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Vasiliy Lomachenko is a mind-bogglingly large favorite to defeat Jamaine Ortiz on Saturday.
'Loma' has been out of action since his decision victory over Richard Commey last December. After the victory, the former champion was in talks to face then-titleholder George Kambosos Jr. in Australia.
However, due to Russia's invasion of his home country of Ukraine, Lomachenko was forced to turn down the matchup. The former champion subsequently enlisted in the military alongside his longtime friend and reigning WBA, IBF, IBO, and WBO Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk then left the country in the summer to train for his rematch with Anthony Joshua.
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However, Vasiliy Lomachenko has only returned to training in the last few months, and he's now set to return to action this weekend. Standing opposite the Ukrainian will be the rising contender Jamaine Ortiz.
The 26-year-old is just beginning to find a foothold in the division after defeating Jamel Herring in May. The bout was a great win, the best of Ortiz's career even. However, oddsmakers still believe he's still a bit green for top tier competition.
According to the current odds from MGM, the former champion is a -2000 favorite while Jamine Ortiz is an underwhelming +900 underdog.
Vasiliy Lomachenko discusses fighting Jamaine Oritz
Many believe that this fight is too big of a step-up for Jamaine Ortiz, but Lomachenko doesn't care.
While 'The Technican' is a great prospect, he's exactly that, a prospect. His victory over Jamel Herring was fantastic, but also one that was sullied by the former champion's losing streak heading in and his subsequent retirement.
Similar to the Deontay Wilder-Robert Helenius heavyweight matchup earlier this month, the two lightweight contenders used to be training partners. Thanks to their time together, 'Loma' and 'The Technician' have a lot of respect for each other.
In a recent interview with BoxingScene, Vasiliy Lomachenko previewed his matchup with Jamaine Ortiz.
When discussing whether this matchup was too big of a step-up for his former training partner, 'Loma' made it clear that he didn't care. He then proceeded to discuss his own title aspirations:
“I’m not his promoter. I’m not his trainer. I’m not thinking about if this step up is too much for him or not. My goal is to win this fight and get closer to my goal of fighting for the undisputed title.”
