Josh Taylor is set to defend his WBO super-lightweight championship against Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York. He aims to deliver a dominant performance and predicts a win by knockout in the early rounds of the fight. Taylor believes he is well-prepared for whatever Lopez brings to the ring, having studied his opponent extensively. He will be fighting with new trainer Joe McNally, but is confident he has regained his best form after his controversial victory over Jack Catterall. A win against Lopez would re-establish Taylor as one of the most dominant champions in boxing.
Josh Taylor believes he will make an emphatic statement against Teofimo Lopez when they fight for the Scotsman’s WBO super-lightweight championship this weekend at the Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York; watch Taylor vs Lopez live on Sky Sports in the early hours of Sunday morning.
By Kash Butt
6:19, UK, Monday 05 June 2023
Josh Taylor is aiming to deliver a dominant performance against Teofimo Lopez and has predicted a win by knockout to come early in the fight.
Taylor, the former undisputed super-lightweight champion who never lost in the ring, will box Lopez at the Madison Square Garden Theatre this weekend, live on Sky Sports in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Taylor believes he can stop Lopez in the early rounds of their WBO 140lb title fight. That would be an emphatic statement against an opponent who became a three-belt unified champion at lightweight after upsetting Vasiliy Lomachenko. A result like that would re-establish Taylor as one of the most dominant champions in the sport today.
“The way I think he’s going to fight, we’ll put him out of there early,” Taylor told Sky Sports. “But if it goes the other way, which I think it might do as well, it’ll be a boxing match, a clever boxing match but nothing that I’m going to be surprised with. I’ve watched him quite a bit in the lead up to this fight and I think I know what I’m expecting. But whatever he brings, I’m more than ready for.
“Having said that, the fighter that beat Lomachenko is the version of Teofimo Lopez that I’m preparing for; a very good fighter.”
This will be Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Joe McNally, but the Scotsman is certain he will recover his best form after his contentious victory over Jack Catterall last time out.
“I’ve got – I’ve said it so many times – my mojo back. I feel like I’ve got it back. I just feel like I’m back to my old chirpy self. The way I was before in the lead up to the [Regis] Prograis fight. I feel I’m back to that kind of mentality. That sort of…
