Jamaine Ortiz learning in the ring and maybe on the silver screen

Jamaine Ortiz learned from his draw against Joseph Adorno and is looking to shake up the lightweight division and the world of acting. 

When lightweight prospect Jamaine Ortiz fought Joseph Adorno in March 2021, he was bloodied and dropped twice after settling for a draw.

It wasn’t the way Ortiz wanted things to go, but the experience was valuable for the budding 25-year-old boxing talent from Worcester, MA. It might have been just what he needed.

“That was a real learning experience for me, you know, just not being over-anxious,” Ortiz told FanSided. “Being more patient. I learned that, you know, with that fight, being knocked down, I just was trying to play like catch up. I was just trying to make sure that I was gonna win.”

A draw is a purgatory between a winning and a losing, but considering Ortiz was dropped twice in 10 rounds and still received a majority draw is impressive. Two judges had it even while the third had it 76-74 for Ortiz.

That’s a win in itself.

Adorno was also undefeated, but Ortiz beat him to the punch for most of the fight. His tripwire left jab scored at will, but Ortiz felt his Wheaties a bit too much.

He was overly aggressive, which left him open for Adorno’s left hooks when he charged.

“I just wanted to make sure that I dominated every second of the fight so they [judges] couldn’t take the fight from me,” Ortiz said. “But that left me open to some mistakes and eventually getting caught.”

Ortiz’s nose streamed blood for much of the bout, but he dictated the pace of the contest and routinely battered Adorno to the body and the head along the ropes. He made mistakes by getting dropped in rounds 2 and 7, but that experience served him well in the future.

Ortiz carried the lessons learned into his last outing against Nahir Albright on the Feb. 18 ShoBox event. Ortiz maintained distance with his iconic flashing jab and boxed intelligently for 10 rounds to a unanimous decision victory to win the vacant NABF title.

Jamaine Ortiz learned volumes from his matchup against Joseph Adorno and the NABF lightweight champion is looking to add belts to his collection

Ortiz vs. Albright wasn’t the slugfest of Ortiz vs. Adorno, but that’s the point. Ortiz learned not to get drawn into a slugfest.

He learned how to make a boxing match chess instead of Rock’em Sock’em Robots.

“I was happy that I got to do exactly what I said I was gonna do,” Ortiz said. “I said I was gonna box. I said I was gonna make it an easy night on myself. I said I wasn’t gonna take a lot of punishment.”

After his latest victory, Ortiz hoped for a showdown with the brash Rolly Romero. However, he’ll have to look in a different direction after Showtime announced Romero vs. Gervonta Davis for May 28.

Ortiz felt that Romero was a big name ripe for the picking.

“I see him one dimension,” Ortiz said of Romero. “I don’t see too many things in his toolbox. The senses slow. I just see it very easy. I just see it very easy for me to beat him.”

Since Ortiz didn’t get the Romero fight, he’ll have to wait for his promoter, Jimmy Burchfield, to navigate the boxing waters for the next best opportunity.

In the meantime, Ortiz has plenty to do. He’s a father of a five-year-old daughter, runs a property investment business, and is now testing his acting chops.

“Just trying to utilize my potential, you know,” Ortiz said. “If I got the looks, and if I got something that people want, then I’m always open to new opportunities. And I always seen myself on TV. So I’m on TV fighting. I could be on TV, not taking any hits. I think it’s even better.”

Ortiz has a chiseled body, a square action hero’s jaw, and a smoothness of the face that could translate well to acting.

So far, Ortiz has proved to be successful at all his ventures. You might see him on T.V. in an entirely different capacity.