Teofimo Lopez received, but it surely wasn’t fairly; the place does he go from right here?

LAS VEGAS — Teofimo Lopez held onto his son tightly with a blazer masking his naked chest and some marks on his face.

Lopez stated the swelling principally was the results of head clashes, not the punches of Jamaine Ortiz, whom Lopez narrowly outpointed within the first protection of his junior welterweight title on Thursday at Mandalay Bay.

To be honest, Ortiz solely linked on 60 energy punches, six lower than the champion. That lack of motion conjured boos — plenty of them — from the group readily available to look at considered one of boxing’s rising stars three days earlier than Tremendous Bowl Sunday.

Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) has been right here earlier than. When he fought one other slick southpaw, Spain’s Sandor Martin, in December 2022, boos rained down as Martin boxed and moved and refused to interact in exchanges in opposition to the larger puncher.

Ortiz (17-2-1, 8 KOs) adopted that recreation plan, and if he had received one spherical extra on two of the three scorecards, he would have pressured a draw. As a substitute, Lopez swept the ultimate three rounds — the championship rounds — within the eyes of every choose, the distinction between successful and shedding.

For that, Lopez deserves credit score. Identical to he did in his career-best win over Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020, Lopez closed sturdy. However he is as soon as once more left annoyed within the face of a lackluster efficiency in opposition to an opponent who was there to field, not combat.

“I imply, the one factor that we received to do, I assume, double up, triple up [the jab] possibly on the shifting,” Lopez, 26, informed ESPN afterward. “I blocked his jabs. I used to be making an attempt to attract my jabs as a lot as I may at these moments.

“However he was working, he was staying off vary so much. Even after I doubled, he wasn’t there. He was simply working off the edges.”

That this type presents such points for Lopez does not bode effectively for a possible matchup in opposition to Devin Haney, ESPN’s No. 6 pound-for-pound boxer. Haney is a masterful boxer who’s adept at controlling vary together with his jab. And although he is not a southpaw, he is a much better boxer than Martin or Ortiz.

That Lopez realized his inefficiency with reducing off the ring offers hope Lopez will be taught, modify and work on his recreation forward of a future bout with such a slick type.

An alternative choice, in fact, is to keep away from a majority of these opponents altogether. Lopez claimed he was retired following his dominant victory over Josh Taylor in June to seize the lineal junior welterweight championship. And make no mistake: Taylor is a top-level fighter whom Lopez beat up in convincing style.

“I do not even know why I got here again to this, actually,” Lopez stated. “Significantly, why did I come again to this? No one desires to combat. All people simply desires to clout the title out of all my exhausting work. … They simply need to be well-known.”

The place does Lopez go from right here? He informed ESPN he’d prefer to return in April or Might, possibly in Honduras, the nation he represented on the Olympics.

“I do not actually care at this level as a result of that wasn’t a combat tonight,” Lopez stated. “That was only a sparring session. That is simply me chasing a hen.”

The form of opponent Lopez actually wants: Subriel Matias.

The Puerto Rican volume-puncher is not exhausting to seek out contained in the ring. He would certainly stress Lopez and make for the form of combat — and magnificence — Lopez craves. They’ve exchanged some phrases on social media, and it is the right matchup to point out off Lopez’s elite expertise as soon as once more.

However one other slick southpaw? There isn’t any level in such a matchup any time quickly.