Josh Taylor v Teofimo Lopez preview: Taylor set to defend WBO Title

In what promises to be a highly entertaining fight, Josh Taylor puts his WBO and The Ring light-welterweight titles on the line against American Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden on Saturday 10th June.

We preview the fight below.

Taylor can knock out long-time rival

Josh Taylor will put his undefeated record on the line on Saturday night as he looks to take his professional record to 20-0-0 against his long-time verbal rival Teofimo Lopez.

Taylor boasts a 19-0-0 record with 13 wins by knockout, an impressive tally for a fighter in such a low weight category. A blemish on the record would also mean the loss of his WBO light-welterweight title, which is not something he will give up lightly.

The Scot’s last fight did not see him at his powerful best but he still came away with the win via split decision after 12 gruelling rounds against a formidable Jack Catterall, a decision which has been questioned by many boxing fans. Taylor usually possesses great knockout power, and that reputation sees him 9/4 to win the fight by way of Knockout, TKO or Disqualification, and 20/1 to knock his opponent down inside the first round. In fact, Taylor’s last knockout victory saw him put away Apinun Khongsong after just two minutes and 12 seconds in September 2020.

Taylor is favourite to win the fight by any means at 4/7 and with an impressive record to back up conversations around his skilfulness, speed and power there is no reason to suggest he won’t live up to expectations on Saturday night.

Lopez certainly no pushover

Teofimo Lopez does not boast the same unbeaten record as Taylor, but a record of 18 wins and just one loss is certainly not one to turn your nose up at.

Lopez’s only loss came in November 2021 against George Kambosos Jr. in a hard-fought contest, where Kambosos Jr came out on top via a split decision to claim the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles.

Lopez also has an impressive knockout record with 13 of his 18 wins coming before the final bell, leaving him with a knockout rate of just over 68%.

Lopez is the underdog for this fight but odds of 6/4 suggest that he certainly can’t be counted out, and he has all the weapons to cause Taylor some considerable problems.

It is hard to consider Lopez the better technical boxer but any fighter who has the ability to knock opponents out is always a threat, and at 9/2 to record a victory by Knockout, TKO or Disqualification his power is not to be underestimated. However, a decision win at 11/4 might be his most likely path to success.

Check out all the latest boxing betting odds at William Hill