Jamaine Ortiz says he will make the “clown” Teofimo Lopez do whatever he wants this Thursday night, February 8th, when he rips his WBO light welterweight title from him at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.

Lopez’s Curious Behavior

Teofimo (19-1, 13 KOs), an eccentric, outdid himself today, keeping his head buried in a book, reading or pretending to read on stage during the final press conference ahead of his headliner against Ortiz (17-1-1, 8 KOs) on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had to be a little annoyed watching Teofimo waste valuable promotional time on stage today, reading a Bruce Lee book rather than creating interest in his main event fight.

Teofimo looked disengaged from today’s activity, being present physically but not mentally taking part.

Ortiz Takes Aim

“There hasn’t been respect. It’s a fight. I’m coming here to take his head off. It is what it is,” said Jamaine Ortiz during today’s final press conference, talking about his plans to defeat WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez this Thursday night.

If Teofimo isn’t playing with a full deck, he’ll lose to Jamaine because he is not the kind of fighter that he can beat in one of his off performances, as we saw against Sandor Martin and George Kambosos Jr. Teo will need to be at his best to win, and typically isn’t after a good performance.

Legacy in the Making

“There is a calm before the storm. You’ve got to know to keep control of your mind and body, especially before you go into battle,” said Jamaine Ortiz.

“I feel like I’m going to be the guy having the clown do whatever I want to do. It’s going to be that kind of show.”

This fight is a pivotal moment in Jamaine’s career because if he loses to Teofimo, he may not get another opportunity to fight for a world title. But if Ortiz wins, he can make life-changing money fighting the likes of Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia or rematching Teofimo.

“When I win Thursday night, it’s going to be a great night. I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life. It will be the day I became a world champion. It will be another step in my goal to get other great fights and to continue building my legacy.”