Josh Taylor faces Teofimo Lopez in New York tonight, defending his WBO light-welterweight world title.
It’s more than 15 months since the Scottish fighter was last in action, when he made a hugely controversial first defence of his undisputed crown against Jack Catterall. Most believe the challenger should have got the decision that night in Glasgow, but it was Taylor who got the nod on the cards to keep hold of his belts and move to 19-0.
Since then the 32-year-old, who became the UK’s first undisputed champion of the four-belt era when beating Jose Ramirez two years ago, has vacated his IBF, WBA and WBC titles, opting against fulfilling his mandatory requirements in favour of rematching Catterall.
That was set to take place earlier this year, but Taylor picked up an injury and was then ordered by the WBO to defend his belt against Lopez, the former unified lightweight champion, instead.
The 25-year-old produced a sensational display to beat Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020, but lost those titles in his first defence against George Kambosos Jr and since then has moved up in weight to 140lbs, picking up two low-key victories.
He now gets his chance to become a world champion again, while Taylor looks to rebuild a reputation that has been somewhat tarnished by the controversy surrounding his win over Catterall.
Taylor vs Lopez date, start time, venue and ring walks
Taylor vs Lopez takes place tonight on Saturday June 10, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The main undercard is not due to start until around 1am BST on Sunday for fight fans in the UK, with ring walks for the main event itself expected at around 4am BST. As ever though, those timings are subject to change.
Taylor vs Lopez fight card/undercard in full
Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez
Xander Zayas vs Ronald Cruz
Robson Conceicao vs Nicolas Polanco
Henry Lebron vs Carlos Ramos
Omar Rosario vs Jan Carlos Rivera
Bruce Carrington vs Luis Porozo
Damian Knyba vs Helaman Olguin
How to watch Taylor vs Lopez
TV channel: The fight will be broadcast live tonight on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action in the UK, with coverage getting underway at 1am BST in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Live stream: The Sky Go app will allow subscribers to watch online via a live stream.
Taylor vs Lopez prediction
Taylor goes into the fight as the slight favourite, but he has plenty of questions to answer despite being a former undisputed champion who has never lost as a professional.
The Scot is clearly tight at 140lbs, with a move up in weight expected in the near future, and he has had injury issues that have hampered the planned rematch with Catterall. Taylor has also fought just once in the past two years, a fight he should really have lost.
He will have the size advantage over Lopez, who has not been particularly impressive at all since moving to light-welterweight. He was dropped by Sandor Martin in December, before eventually getting the job done on points, and a repeat of that display will not be anywhere near good enough here.
Taylor at his best certainly has the ability to extend his unbeaten record, but neither are coming into the bout in peak form. We’re going for the champion to defend his title at the end of a competitive 12 rounds.
Taylor to win, via unanimous decision.
Taylor vs Lopez weigh-in results
Lopez tipped the scales at 140lbs exactly in New York on Friday, while Taylor came in slightly lighter at 139.8lbs.
Taylor vs Lopez betting odds
Taylor to win: 1/2
Lopez to win: 13/8
Draw: 16/1
Taylor to win by KO/TKO: 23/10
Lopez to win by KO/TKO: 5/1
Taylor to win by points or decision: 13/8
Lopez to win by points or decision: 16/5
