By Jack Tiernan: Former three-division world champion Vasyl Lomachenko is finishing up the last part of his training camp for his October 29th fight against Jamaine Ortiz on October 29th on ESPN+ at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) hopes that the fight against his 26-year-old former sparring partner Ortiz (16-0-1, 8 KOs) is the last step towards a fight against undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney.
The Haney fight is an iffy thing, as he might vacate his four 135-lb titles after beating George Kambosos Jr for the second time last Saturday night.
If the belts are vacated, Lomachenko could be elevated to WBC lightweight champion or more likely to fight the highest-ranked available contender willing to face him. That could be #2 WBC Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
The southpaw Ortiz helped Lomachenko with sparring to prepare him for his last fight against Richard Commey last December. Lomachenko then chose to use Ortiz as an opponent to help him prepare for Haney or whoever holds the belts.
Ortiz is coming off an impressive 10 round unanimous decision win over former WBO super featherweight champion Jamel Herring last May. After the fight, Herring retired.
Lomachenko should get well-prepared from fighting Ortiz, and he’ll be ready to take on Haney or whoever after this contest. Ortiz is a high-volume puncher who leads with his head when attacking.
If Lomachenko isn’t careful, he could get cut up on October 29th. That might throw off his plans for fighting for a world title in early 2023.
“Vasyl Lomachenko, he’s on a collision with Devin Haney,” said Bernard Osuna to Top Rank Boxing.
“I prepare to take my role. It’s very important. It’s a big motivation for you, and now I have one more step, and I am preparing for this,” said Lomachenko.
“That is a very idiosyncratic training regimen,” said ESPN’s Mark Kriegel about Lomachenko’s training. “The psychiatric stuff, the fighter pilot test, the holding your breath, this is not your normal routine.
“At the core of it, in my mind, is really about desire, and it comes down to whether will you postpone your last breath because you want to win.
“That’s why I keep coming back to the holding breath stuff. It mesmerizes me because three minutes, four minutes, that’s nuts, man,” said Kriegel.
“I think it’s a good test for him,” said Tim Bradley about Lomachenko’s fight with Jamaine Ortiz on October 29th. “Ortiz is gutsy, throws a ton of punches, and he comes in a bit with his head. So Lomachenko is going to have to be careful with the head-butts.
“I think it’s a nice warm-up fight for him to get closer to where he wants to get, and that’s the undisputed championship,” said Bradley about Lomachenko.
“I think he’s a very, very good guy,” said Lomachenko in talking of Jamaine. “I had a very good relationship because he was in my camp, and he helped me to prepare for my opponent Richard Commey.”
“When it comes to Loma, I think he’s very concentrated on his fight,” said Lomachenko’s manager Egis Klimas. “He puts everything on the side until after the fight.”
“I prepare very, very hard, and I prepare as always, and I focus on my opponent very, very seriously. I can predict that I will show my best,” said Lomachenko.
“Everybody has a plan against Lomachenko until they get in there, and when they start to see all these different movements and matrix-like tactics, a lot of guys just get bewildered, and they get beaten mentally before they get beat physically,” said Andre Ward.
“Approximately ten years from my start. I have a goal in my head, and my heart and I prepare for this moment, and I need this chance one more time,” said Lomachenko.
