Teofimo Lopez will defend his WBO junior welterweight title against Jamaine Ortiz in the main event of a Top Rank on ESPN card at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas on Thursday. The fight will be live on ESPN/ESPN+, with prelims starting at 6:25 p.m. ET, and the main card starting at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs) is returning to the ring after a brief retirement, following an impressive performance in June where he defeated Josh Taylor by unanimous decision. However, just days after the fight, Lopez announced his retirement. But now, the former undisputed lightweight champion is back to defend his title in a new division.
“It’s great to be back,” Lopez said during a news conference Tuesday. “I’m glad to see the talents coming through. But this is only the beginning for me. I’m 26 years young. I’m not even in my prime yet.”
Lopez’s opponent, Jamaine Ortiz (17-1-1, 8 KOs), is a formidable challenger. Ortiz gave Vasiliy Lomachenko a tough fight but came up short in a unanimous decision loss in October 2022. He followed that up with a unanimous decision victory over Antonio Moran back in September to set up this title shot.
“There hasn’t been respect,” Ortiz said of the fight against Lopez. “It’s a fight. I’m coming here to take his head off. It is what it is.”
Ortiz is looking to make a statement in this fight, and Lopez knows it.
“I know what it takes to be great, which means to respect the ring and respect what it means to be a champion,” Lopez said.
In the co-main event, Seniesa Estrada and Yokasta Valle will fight to crown the first undisputed strawweight champion in women’s boxing history on March 29 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona (ESPN/ESPN+). The fight will be the co-main event on the card featuring the Oscar Valdez-Liam Wilson junior lightweight bout.
Estrada (25-0, 9 KOs), of East Los Angeles, won the WBA belt by defeating Anabel Ortiz in March 2021. After moving up four months later to fight for the WBO junior flyweight title in a victory over Tenkai Tsunami, Estrada made two successful defenses before adding the WBC title in a victory over Tina Rupprecht in March. She defended the two titles in a unanimous decision win over Leonela Paola Yudica in July.
Valle (30-2, 9 KOs) won the IBF belt in August 2019 against Joana Pastrana, and after five defenses, she unified the WBO belt with a unanimous decision win over Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen in September 2022. This will be Valle’s fifth defense of her unified titles.
Estrada, ESPN’s No. 5-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, was promoted by Golden Boy until she left to sign a multiyear deal with Top Rank in July 2022, saying at the time, “I wanted more money, what I felt I deserved.”
Valle, the No. 2-ranked fighter in the division behind Estrada, is promoted by Golden Boy and has been on Estrada’s radar since the days when they had the same promoter.
“It’s not personal for her, but it’s personal for me for many reasons,” Estrada said during a news conference Wednesday to announce the fight. “I’m competitive. I’m hungry to become undisputed. This is the fight that I’ve been trying to make and wanting to make since I was with Golden Boy Promotions around the time they first signed me.”
Costa Rica’s Valle noted she has been working hard for this moment, fighting in different divisions to become one day undisputed, and added that the rivalry is not personal, it’s just business.
“I just want to be a champion,” Valle said. “I want to be undisputed. Seniesa has two titles. That’s what I’m looking for. Not her. Simply the world titles is what I’m looking for. That’s what I’ve been working towards for many years.”
The stakes are high for both fighters, as the winner will be crowned the first undisputed strawweight champion in women’s boxing history.
“I’m excited to make history,” Estrada said. “I’m excited to become undisputed. I’m excited to show the world that I am the best strawweight in the world.”
Valle shares the same sentiment.
“I’m ready for this opportunity,” Valle said. “I’m ready
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