortiz, no matter how talented he appeared to be, wasn’t of that ilk. Ortiz, on the other hand, knew that he belonged.
On October 29th, 2022, the 27-year-old was incredibly sharp. His jab was piercing, his right hand was strong and accurate, and his defensive chops were on point. After 36 minutes of action, the lightweight contender believed that he got it done. Ultimately, however, his bright smile was wiped off his face as Lomachenko was given the win.
As Ortiz looks to put the first loss of his career behind him, he’s hoping that, at the very least, he gained more attention. At this point, he doesn’t see why he shouldn’t be allowed to face the best that the lightweight division has to offer.
Amongst a long list of names that he would like to take on, Frank Martin protrudes toward the top. Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs) isn’t normally a man of many words. So, when he was recently asked how things would play out between them, he kept his answer short and sweet.
“I would beat him,” said Ortiz to MillCity Boxing.
Martin, 28, has been the talk of the lightweight town as of late. His performances have many believing that he’s one of the division’s aristocracies.
Getting his hands on someone as respected as Martin is the sort of jolt that Ortiz needs. First things first, however, he has to take care of business against Antonio Moran on September 15th.
In the mind of Ortiz, the outcome is already a foregone conclusion. Moran, no matter how battle-tested, isn’t the level of opposition that excites Ortiz. Martin, on the other hand, lights a fire under him.
It’s difficult to predict how certain matchups would play out in the ring. Ortiz though, whipped out his crystal ball, gave it one good rub, and took a peek into the future. He didn’t go on to issue harmful threats in Martin’s direction, nor did he say that he isn’t a good fighter. But, in terms of how things would unfold in the ring against him, Ortiz is convinced that it would look eerily similar to what took place on July 29th.
“I think it would be like Crawford vs. Spence.”