Josh Taylor has released a statement in the wake of his first loss in the professional ring.
The former undisputed super lightweight champion fell short in New York at the hands of an in-form Teofimo Lopez.
The Brooklyn native commanded the ring and beat Taylor to the punch over twelve, earning himself a unanimous decision victory and the WBO 140lbs world title.
In a classy statement, Taylor congratulated his opponent and made no excuses for the defeat.
“Well… F**K!
Not the result I was looking for last night. No excuses here, the better man won on the night. I had a great training camp was performing really well in the gym. I felt I started well & just faded away & strayed from the game plan. I want to say a huge thank you to my team, my nutritionist/S&C coach, Carl evens & especially Joe McNally & Declan O’rourke for getting me in fantastic shape and giving me a great training camp, the best I’ve had. They’re not just a team, they’re friends for life.
Thank you to everyone for the support last night especially everyone who travelled over and spent their hard earned money to come and support me.
Congratulations to Team Lopez on a good job, enjoy the victory.
Thank you to all.
I’LL BE BACK”
Taylor will likely take some time with his team before they decide on the next move, although he did float the idea of a rematch with Lopez post-fight.
If he can’t get that – Lopez has announced retirement, but will likely return for the right opponent – he may consider making a long-discussed move up to welterweight.