Teofimo Lopez on Josh Taylor: “I’ll knock him out”

Image: Teofimo Lopez on Josh Taylor: "I'll knock him out"
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 13: Teofimo Lopez (R) knocks-down Pedro Campa (L) during their NABF & WBO International junior welterweight fight at Resorts World Las Vegas on August 13, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
By Boxing News - 12/02/2022 - Comments

By Scott Gilfoid: Teofimo Lopez wants to fight WBO light welterweight champion Josh Taylor if he gets past challenger Jack Catterall in their rematch in January.

It’s fair to say that the lions Regis Prograis and Teofimo Lopez have spotted age & vulnerability in Taylor, and they’re ready to finish him off once they get their hands on him.

To avoid other lions in the 140-lb division, Taylor has already vacated his IBF, WBA & WBC titles. Now all he’s left with is his WBO trinket, and Jack Catterall will be looking to rip that strap away from him.

Not surprisingly, Teofimo and Prograis are hoping that Taylor can somehow beat Catterall so that they can be the one that takes him down, sending him back into the contender ranks from whence he came.

“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,” Teofimo Lopez said to Sky Sports News about what he has planned for WBO light welterweight champion Josh Taylor when or if the two meet up in 2023.

“A lot of people would like to see me take on Josh Taylor, and I’ve been calling him out. I honestly believe that I’ll knock him out,” said Teofimo.

If a lion could talk, he’d say precisely what Teofimo is about Taylor. He looks ready to be finished off as a belt holder.

Like many of the contenders in the 140-lb division, former unified lightweight champion Teofimo (17-1, 13 KOs) sees vulnerability in the still unbeaten Scottish fighter Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs), and he believes he’ll not only beat him but knock him out in the process.

Taylor is an old 31 and hasn’t looked the same since his questionable 12 round majority decision win over Prograis in October 2019. That fight seemed to take something out of Taylor.

What didn’t help is the punishment Taylor absorbed in his war with former WBC/WBO 140-lb champion Jose Ramirez in May of last year. After that fight, Taylor looked faded in winning a controversial 12 round split decision over Jack Catterall last February.

That’s a match-up that Taylor arguably would have won with ease pre-Prograis.

“I actually will put him down better than what Catterall did. He won’t come back up,” Teofimo predicted about what he’ll do against Taylor.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what they both learned from each other in terms of pros and cons,” said Teofimo about Taylor and Catterall.