There are fighters who pretend to go for it and fighters who go for it, and Josh Taylor and Teofimo Lopez are both the type who go for it.
They’ve both fought a lot of very tough opposition — of their potential rivals, Vasyl Lomachenko’s is the only résumé that can compare — so it doesn’t surprise me that they’re fighting each other. Compare their résumés with Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis, and even Devin Haney — a lot of their recognized opponents only became recognized the night that they fought them.
In terms of the upcoming Taylor and Lopez fight, have both regularly taken big risks in terms of the quality and size of their opponents — in the case of Lopez, even when, as with Sandor Martin, his opponents are late replacements. You can’t always dominate very, very good opponents, but their overall bodies of work, and their desire to test themselves against the best, are almost unrivalled.
To have two undisputed champions fighting each other is a testament to their quality, even if Jack Catterall deserved the decision against Taylor last year — another fight in which Taylor became battle tested. Lopez — which is shown in the fact that this fight is scheduled for the Madison Square Garden Theatre, on June 10 — deserves a bigger following in the US, like Taylor has in the UK.
Taylor Faces Uphill Battle in Upcoming Fight After Controversial Decision and Trainer Switch
Taylor is coming into this fight after most people thought he lost to Catterall, and having since suffered injuries and changed trainer from Ben Davison to Joe McNally. It’s tempting to suggest that the best time to fight a fighter of that quality is now. But at the same time Taylor could be hungrier than ever to defy his critics — particularly after being forced to wait such a long time.
Lopez doesn’t get enough credit for the fact he beat Lomachenko in 2020 — and that’s largely because Lomachenko doesn’t get enough credit for everything he’s achieved. Lopez made so much noise when he was beating Lomachenko, stopping other opponents, and continuing to search for the biggest fights. But he’s also had a more difficult period since what was his biggest win. Some of the concerns that have surrounded him have centred on what’s been going on in the corner with his father, Teofimo Snr, but no one can be sure about whether that’s going to continue to be an issue come June.
My respect for both of these fighters mean I consider this unfair, but the fact that there has been some negativity around them both — and I expect both to be really motivated — means that the stock of whoever loses will be seriously harmed.
Being from Brooklyn and Hispanic means that the crowd will be with Lopez, but Taylor beat Jose Ramires in Las Vegas, so he won’t be concerned. Catterall, regardless, deserves a rematch with Taylor, and in any case should be offered the winner of this fight.
Shakur Stevenson's Impressive Lightweight Debut Shines Bright Against Shuichiro Yoshino
Shakur Stevenson, another fighter with roots nearby, really shone after moving up to lightweight against Shuichiro Yoshino at the weekend. We’d become accustomed to him going the distance and shutting even quality opponents out, but against a tough, legitimate lightweight he not only dominated, he got the stoppage.
He’s going to do a lot of damage at 135lbs. Top Rank have long known exactly when to bring in a new star to replace a fading star — and they never do so too soon. They appear to have had in mind that Stevenson can replace Lomachenko as the world’s most dominant lightweight, and with Lomachenko having a chance to win the undisputed title from Haney on May 20, a fight against Lomachenko could be the next step of Stevenson’s meteoric rise. Lomachenko has more than enough left that I can see him beating Haney, but he’d have far less chance against Stevenson, who’s continuing to improve as he approaches his prime.
Stevenson already even looks the world’s best lightweight. He hasn’t yet proven it, but you could match him with any of them and he’d beat them all.
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