Vasiliy Lomachenko Vs. Jamaine Ortiz: Odds, Records, Prediction

Now that Devin Haney has dismissed George Kambosos for the second time, one possible opponent for the undisputed lightweight champion would be the biggest catch of all for Haney: Vasiliy Lomachenko. That fight could happen in 2023, but first, Lomachenko has to get past Jamaine Ortiz on Saturday night, and that might not be as easy as it sounds. Here’s everything you need to know about Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Jamaine Ortiz, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.

The boxing world hasn’t seen Lomachenko since he put in a dominating performance vs. Richard Commey last December. That’s because Lomachenko took time away from his sport to help defend his native Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion. Now that he hasn’t fought in 10 months and because he’s now 34 years old, you can understand why Ortiz (and possibly Haney) are keen to fight him at this moment of his career.

“I think a lot of the younger fighters look at Loma and they want to fight him now when they never did before because they know he has the big name, they see him as an older fighter and they think that maybe he’s stepping down or regressing a bit,” Top Rank Vice President Carl Moretti told Yahoo. “You didn’t hear that talk two years ago. Teofimo back then is the only [elite young fighter] who stepped up and wanted to fight him, and Teofimo deserves credit for that. Loma’s all about the titles. His whole focus is on getting the titles back.”

Lomachenko had three of the 135-pound titles before Teofimo Lopez upset him and took them away. Since then, Lomachenko has scored a knockout vs. Masayoshi Nakatani and nearly stopped Commey before winning by unanimous decision. If he beats Ortiz, that should vault him right back onto Haney’s level.

“I love my sport, and I am so glad to be back,” Lomachenko said. “My goal is to win the undisputed lightweight title, but I will not take Jamaine Ortiz lightly.”

He shouldn’t. Ortiz is an undefeated 26-year-old who’s coming off the biggest win of his career vs. former junior lightweight titlist Jamel Herring. Talk about a confidence boost for Ortiz.

“This fight means everything to me,” Ortiz said. “This is something I’ve manifested into my life, eventually fighting Lomachenko … I learned a lot of things about myself in the Jamel Herring fight, as I do in every fight. I try to make improvements. I go back to the basics and fundamentals and try to master those skills. Saturday night, you’re going to see the best Jamaine Ortiz.”

Here’s more info on the Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Jamaine Ortiz showdown that U.S. viewers can watch on ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET.

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Jamaine Ortiz odds

Lomachenko is a big favorite, but there’s some value on Ortiz if you think he can pull off the upset. Lomachenko is -2000 (bet $2,000 to win $100), while Ortiz is the +900 underdog. That’s not a bad money line if you think Ortiz could win more than once if these two fought 10 times. For me, I don’t mind Lomachenko to win by stoppage at -125, but I’d like it a little bit more by going with Lomachenko by stoppage in rounds 7-12 at +160.

If you were looking for a fun parlay for this weekend’s action of boxing (and this is only for entertainment purposes), I might take Lomachenko to stop Ortiz at -125, Jake Paul to beat Anderson Silva at -250, and William Zepeda to beat JoJo Diaz at -190. If all of those hit, you’d win $285 on a $100 bet. For what it’s worth, I nailed my hypothetical parlay from two weeks ago.

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Jamaine Ortiz records

Lomachenko is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and almost certainly a first-ballot Boxing Hall of Famer. But he still has two losses in his 18 pro fights, one to former world titlist Orlando Salido in Lomachenko’s second fight and one to Lopez. Otherwise, Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) has beaten top-notch boxers like Gary Russell Jr., Guillermo Rigondeaux, Jorge Linares and Richard Commey.

Ortiz (16-0-1, 8 KOs) is relatively unknown, though his win vs. Herring was certainly eye-opening at the time. His other most notable opponent came in a majority eight-round draw vs. Joseph Adorno. Lomachenko will be the best fighter he’s ever faced, but in Ortiz’s last four fights, his opponents’ combined record is 64-6-2. So yes, he’s got some talent.

Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Jamaine Ortiz prediction

There’s been talk ever since the Lopez fight that Lomachenko is beginning to slip. That certainly didn’t seem to be the case in his last couple of fights. And it won’t be evident against Ortiz either. Lomachenko will dominate early in the fight and eventually stop the confident Ortiz. Say, Lomachenko by TKO in the seventh round.