Jamaine Ortiz heads into a 140 lb title fight as he’ll take on Teofimo Lopez on February 8, and as he prepares for the bout he speaks to Fight Hub TV about his confidence level going into the bout. Here’s some excerpts of what he had to say below.
Ortiz on his history with Lopez
“It was in the National Golden Gloves final in 2015. That was the first time I came across him.”
On his first impression of Lopez
“That he had a big nose first time I seen him. Had a big nose. I was like ‘I’ma pop that, I’ma break that big ass nose.’”
On what remembers about losing a points decision to Lopez in that fight
“I remember it was a competitive fight, back and forth, and, yeah, that’s all I remember from the fight.”
On if anything from the past will help him in this fight
“I don’t think so. That was a long time ago. We both have grown, matured, bigger bodies, got smarter in the ring. Obviously amateur is different from professional, three rounds to twelve.”
On if he believes Lopez has mental weaknesses
“Yeah, if he’s weak-minded, just take advantage of that, the opportunity, and see where his head’s at, how easily can he be brought down to a different fight?”
On fading down the stretch against Lomachenko and lessons he’s learned from that fight
“I thought I performed really good, great down the stretch, and yes, those are some things that I took away from that fight, is them championship rounds.”
On working with Bill Haney for this fight
“We was just in Vegas and from one brother to another we had some mutual respect and he was just giving me some tips and advice and we was in the gym together just working.”
On his perceived advantages over Lopez
“I think I’m a better switch-hitter. I think I have a better jab, I think I have better speed. Like I said, I’m more athletic and I got better movement.”