Report: Teofimo Lopez, Jamaine Ortiz finalizing Feb. 8 title fight

A junior welterweight title bout between WBO champion Teofimo Lopez and Jamaine Ortiz is in the process of being finalized for Feb. 8 in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN's Mike Coppinger.

The fight would take place just three days before the Super Bowl in the same city. Michelob ULTRA Arena is the likely venue, a source told Sam Gordon of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Jose Ramirez was first offered the fight against Lopez, according to Coppinger. It's unclear why that matchup didn't materialize.

Lopez captured the WBO junior welterweight title with a unanimous decision win over Josh Taylor in June. He's 3-0 at 140 pounds since moving up from 135 pounds.

Lopez is the former unified lightweight champion, as the 26-year-old won the IBF title in 2019 and then added the WBO and WBA titles to his mantle the following year with an upset win over Vasiliy Lomachenko. Lopez lost the belts in his first title defense against George Kambosos Jr. in 2021.

Ortiz, 27, will be competing in his first world title bout against Lopez. The Massachusetts native is coming off a win over Antonio Moran in September and has a 17-1-1 pro record. Ortiz's only career defeat came against Lomachenko in October 2022.