After passing up a near-unification opportunity in favor of defending his homeland earlier this year, pound-for-pound great Vasiliy Lomachenko is officially set to return to the ring on October 29 against undefeated Jamaine Ortiz at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden.
Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) stepped over Richard Commey last December for his second straight win since losing his titles to Teofimo Lopez in 2020. Negotiations with newly crowned George Kambosos Jr were inches from the line. goal when Russia invaded Ukraine. prompting “Hi-Tech” to untie the gloves and take up the weapons.
A chance for the winner of Kambosos’ rematch with Devin Haney is on the table if he emerges victorious, but this is anything but a set-up. Ortiz (16-0-1, 8 KOs) is a solid contender at 26, posting a draw with Joseph Adorno and a recent decision victory over Jamel Herring. While it would be quite a shock to see him change the script, he will at least make Lomachenko work for it.
There are no wrestler quotes in the press release, oddly enough, but we do have one from Bob Arum.
“Vasiliy Lomachenko is a credit to his country and the sport of boxing,” Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum said. “When his country needed him, Vasiliy did not hesitate. We are thrilled that he is safe and fighting once again at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, his home away from home. Jamaine Ortiz is a young, hungry, undefeated fighter who understands that a victory over a living legend like Loma would change her life.”
Also available is the previously revealed featherweight co-feature between Robeisy Ramirez (10-1, 6 KO) and Jessie Magdaleno (29-1, 18 KO). Ramirez is coming off the biggest win of his career, a violent one-punch finish to Abraham Nova, and could find himself within a fight or two of a title shot if he emerges victorious. Magdaleno, on the other hand, won a decision last May in her first appearance since a bizarre 2020 saga saw him fending off a shot at Emanuel Navarette and then disappearing off the face of the earth.
Rounding out the main card Olympic lineup is Richard Torrez Jr (3-0, 4 KOs), who fights TBA in the opener. One would hope his monstrous KO of Marco Antonio Canedo would convince Top Rank to stop feeding him warm bodies, but he wouldn’t hold his breath.
The undercard lineup includes Adelante “Tiger” Johnson (5-0, 4 KOs), Duke Ragan (7-0, 1 KO) and Troy Isley (7-0, 4 KOs) alongside Abdullah Mason (4-0 , 3 KOs). ). ) and Haven Brady Jr. (7-0, 4 KOs)
