Vasyl Lomachenko defeats upset-minded Jamaine Ortiz

Forced to dig deep into his bag of tricks, Vasyl Lomachenko rallied to defeat upset-minded Jamaine Ortiz by unanimous decision Saturday night at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. 

Scores were 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111.

Ortiz did well in the early rounds-catching the bobbing Lomachenko with sharp jabs and occasional right hands.

The result was some bruising under his left eye. Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) wobbled the taller Ortiz with a three-punch combination in round three. The speedy Ortiz was busier in rounds four and five – while Lomachenko found some rhythm in round six.

At the halfway point of the bout, two judges had the fight even while the third had Ortiz up by a couple of points. 

Lomachenko’s aggressiveness paid off in the second half of the fight. Though it was difficult to find his quick opponent consistently, he did better with combinations and jabs. Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs) hung tough, but Lomachenko’s feinting and movement set up his angle-driven punches. 

“I’m happy," said Lomachenko. "I’m happy to come back in the ring and make this a great show," Lomachenko said. "Thank you to my fans for the support. You know what motivated me. Four belts!"