Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez: B/R Staff Predictions
The World's Most Famous Arena has hosted a litany of big boxing fights in the past.
Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez will continue the tradition on Saturday night as Madison Square Garden sets the stage for yet another titanic bout.
The undefeated Taylor holds the WBO and Ring magazine light-welterweight titles and is a dynamic boxer in the squared circle. With a knockout percentage of 68.42 percent in his 19 fights, the 32-year-old can turn your lights quickly.
He heads across the pond to fight Teofimo Lopez to prove a point and, more important to Taylor, to shut up Lopez. The bombastic Lopez is unafraid to talk trash and has been getting under the skin of Taylor in the pre-fight build-up.
So who's going to win? The B/R combat sports team got together to predict who is walking away with the gold.
Taylor Will Knockout Teo
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All of a sudden, October of 2020 feels like a long time ago.
The country was still in the grips of a pandemic. We had a different president in the White House.
Heck…Aaron Rodgers was still a roster member in good standing with the Green Bay Packers.
And Teofimo Lopez was the biggest thing in boxing after upsetting Vasiliy Lomachenko.
He bit down on his mouthpiece in the 12th round, rode out a stirring rivalry from the Ukrainian, and took his place as the premier inhabitant of the lightweight division.
Since then, well, not so much.
His would-be "Takeover" of the sport abruptly ended with a loss to prohibitive underdog George Kambosos Jr. 13 months later that prompted dozens of conspiracy theories.
Another nine months preceded a winning but the hardly transcendent defeat of Pedro Campa one division up, and Lopez's next outing at 140—a disputed split decision over Sandor Martin in December—left him (and much of the fanbase) wondering if he still had it.
Those aren't the kinds of questions to be asking before stepping in with Josh Taylor.
The "Tartan Tornado" is a legit commodity in the weight class, beat a series of elite-level opponents in copping all the recognized title belts and seems energized at the idea of squaring off against a high-profile interloper on said interloper's home turf in New York City.
Simply put, he does everything that Lopez does. Only just as good or better than Lopez does it.
That friends, is a winning recipe.
Prediction: Taylor by TKO, Round 10
- Lyle Fitzsimmons
Get Ready for Another "Takeover"
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Look, everything conceivably points to a Taylor win.
Taylor is undefeated, he's a bigger fighter and Lopez hasn't had an impressive win since beating Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020.
But there are some x-factors that are in the favor of the Brooklyn native.
No. 1 - it's been a while since Taylor stepped into the ring. Inactivity is every combat sports athlete's greatest enemy. Skills are allowed to rust and, while Taylor is a dynamic fighter, it'll be interesting to see if he can find his rhythm since his last fight was back in February 2022.
No. 2 - We've seen Lopez raise his level in a big-stakes fight. Lomachenko is one of the best fighters of his generation and the "Takeover" was able to outbox him in a sensational outing.
No. 3 - Taylor's last fight against Jack Catterall was a hell of a lot closer than anyone thought and Taylor could have easily lost this one. Does that mean "The Tartan Tornado" will lose against Lopez? No, but there's a recent body of evidence that shows it might not go all his way come Saturday night.
There are a lot of haters of Lopez out there for his brash style and his perceived lack of true boxing skills. The pick here says he shuts them up.
Prediction: Lopez by Unanimous Decision
- Lucky Ngamwajasat
"Tartan Tornado" Shuts Up Teo
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This has been an outstanding year for boxing. Plant-Benavidez and Davis-Garcia were highly anticipated grudge matches. Haney-Loma was an entertaining undisputed battle with a controversial finish. With Inoue-Fulton and Spence-Crawford just around the corner, it'd be easy to overlook this fight nut, that would be a mistake.
Saturday's showdown between WBO junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor (19-0, 13 KO's) and former unified lightweight title holder Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 13 KO's) is fascinating.
An intriguing storyline will be Josh Taylor's long layoff and weight-making issues vs. Teo's mental makeup. Taylor's last fight was 14 months ago and there is a resounding sentiment that he should have lost to Jack Catterall. Meanwhile, Teo has been unimpressive in his two bouts at 140 and he was caught on hot mic questioning whether he still has it after struggling to beat Sandor Martin. Both fighters being desperate to quiet the critics is an added layer to their aggressive style in the ring. Outside of the ring, you can feel the disdain and animosity these two fighters have for each other. Teo's showmanship can be a bit cringy; however, he seems to have effectively gotten Taylor fed up.
I'm anticipating an explosive fight where we see the best of both men. Taylor had predicted a KO victory and Lopez essentially promised a funeral. In this instance, both will be right.
Prediction: Josh Taylor by Ninth-Round TKO
- Douglas A. Brown
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