“Bro goin backwards” – Teofimo Lopez’s comeback fight after short-lived retirement has fans disappointed

Teofimo Lopez will attempt his first title defense against Jamaine Ortiz after becoming a two-weight champion.

“Bro goin backwards” – Teofimo Lopez’s comeback fight after short-lived retirement has fans disappointed

Teofimo Lopez (Image Courtesy: DAZN)

In an exciting turn of events, Teofimo Lopez, the WBC Super-Lightweight Champion, and Jamaine Ortiz are slated to fight. Both parties have reportedly agreed on a date and signed a deal for their next fight. The announcement is a pleasant surprise since Lopez retired in June 2023. Subsequently, Lopez announced his retirement after his dominant victory over Josh Taylor, which made Lopez a two-weight champion. 

Lopez’s return announcement after becoming a two-weight champion and acquiring the WBO and Ring light-welterweight titles was shocking. However, Teofimo Lopez stated he was unsatisfied with his fighter’s purse. In addition, Lopez stated that others were profiting more from his fights than he was, which made Lopez unsatisfied. However, it appears that Lopez is ready to make a comeback after several months and will resurface from retirement. Furthermore, Top Rank Boxing took to X to announce that the fight will occur on February 8th in Las Vegas, NV. 

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After Lopez’s retirement announcement, the WBO urged Lopez to finalize his decision about vacating the title. However, Lopez decided not to and wrote a letter to the WBO stating that he would remain the reigning champion. 

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The fight with Ortiz will be his first competitive fight since coming out of retirement at the age of 26. Furthermore, it will be Lopez’s first title defense after becoming a two-weight champion after defeating Taylor. 

Fans react to Teofimo Lope’z fight announcement

Lopez is fresh off a dominant victory over Taylor in the main event at 140 lbs. Ortiz has largely established himself as a contender after a decision loss to Vasiliy Lomachenko last year. His most recent fight was a unanimous decision win over Antonio Moran in September of last year. The fight has excited fans since Lopez will be officially coming out of retirement.

Teofimo Lopez
Teofimo Lopez (Image Courtesy – DAZN)

Furthermore, the fight is expected to be intense since both Lopez and Ortiz are skilled fighters. In addition, both fighters have only suffered one professional loss across their careers. Subsequently, not all fans were happy with the announcement, and one fan stated, “Bro is going backwards.” Check out some of the fan reactions:

A lot of fans expressed their distaste for this matchup and called it boring. Furthermore, fans wanted to see Lopez and Ortiz fight other opponents instead. Subsequently, several fans were excited since both fighters were skilled, and many were predicting a great fight. 

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