A welterweight showdown with Terence Crawford could lure Josh Taylor to the 147-pound limit if he handles huge underdog Jack Catterall accordingly Saturday night in Glasgow, Scotland.
There remains, however, a junior welterweight fight with a former lightweight champion that might make the Scottish southpaw stay at the 140-pound limit for another fight or two. Taylor would welcome a bout against Teofimo Lopez if Lopez were to establish himself in the 140-pound division by beating a credible opponent in his next fight.
Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs) hasn’t scheduled what would be his first fight since he lost his four lightweight titles to George Kambosos Jr. on November 27 in New York. Whenever he returns, the Brooklyn native is expected to compete as a full-fledged junior welterweight for the first time.
“I’m not shouting down any fights,” Taylor told BoxingScene.com. “If the fights are there, the paycheck’s right, and it’s in line with what I’m doing, I’ll take any fight in the world. I’m not shouting down any fight. We know how to beat Teofimo Lopez, so I’m not fussed or caring anything about Teofimo Lopez. I’m not scared of anyone. I’ll fight absolutely anybody. It’s a fight that can happen. If I’m gonna stay at 140, it definitely can happen. It’s nothing but big fights for me now, if it all goes my way [against Catterall].”
The 24-year-old Lopez was a 10-1 favorite the week of his fight with Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs), who was the mandatory challenger for Lopez’s IBF belt. Australia’s Kambosos dropped Lopez with a right hand in the first round, controlled the first half of their 12-round fight, fended off Lopez’s rally and withstood a 10th-round knockdown to win a split decision at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater.
Judges Glenn Feldman (115-112) and Frank Lombardi (115-111) scored their fight for Kambosos, who won the IBF, WBA, WBC franchise and WBO championships from Lopez. Judge Don Trella scored Lopez a 114-113 winner that night.
“Kambosos got the game plan spot on,” Taylor said. “I think Teofimo Lopez maybe underestimated him a little bit, got too caught up in his own hype and paid the price for it.”
Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) also is a heavy favorite, 14-1 according to most sportsbooks, to conquer Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs) in their 12-round fight for Taylor’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 140-pound crowns at The OVO Hydro in Scotland’s largest city. Taylor, 31, and England’s Catterall, 28, will headline a Sky Sports telecast in the United Kingdom and Ireland (7 p.m. GMT) and an ESPN+ stream in the United States (2 p.m. ET; 11 a.m. PT).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
