Via Eon Kennedy: To say the least, the story surrounding Josh Taylor and Teofimo Lopez’s lightweight world title match in New York tomorrow night is certainly strange.
Scottish tennis player Taylor has never been beaten, and the challenger, Brooklyn’s own Lopez, has only lost once in a career that has seen them both become undisputed champions in different weight divisions. (Lopez can’t argue with everything but the name WBC ridiculously made the franchise belt for the Vasiliy Lomachenko fight.) However, while the record books say both Taylor and Lopez won, fans beg to differ.
It’s been more than a year since Taylor defended her undisputed world championship title in Glasgow, Scotland, against Jack Catterall, and everyone agrees that Taylor was resoundingly defeated that night. , but after twelve innings, the umpires saw something different and awarded the home country the champion.
Back in October 2020, when the world was still covered by the Covid pandemic, Lopez did the impossible and defeated Lomachenko, a boxer considered one of the best weightlifters in the world at the time. But since then, we’ve seen him lose those belts in a fight with George Kambosos, and like Taylor, many fans feel that Lopez lost in the final match to Sandor Martin, despite receiving nods from the judges.
The way both boxers came out after their controversial final fight certainly had an impact on the hype and marketability of this fight.
Prior to the game against Catterall, Taylor was hugely respected in the sport for the way he became the undisputed lightweight champion in just eighteen fights and the way he was ready to fight. with tough undefeated fighters without fuss. But the fallout from the Catterall fight certainly damaged the Scottish boxer’s brand, as he was adamant that he had won the bout and continued to verbally attack Catterall in the weeks and months that followed.
To his credit, Taylor agreed to an immediate rematch with Catterall, and a date was set, but in the midst of Taylor’s injury, Catterall changed promoters and the WBO ordered the champion to defend his world title against Lopez, that match was shelved.
While Lopez’s marketing abilities have been tarnished in a similar way to Taylor’s, the way he engages in self-destructive behavior is completely different. Taylor acted somewhat irrationally in the face of his final match defeat, but, in his defense, it was the referees who knocked Jack Catterall out of the undisputed world title in Glasgow that night, not Josh Taylor, and his reaction, though fiery and over-the-top, is perhaps part of what makes him such an incredible world champion.
On the other hand, Lopez may have been a victim of believing his own hype after conquering Lomachenko, but at the age of 23, that could be forgiven. What fans find more inexcusable is that Lopez is still babbling with weird and false criticism about him being the greatest of all time alongside Muhammed Ali, his wanting to kill Josh Taylor on Saturday (which is deplorable as deaths can and do not happen in the boxing ring) and his advertising agency, Top Rank, and their broadcast partner, ESPN, support black boxers.
Lopez has had a number of personal issues that have gone public and while it’s none other than his own business, the strange behavior and comments from Lopez seem to be completely different from the persona he is. he had before the match against Lomachenko, prompting commentators to comment on whether his current mental state is the right one to become world champion again.
Lopez’s trainer and father, Teofimo Sr., also doesn’t give his son any favor with his erratic behavior and statements that are even more delusional than his own son, and most boxing pros. Both stated that Lopez needed to remove his father from his corner, or at least get an established coach to assist and stabilize the ship.
Not so long ago, both champions and challengers were considered golden geese in the cages of Top Rank, but what was considered a blockbuster battle just a year or two ago has now flown below. a bit of a buzz and even aired for free on ESPN instead of their pay-per-view platform, where matches of this magnitude usually take place.
The most damning indictment of a war ever classified as a super fight is that it was taking place at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden, not the larger, more sacred room at the world’s most famous arena. gender. This fact proves that the supply of both boxers has dropped quite a bit, but it is more worrisome for Lopez, who hails from the nearby borough of Brooklyn.
There’s no bigger boxing prize than the world title, but on Saturday night it felt like Josh Taylor and Teofimo Lopez were both fighting for something bigger; Redemption and respect once again from the fans who are the lifeblood of the sport. Regardless of the outcome, a man will leave New York City as world champion on Saturday night and that man will have options going forward. For the defeated warrior, a deep soul search will follow.
