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A strong showing in his first televised headliner is just the beginning for Jamaine Ortiz.
The most recent edition of Showtime’s “ShoBox: The New Generation” series saw Ortiz soundly outpoint Nahir Albright over ten rounds Friday evening at Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. The decision to take the fight was means to an end for the unbeaten lightweight, who has much loftier goals in mind.
“I want to become lightweight champion,” Ortiz told BoxingScene.com. “I want to be ready for that fight, whether it’s [lineal/WBA “Super”/IBF/WBO/WBC “Franchise” lightweight champ] George Kambosos, [WBC lightweight titlist] Devin Haney, [former three-division titlist Vasiliy] Lomachenko or whoever has the belts at that time, it doesn’t matter. “Who I’m fighting is never a concern. I beat whoever they put in front of me, it’s my job to do.”
That very mentality led to Ortiz (15-0-1, 8KOs) and his team virtually signing a blank check regarding his most recent opponent. The 25-year-old Domini-Rican from Worcester, Massachusetts agreed to three separate names offered for Friday’s show, with Albright (14-2, 7KOs) ultimately selected. The fight was the first for Ortiz since an eight-round draw with Joseph Adorno in their sensational slugfest last April in Kissimmee, Florida, mere miles from his latest win.
Ortiz openly admitted to lacking discipline in an otherwise winnable fight with Adorno, suffering two knockdowns which cost him a victory in a fight where he won 16 of a combined 24 rounds on the three judges’ scorecards. That level of focus was apparent in derailing Albright, who carried a 14-fight win streak into the night.
While the ShoBox series is a proven platform to thoroughly test young prospects, Ortiz is ready to take that next step in his career. Friday marked his first time going ten rounds. The intention is to graduate to 12-round bouts, preferably versus anyone that will position Ortiz to challenge for the division’s top prize.
“The perfect 2022 – my next fight would be an eliminator against someone like Rolly (unbeaten lightweight contender Rolando Romero),” envisions Ortiz. “Then by December, a world title opportunity. The lightweight [championship picture] is shaky. I think the belts can shake up and switch hands real quick. One doesn’t know.
“That’s why I want to climb as high as I can as fast as I can. I’d love for that opportunity, for that guy to get the belts to be me.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox