In a boxing title showdown at one of the most iconic sports venues in the world, Madison Square Garden, Teófimo Lopez locks horns with Josh Taylor. In this bout, the WBO and The Ring light welterweight titles will be on the line as the two accomplished fighters square off in MSG. Lopez is currently 18-1 with his last loss coming in November 2021 to George Kambosos Jr. and is a former unified lightweight world champion. Opposing him is Taylor, who from May 2021 to May 2022, was recognized as the unified light-welterweight champion. The Scottish fighter is an undefeated competitor at 19-0 with 13 career knockouts.
In this article, SBS will be going over what to look for from each fighter along with more notes and information about boxing bets.
An undefeated champion at 19-0, the Tartan Tornado is coming off a thrilling split-decision win over Jack Catterall in February of last year. In that bout, he retained the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring titles at the OVO Hydro arena in his bout against Catterall. That said, and per sources, even though Taylor was knocked down by Catterall in the eighth round of the fight, he was still awarded a highly controversial split decision victory. Moreover, some pundits thought that Catterall had actually outboxed Taylor during the course of the fight, but nonetheless, the Scottish fighter retained his titles.
Following his win against José Ramírez in May of 2021, Taylor became the second Scotsman to be an undisputed champion in the modern era. The last time he fought in New York City, he notched a corner retirement victory over Evincii Dixon in the second round of their bout at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. While ten of his last 11 fights have been off of U.S. soil, Taylor’s skills will travel well in this bout. However, there is still doubt about if he has ever faced an opponent the caliber of Lopez.
On the other side of the ring will be the rising star Lopez who, at only 25 years of age, has already been recognized as perhaps the best lightweight in the world. A former unified lightweight world champion, Lopez is attempting to become a two-division world champion in this bout against Taylor. While his last fight was a split-decision win over San Martin, Lopez is certainly one of the most exciting fighters in the sport using his quickness and speed to wear down opponents.
In the bout prior to Martin, Lopez was able to notch a TKO win over Pedro Campa, and in the process, win the vacant WBC-NABF and WBO International titles. This was actually another instance of Lopez moving up to the light welterweight division to challenge for a handful of titles. Moreover, this was a dominant performance for the 25-year-old as he was able to best Campa in all phases of the fight.
Prediction: This should be an excellent summer showdown, but Taylor has the edge here given his lengthier experience at this level of weight class.
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About the Author
As a devout aficionado of sports, Chris Boline has carved a career within the athletic realm. A skilled scribe, he boasts a decade-long portfolio that encompasses coverage of the NBA G League, the Los Angeles Chargers, football and basketball across the country. Beyond his professional pursuits, Chris is deeply invested in his community and dedicates his leisure hours to serving on boards, collaborating with community organizations, and cherishing the company of loved ones. CURRENTLY Business Development and freelance sports writing RESIDES IN Reno, NV EDUCATION University of Nevada BS and MBA EXPERTISE -Sports writing proficiency in: NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and some motor sports -Topical news -Promotional and marketing ideas/updates -Business development Summary Chris Boline serves in a business development sales capacity as his day job. He has previously held sales/marketing positions with The Applied Companies (TAC), KTVN 2 News and the NBA G League’s Reno Bighorns, affiliate of the Sacramento Kings. He is a Reno native and is a member of various community boards including the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET and the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA). Chris graduated from the University of Nevada in 2015 with a bachelors in management and economics and also earned his MBA from Nevada in 2023. More about Chris: Past president of the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA) 2022-23 Two-time honoree for University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year (Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, 2017 & COBAA, 2021) 2021 NCET award for Professional Services Organization of the Year with TAC Northern Nevada Human Resources Association 2020 Best Places to Work-Northern Nevada, Second Place with TAC 2016-17 Reno Bighorns MVP from the Sacramento Kings The Nevada Sagebrush editor-in-chief 2013-15 Associated Collegiate Press 2015 Four-year Non-daily Newspaper Pacemaker honoree University of Nevada, Reno College of Business Dean's List honoree (5x) from 2011-2015 Nevada Press Association award for Best Sports Column – Community in 2015 Education
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