Breaking: Date and opponent announced for Teofimo Lopez’s WBO super-lightweight world title defense

The date and opponent for WBC super-lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez’s next fight is official.

Recent reports revealed negotiations between Lopez and Jamaine Ortiz for a title fight on Feb. 8 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Top Rank Boxing recently took to X and announced that the fight has been finalized.

Lopez is a rising star in the boxing realm. He is coming off a spectacular victory over Josh Taylor to win the WBO and The Ring light-welterweight titles.

Lopez vs. Ortiz will headline the Top Rank Boxing event that will take place three days before the Super Bowl.

Lopez’s win over Taylor in June 2023 re-established his dominance in the boxing sphere after he had struggled to pull off a split decision win against Sandor Martin in his previous outing. ‘The Takeover’ surprised the world when he announced his retirement immediately after defeating Taylor.

However, he informed WBO in writing that he would continue with his title reign after being given a 24-hour deadline to finalize his decision. The fight against Ortiz will be the 26-year-old’s first competitive appearance after coming out of a short retirement.

Keyshawn Davis vs. Jose Pedraza will co-headline the Feb. 8 event. Davis is coming off a No Contest against Nahir Albright. Originally a majority decision victory for Davis, the result was overturned after he tested positive for marijuana.

Meanwhile, his opponent Jose Pedraza has not won a fight since defeating Julian Rodriguez in June 2021. He last fought Arnold Barboza for the WBO Intercontinental super-lightweight title, a fight he lost via unanimous decision.

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Teofimo Lopez declined to fight Ryan Garcia

Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez are both young boxing stars who have tremendous growth potential. However, Garcia’s knockout loss against Gervonta Davis in April 2023 severely affected his stock.

The potential fight between Lopez and Garcia has caught boxing fans’ imagination for a while. ‘The Takeover’ claimed that Garcia had contacted him on social media and proposed a fight between them. However, he dismissed the match, claiming that ‘KingRy’ was too desperate for a payday.

While attending the David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade event, Lopez told FightHype.com that the Garcia fight was offered to him but he declined it:

“I declined the offer.”

Watch Lopez's interaction below:

Garcia returned to the win column against Oscar Duarte in December 2023 with a knockout in round eight. The performance was widely praised and it raised the 25-year-old’s stock once again.