Former undisputed champion, Josh Taylor (19-0) makes a trip across the Atlantic to defend his WBO Super-Lightweight title against Teofimo Lopez (18-1) on Saturday June 10, or early Sunday morning for fans in the UK.
The clash has become a grudge match after a controversial build-up, and the Scotsman is looking to maintain his undefeated record and silence his vocal counterpart this weekend.
After an eyebrow-raising win against Jack Catterall in his last outing, Taylor made the decision to stick around at 140lbs and postpone his move to welterweight. As a result, the southpaw vacated three of his four world titles in order to force a rematch with Catterall, but the bout was cancelled after he picked up an injury earlier this year.
Instead, ‘The Tartan Tornado’ will now face off against Lopez, with the potential win accumulating to a staggering combined opponents’ record of 180-2 across his last eight fights.
Making weight has been a close call for Taylor in the past, but the appointment of Joe McNally as his trainer has seen him adopt a new approach to his cut that is less strenuous on his body, and he looks in good shape for a fight.
Meanwhile, this will be Lopez’s first challenge for a title at super-lightweight. It’s his third fight since at the new weight losing his unified lightweight crown against George Kambosos Jr and making the move up to the division.
Like Taylor, his last outing was criticised as he edged out a split-decision win against Sandor Martin and will need to put in a stronger performance if he is to take Taylor’s ‘0’.
How Can I Watch Taylor-Lopez?
The event will be available to watch live on Sky Sports for UK viewers. Meanwhile, those in the United States can tune in on ESPN+.
When Does Taylor-Lopez Start?
Those local to the scrap can watch the card from 8PM (ET) with the main event scheduled for 11PM (ET). In the UK, Sky Sports will broadcast the undercard from 1AM (GMT) with ring walks for the main-event scheduled for 4AM (GMT).
Undercard / Potential Running Order
- Bruce Carrington (7-0) vs Luiz Porozo (16-6) – Featherweight
- Damian Knyba (11-0) vs Helaman Olguin (9-5-1) – Heavyweight
- Omar Rosario (10-0) vs Jan Carlos Rivera (8-1) – Super-Lightweight
- Robson Conceicáo (17-2) vs Nicolas Polanco (20-4-1) – Super-Featherweight
- Xander Zayas (15-0) vs Ronald Cruz (18-2-1) – Super-Welterweight
- Henry Lebron (17-0) vs Carlos Ramos (17-2) – Super-Featherweight
- Jamaine Ortiz (16-1-1) vs Humberto Galindo (14-3-1) – Lightweight
- Josh Taylor (19-0) vs Teofimo Lopez (18-1) – WBO Super-Lightweight Title