WBA Super and IBF 140lbs king Josh Taylor has hinted that he could drop down to lightweight to face undisputed champion Teofimo Lopez in an enthralling clash between two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport of boxing.
Taylor is expected to face WBC and WBO super-lightweight champion Jose Ramirez next in a unification clash in the first half of 2021. But afterwards the Edinburgh maestro believes it could be possible for him to make the five-pound drop in weight to face brilliant American Lopez and give him a chance of a becoming a three-weight champion.
“I’m making the weight so much more easily,” Taylor told BBC Scotland. “I could maybe even go down to 135 and challenge for a title there and then jump up to 147 and be a three-weight world champion. These are all longer-term goals.
“You’ve got Teofimo Lopez, who’s big for 135. You’ve got [Vasiliy] Lomachenko. It would be hard to make the weight, but I think it is doable. And then jump up to 147 to take on Terence Crawford and Errol Spence, the greats of the sport.”
The 29-year-old Taylor, last seen demolishing IBF No.1 contender Apinun Khongsong in a round in September, is aiming high before he retires from the sport within the next four years.
“I don’t want to be fighting until I’m 36, 37, 38 and the body starts falling apart,” said Taylor, “Ideally, I want to retire at 32 or 33, get out of the game and live the rest of my life.
“[The Ramirez fight is] looking like the early part of next year, maybe February/March/April time. It’s most likely going to be in America because in some states they’re allowing a good number of fans in and that’s what I would prefer to do, fight in front of fans.
“I’ve always wanted to fight in America on a big show and see my name up in bright lights, so that will be another one ticked off the bucket list. It’s looking like it’s going to be the West Coast, maybe in LA or Nevada. But nothing has been confirmed and it could still be here in Glasgow.”