By Charles Brun Febraury 10, 2023
Source: Boxing News 24
Photo Source: Boxing News 24
WBO light welterweight champion Josh Taylor is moving on from his rematch with Jack Catterall to a much bigger fight against the talented former undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez in the summer in May or June. Mike Coppinger is reporting the news of the Teofimo vs. Taylor fight being in the works for a UK clash in the summer in the UK. It’s the type of both fighters have been longing for, and finally, nothing is stopping this match from being made.
Top Rank, the promoters for the phenom Teofimo (18-1, 13 KOs) are working on putting together the match with the former undisputed 140-lb champion Josh Taylor. Josh Taylor Wants Fame & Fortune Obviously, Catterall and his fans will be bummed out by Taylor choosing to take the more lucrative fight against the American Teofimo, but can you blame him? Not only is it a bigger money fight for the 2012 Olympian Taylor, but it can increase his fame tenfold.
At 32 years old and having lost a year of his career due to inactivity waiting for the rematch with Catterall to be negotiated, Taylor can no longer afford to invest valuable time in getting those pointless fight out of the way. Teofimo Lopez Sr says "Regis fight is not going to happen" The clock is ticking on Taylor’s career, making it necessary for him to move on. You can certainly make a strong argument that if the shoe was on the other foot and it was Catterall that was offered a huge money fight against Teofimo Lopez, he would make a quick exit from the sand trap that the negotiations have been for the rematch with Josh.
It’s unknown at this point if the match will take place in Taylor’s hometown of Glasgow, Scotland. If so, that’s an excellent location for the bout. It would be a case of Teofimo entering the lion’s den with the crowd booing him, putting him in a situation where he can grow as a fighter by dealing with adversity against arguably the best fighter at 140. Teofimo Looking To Take #1 Spot A victory for Teofimo over the Scottish fighter Taylor would vault him to the top spot at light welterweight and open the door for lucrative matches for Teo against Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Regis Prograis, the big three at 140. Not surprisingly, Taylor is tired of the wasted time trying to put together a needless rematch with Catterall, who brings nothing to the table.
Taylor already beat Catterall last year in February, so it’s time to move on to bigger and better things. Regis Prograis says Teofimo Lopez Sr is going to get his son hurt It’s an outstanding fight for Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs), who needs a mega-fight at this stage of his career, having waited for years for a big match-up to finally fall his way. “Top Rank is planning a Josh Taylor-Teofimo Lopez junior welterweight title fight this summer in the U.K,” said Mike Coppinger to ESPN. “The 140-pound fight, if it’s finalized, is expected to take place in May or June…there do not appear to be any major obstacles to a deal.” “I’d tear him up, from the body to the head; he’s not going to know which one I’m going to hurt him with, especially to do it out there in the U.K,” said Teofimo to Sky Sports. “I actually will put him down better than what Catterall did.” Teofimo will need to fight a lot better than Catterall did if he wants to get the victory because their fight was too close to determine a true winner.
Can Teo Recapture His Old Form? What Teofimo has going for him in this fight is his power, speed, and explosiveness. He needs to start fighting like he used to when he defeated the likes of Vasyl Lomachenko, Richard Commey, and Masayoshi Nakatani. NEWS: Josh Taylor injured, Jack Catterall rematch postponed Since Teo’s win over Lomachenko in 2020, he’s not looked like the same aggressive fighter in his last three fights. Some boxing fans believe the punishment that Teofimo look in his grueling victory over Lomachenkoi has changed him mentally, causing him to hesitate rather than go into attack mode like he once did. Moreover, Teo’s punch resistance has appeared to deteriorate with him being hurt by the light hitter George Kambosos Jr and Sandor Martin. Surprisingly, Teofimo was dropped twice by Sandor last December and was fortunate to escape with a 10 round split decision in a fight that many felt he should have lost.
Comments