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Since his win over Lomachenko a few years back, Lopez’s personal life and career have fallen apart. Lopez lost the belts in his first defense to the ordinary George Kambosos. Taylor is undefeated but struggled to beat Jack Catterall in his last fight Many people think he got a gift decision(including me). This is a crossroads fight for both men and a style matchup that promises fireworks.
Taylor will return to the ring 14 months after a contentious split decision win against Jack Catterall, where his performance left much to be desired in front of his hometown fans. That moment changed the perception of Taylor almost overnight. After two fights prior, he had earned praise as one of boxing’s premier pound-for-pound fighters by defeating Regis Prograis and Jose Ramirez, respectively.
Taylor should take heart that his near-miss with Catterall won’t repeat itself here against Lopez, as his threat will likely be greater, and they’ll be fighting in Lopez’s New York backyard. Lopez has also been patiently waiting for this fight; we could see an improved version of Taylor compared to what we saw against Catterall.
Taylor is an impressive southpaw with quick hands, exceptional inside fighting ability and physical advantages in terms of size, height and reach. Taylor will look to restrict Lopez’s counterpunching while firing shots from an angle and bullying him into the ropes. Lopez often drops his lead hand during bouts and takes risky leaping shots that give Taylor an opening to effectively land his deadly southpaw straight left.
Like Taylor, Lopez has seen his stock decrease since reaching his peak. A stunning upset win against Vasiliy Lomachenko, followed by an embarrassing defeat at the hands of George Kambosos, was followed by him being mauled on his way out in defeat.
Lopez defeated Pedro Campa via TKO before winning controversially against Sandor Martin by a split decision; in those fights, Lopez lacked the confidence, brashness, and physical assertiveness he showed against Lomachenko; indeed, after facing Martin, Lopez openly wondered whether he still had “it”, never an encouraging sign before a vital bout in one’s career.
Lopez possesses the tools to be effective against Taylor if he corrects his course. Lopez excels at using footwork to set traps and possessing powerful counterpunches that can flatten opponents. If he can remain composed against Taylor, however, this gives Lopez an ideal opportunity for a counter shot as Taylor often pulls straight back with hands clasped behind his back for counter shots.
On Saturday night, Josh Taylor will get back on track and Teofimo Lopwz edges closer to non-relevance. I don’t like the odds for a straight up win for Taylor, so with that said lets take Taylor to win by Knockout.
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