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Who will win Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez? Big fight verdict and tips

Josh Taylor will defend his WBO world super lightweight title against American Teofimo Lopez on Saturday looking to reassert his dominance in the 140lbs division.

Date, start time and venue

This 12-round contest for the WBO and The Ring light welterweight titles will take place on Saturday, June 10 at Madison Square Garden Theatre, New York.

The undercard will start at 1am BST, with the main event ringwalks scheduled for 4am BST, live on Sky Sports.

Josh Taylor undercard

Xander Zayas vs Ronald Cruz (light middleweight)
Jamaine Ortiz vs TBA (lightweight)
Robson Conceicao vs Nicolas Polanco (super featherweight)
Henry Lebron vs Carlos Ramos (super featherweight)
Omar Rosario vs Jan Carlos Rivera (light middleweight)
Bruce Carrington vs Luis Porozo (featherweight)
Damian Knyba vs Helaman Olguin (heavyweight)

Suggested bets

Josh Taylor to win in rounds 1-4

Josh Taylor to win on points

Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez fight verdict

Josh Taylor 19-0 (13 KO) returns to the ring after more than 15 months of inactivity and he will have a point to prove in the Big Apple.
'The Tartan Tornado' will go up against Teofimo Lopez 18-1 (13 KO) - a former three-belt unified champion at lightweight, who has just one defeat on his record.

Taylor was building a legacy becoming undisputed champion at 140lbs after beating WBC and WBO titlist Jose Ramirez. But the 32-year-old Taylor struggled big time last time out against Jack Catterall before being awarded a highly controversial 12-round split decision.

He was more than fortunate to be awarded the fight on the scorecards. Catterall managed to take the fight on the card of judge Howard Foster. Victor Loughlin had it the inverse, while Ian John-Lewis awarded Taylor a massive 114-111 victory.
Regardless of the result, Taylor underperformed and looked one-paced, but that was back in February 2022 and Taylor has since switched trainers.

Taylor in trainer switch

This will be Taylor's first fight with new trainer Joe McNally and the Scot is convinced he can get back to his best.
"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 form as well," Taylor said.
Taylor and Catterall looked destined for a rematch, but that never happened for various reasons and the Scot has either vacated or been stripped of three of his titles.

Taylor, who is the 1/2 favourite, is the naturally bigger man, but he may well be ring rusty, while the new ideas of trainer McNally may take time to sink in.

Taylor has fought better men at this weight, but Lopez is seven years his junior and can be erratic. He also has a point to prove after defeat in November 2021 to George Kambosos Jr set his career back.

Since then he defeated bounce-back opponent Pedro Campa and struggled against tricky southpaw Sandor Martin in his most recent outing last October.
Taylor is also a southpaw, but he will find him more battle hardened than Martin, who had not been beaten for five years.

Question marks over Lopez

Lopez is talented, and the best version of the New Yorker will have Taylor in trouble but his recent showings have placed a question mark over him.

It's not that long ago that Lopez became a three-belt unified champion at lightweight after upsetting Vasiliy Lomachenko and he will need a performance of that proportion to get to Taylor.
He has explosive power but he has not been able to show that at 140lbs. There are also doubts over Lopez's self-belief and he does have a tendency to switch off in the midst of battle. That could well leave himself vulnerable to the tough Taylor, whose mentality should see him home over the 12 rounds.
There is some needle between the pair, with Taylor not happy with some things that the American has said, but Taylor is wily enough to keep himself under control and if he gets on top in the early rounds, his tenacity may prove too much for Lopez.

Taylor is looking for an early knockout and that is also a possibility if the Scot's size proves too much for his opponent.

It is a fight which could end in a number of ways, but Taylor should be too durable and strong for his skilled opponent and he looks the likely winner.

READ MORE: Boxing schedule for 2023: Every major fight night, dates, venues and results

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