By Osman Rodriguez

Unheralded Josesito Lopez stopped welterweight star Victor Ortiz on Saturday night, apparently breaking Ortiz's jaw in the ninth round to earn a stunning upset victory at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Ortiz and his corner stopped the fight before the 10th-round bell when the injury left Ortiz unable to close his mouth. Lopez (30-4, 18 KOs) leaped onto the ropes to celebrate one of the biggest upsets in recent boxing history. Lopez accepted the fight last month as a late replacement for Andre Berto, who failed a doping test that scuttled his rematch with Ortiz.

"I'm a man and I'm not intimidated by anything. Victor tried to intimidate me but it didn't work. Victor has no heart," Lopez said.

"I knew that I had to fight the fight of my life to win and I knew that I caught him with good punches in every round and with more than a few of them - I hurt him. I knew the longer the fight went, the better chance I had. I chopped him down. I told you that I would shock the world."

Ortiz (29-4-2) was narrowly leading on all three judges' scorecards when he quit. Lopez had made the fight much closer than expected.