Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez | Sky Sports - 10 June 2023

[Ruthless-RKO]

Will be on Sky Sports.

Hopefully at a respectable time of the evening rather than daft oclock in the morning .

It’s New York. If it’s the usual.. hopefully main event is 3am..

If they CAN do it earlier and cater for us UK fans, I’ll be happy even with a 12am start.

[TheLeprechaun]

Good fight. Glad we are not having to watch Catteralls boring arse again

I think Taylor wins a close decision. Taylor will not engage in a fight here and Teo will be getting outboxed. The speed of Teo is going to be interesting. I could see him having the speed and timing to get the right hand off. Got to make Taylor a favourite.

[Flump]

Good fight. Glad we are not having to watch Catteralls boring arse again

I think Taylor wins a close decision. Taylor will not engage in a fight here and Teo will be getting outboxed. The speed of Teo is going to be interesting. I could see him having the speed and timing to get the right hand off. Got to make Taylor a favourite.

Catterall arse may be boring, but Taylor needs to rematch him, or he has a fat asterisk against his name for life.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Good fight. Glad we are not having to watch Catteralls boring arse again

I think Taylor wins a close decision. Taylor will not engage in a fight here and Teo will be getting outboxed. The speed of Teo is going to be interesting. I could see him having the speed and timing to get the right hand off. Got to make Taylor a favourite.

Catterall arse may be boring, but Taylor needs to rematch him, or he has a fat asterisk against his name for life.

He surely wasn’t boring in that fight.

[GreenLightning]

Has to be Catterall next by rights. But then Burns never rematched Beltran, so who knows.

Not surprising after he was caught loaded to the gills

[Ruthless-RKO]

Josh reckons he stops Teo in 6..

[The Gratest]

When you compare Catterall to Lopez, the logical conclusion is Lopez being a level or so above Catterall. However, stylistically, Lopez is more suited to Taylor. Similar to Prograis and will be in front of Taylor all night without the awkwardness that Catterall presented.
It could end up being a carbon copy of the Prograis fight, with it coming down to will to win in the championship rounds. I think Lopez might sneak it.

[Alba]

Josh reckons he stops Teo in 6..

,
He also reckons there is a global conspiracy, so I'd take what he says with a pinch of salt

[emallini]

This is a great fight

[ashall2]

Good fight. Glad we are not having to watch Catteralls boring arse again

I think Taylor wins a close decision. Taylor will not engage in a fight here and Teo will be getting outboxed. The speed of Teo is going to be interesting. I could see him having the speed and timing to get the right hand off. Got to make Taylor a favourite.

Catterall arse may be boring, but Taylor needs to rematch him, or he has a fat asterisk against his name for life.

Which is bollocks. He became Britain’s first ever undisputed world champion in a crazy amount of fights but typical of this country that just gets disregarded because of one bad performance. He could have got knocked out by Catterall in a round and should have still been classed as a British great when all was said and done.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Flump]

Good fight. Glad we are not having to watch Catteralls boring arse again

I think Taylor wins a close decision. Taylor will not engage in a fight here and Teo will be getting outboxed. The speed of Teo is going to be interesting. I could see him having the speed and timing to get the right hand off. Got to make Taylor a favourite.

Catterall arse may be boring, but Taylor needs to rematch him, or he has a fat asterisk against his name for life.

Which is bollocks. He became Britain’s first ever undisputed world champion in a crazy amount of fights but typical of this country that just gets disregarded because of one bad performance. He could have got knocked out by Catterall in a round and should have still been classed as a British great when all was said and done.

Who's disregarding him? He's at worst Scottish top 3 ever. Great fighters usually erase doubts, he needs to go back and beat Catterall, and I would think Taylor knows it himself.

[samwbr]

Assume Taylors visa isnt an issue?

[Flump]

Assume Taylors visa isnt an issue?

He was ringside for Stevenson-Yoshino, so assume he's OK.

[ashall2]

Catterall arse may be boring, but Taylor needs to rematch him, or he has a fat asterisk against his name for life.

Which is bollocks. He became Britain’s first ever undisputed world champion in a crazy amount of fights but typical of this country that just gets disregarded because of one bad performance. He could have got knocked out by Catterall in a round and should have still been classed as a British great when all was said and done.

Who's disregarding him? He's at worst Scottish top 3 ever. Great fighters usually erase doubts, he needs to go back and beat Catterall, and I would think Taylor knows it himself.

There’s loads of time to do that fight again. People go on like he’s flatly refused to rematch him.

[samwbr]

Assume Taylors visa isnt an issue?

He was ringside for Stevenson-Yoshino, so assume he's OK.

Ta

[Flump]

Which is bollocks. He became Britain’s first ever undisputed world champion in a crazy amount of fights but typical of this country that just gets disregarded because of one bad performance. He could have got knocked out by Catterall in a round and should have still been classed as a British great when all was said and done.

Who's disregarding him? He's at worst Scottish top 3 ever. Great fighters usually erase doubts, he needs to go back and beat Catterall, and I would think Taylor knows it himself.

There’s loads of time to do that fight again. People go on like he’s flatly refused to rematch him.

Agreed. But unfortunately, unfair as it is, the most publicity Taylor ever received was from getting a suspect decision. If he wipes Catterall out in a rematch, job done, universal respect.

[Ruthless-RKO]

George is quite well spoken. Is he Francis’ brother?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Teofimo Lopez says this will be his last fight on ESPN during wild rant

Teofimo Lopez has expressed real displeasure with those affiliated with the network.

Teofimo Lopez sure knows how to draw attention to himself, unfortunately it's not for all the best reasons as of late. During a new interview with Punsh Drunk Boxing, Lopez holds nothing back as he sounds off on ESPN analysts Andre Ward and Tim Bradley.

"At the fighters meeting I dissed Andre Ward and Timothy Bradley in front of ESPN's production for all the affiliation and corruption that they do," Lopez said. "And what happened? I put more weight on my back, and all they was talking about right away, when I slipped with the first knockdown they called.

"I slipped, they called it right away. What did Bradley say, 'He's hurt, he's hurt!' So I don't sugarcoat shit. All these motherfuckers dick ride and they suck dick - pardon my language. But that is the problem, I don't ride off that."

Lopez would then up the ante with his words, saying this will be his last fight on the ESPN network.

"This is my last fight on ESPN," Lopez continued. "I'm sorry but I'm not sorry. This is why this fight (against Josh Taylor) means everything to me. If they want the black fighters they can keep them. I brought Bud Lite to Top Rank."



Lopez's comments will be sure to draw some scrutiny, but it doesn't seem like he's doing himself any favors in the court of public opinion and perception.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Teofimo Lopez Sr explains son’s frustration with ESPN and Top Rank, assures public there’s no racist intent

Teofimo Sr. provides some additional context to his son’s recent public comments.



After Teofimo Lopez Jr joined a recent boxing podcast and unloaded on ESPN while making a curious statement about their black fighters, his father comes out to explain his son’s perspective and make it clear that what his son said was not meant as any sleight towards black fighters. Check out some excerpts of what he had to say below.

“When my son said Top Rank can stay with all their black fighters — because you know what it is, when Devin Haney came into Top Rank and all this, they’re promoting him more than they’re promoting my son and he feels a little type of way.

“You got to understand this, we’re fighting the top dude, bro. And we got to get some respect for that. And he just feels some type of way, like ‘oh, they just want to promote’ — in (Junior’s) mind — ‘the black fighters.’ You got Keyshawn Davis, you got Shakur Stevenson, you got ‘Baby.’

“So you got all these fighters from Top Rank that are getting more recognition than my son is getting and he’s trying to fight the top dogs. So that’s just something that he had inside...that he’s not being promoted, being appreciated about what he’s doing, bro.

“Like this fight with Josh Taylor, they’re putting him in the fornicating Hulu Theater, bro. Like, for real, bro?! I mean, this is the fight that’s going to put him in the Hall of Fame. This is a big fight and nobody is even mentioning it, bro. So that’s why he’s like that. He got a lot of shit in his fornicating chest.

“A lot of people is going to try to put this shit like he’s racist. Bro...my son-in-law is black, you understand? My daughter got married to a black dude, bro. I love black people. We all love black people, we was raised with black people, bro. I lived in the projects, bro. I don’t even got to explain myself because it’s stupid.

“The hate is so fornicating strong that they’re going to try to put that shit on him and I just want to emphasize to everybody that’s not what they think, it’s just what’s happening. And it just happens to be all the black fighters that are with Top Rank are the ones that they’re promoting.

“‘I’m over here trying to fight Josh Taylor, somebody that nobody wants to fight, so I’m taking all the risk. At least give me something, you know? At least give me some props.’ ‘No, you know what we’re going to do, Teofimo? We’re going to put you in the fornicating Hulu Theater.’ That’s like a smack in the face, bro.

“This is the biggest fight this year. I mean, this is for all the fornicating marbles, bro. This is the real fornicating fight and he’s doing it at only 25 years old. This is only his 20th fight...Even Max Kellerman said it on the Max Kellerman Show. And you know what? They brought that video down. That video’s private now because Max Kellerman said ‘you know what, you win this fight, you’re in the Hall of Fame.’

“(My son) understood that he was wrong with what he said. But it has nothing to do with race. It has nothing to do with that. You can’t mention the word ‘black’ nowadays because everybody gets offended. It’s a word that you cannot use. And I told him ‘you got to talk to the media, apologize and let them know that you didn’t have no (racist intent)’ — like he didn’t say it like in a racist way, bro.

“He just said it like ‘Top Rank is really just focusing on the black fighters because it’s the market. Marketing-fornicating-strategy. They see that’s what people want to see. They love black fighters. I mean, they the best at what they do. You know, black people are fornicating very athletic, bro. Nobody can beat them, and I understand that. But we get the chance to prove to the world that my son can be the best fighter in the world, and that’s all we want, bro. We want the chances, and when we get them, we go for it.”

[giacomino]

Teofimo Lopez Sr explains son’s frustration with ESPN and Top Rank, assures public there’s no racist intent

Teofimo Sr. provides some additional context to his son’s recent public comments.



After Teofimo Lopez Jr joined a recent boxing podcast and unloaded on ESPN while making a curious statement about their black fighters, his father comes out to explain his son’s perspective and make it clear that what his son said was not meant as any sleight towards black fighters. Check out some excerpts of what he had to say below.

“When my son said Top Rank can stay with all their black fighters — because you know what it is, when Devin Haney came into Top Rank and all this, they’re promoting him more than they’re promoting my son and he feels a little type of way.

“You got to understand this, we’re fighting the top dude, bro. And we got to get some respect for that. And he just feels some type of way, like ‘oh, they just want to promote’ — in (Junior’s) mind — ‘the black fighters.’ You got Keyshawn Davis, you got Shakur Stevenson, you got ‘Baby.’

“So you got all these fighters from Top Rank that are getting more recognition than my son is getting and he’s trying to fight the top dogs. So that’s just something that he had inside...that he’s not being promoted, being appreciated about what he’s doing, bro.

“Like this fight with Josh Taylor, they’re putting him in the fornicating Hulu Theater, bro. Like, for real, bro?! I mean, this is the fight that’s going to put him in the Hall of Fame. This is a big fight and nobody is even mentioning it, bro. So that’s why he’s like that. He got a lot of shit in his fornicating chest.

“A lot of people is going to try to put this shit like he’s racist. Bro...my son-in-law is black, you understand? My daughter got married to a black dude, bro. I love black people. We all love black people, we was raised with black people, bro. I lived in the projects, bro. I don’t even got to explain myself because it’s stupid.

“The hate is so fornicating strong that they’re going to try to put that shit on him and I just want to emphasize to everybody that’s not what they think, it’s just what’s happening. And it just happens to be all the black fighters that are with Top Rank are the ones that they’re promoting.

“‘I’m over here trying to fight Josh Taylor, somebody that nobody wants to fight, so I’m taking all the risk. At least give me something, you know? At least give me some props.’ ‘No, you know what we’re going to do, Teofimo? We’re going to put you in the fornicating Hulu Theater.’ That’s like a smack in the face, bro.

“This is the biggest fight this year. I mean, this is for all the fornicating marbles, bro. This is the real fornicating fight and he’s doing it at only 25 years old. This is only his 20th fight...Even Max Kellerman said it on the Max Kellerman Show. And you know what? They brought that video down. That video’s private now because Max Kellerman said ‘you know what, you win this fight, you’re in the Hall of Fame.’

“(My son) understood that he was wrong with what he said. But it has nothing to do with race. It has nothing to do with that. You can’t mention the word ‘black’ nowadays because everybody gets offended. It’s a word that you cannot use. And I told him ‘you got to talk to the media, apologize and let them know that you didn’t have no (racist intent)’ — like he didn’t say it like in a racist way, bro.

“He just said it like ‘Top Rank is really just focusing on the black fighters because it’s the market. Marketing-fornicating-strategy. They see that’s what people want to see. They love black fighters. I mean, they the best at what they do. You know, black people are fornicating very athletic, bro. Nobody can beat them, and I understand that. But we get the chance to prove to the world that my son can be the best fighter in the world, and that’s all we want, bro. We want the chances, and when we get them, we go for it.”

So his dad really helped him out with this “explanation” What a couple of tools. I am not a Taylor fan but hope he slaps Lopez silly, which I think he’ll do

[MightyWarrior]

Two of my favourite fighters, I love both of them, despite their world-class ability to put their foot in mouth and everyone’s back up - not exactly diplomats the pair of them. This fight should be in the main arena, not the theatre ( the old felt forum I just realised ) if it was in the main arena I’d go and see it… Definitely the fight of the year and not to be missed, what a change these two taking each other on, from those preening heavyweight featherheads tiptoeing around each other.

Teo dropping a nuclear bomb with those comments, but I have a lot of sympathy for him, being brought up by his nutso dad who seems a borderline psychopath, he’s done amazingly well to just about to hold it all together

[Ruthless-RKO]

Press Release | Jamaine Ortiz To Return on Taylor-Lopez Card, Inks Co-Promotional With Top Rank

Lightweight contender Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz has signed a multi-fight co-promotional contract with Top Rank, who will work in conjunction with Jimmy Burchfield’s CES Boxing. Ortiz will return in a 10-round clash against an opponent to be named Saturday, June 10 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. His fight will top the ESPN+-streamed undercard of the junior welterweight showdown between WBO world champion Josh Taylor and former unified and lineal lightweight king Teofimo Lopez.

In the 10-round co-feature, Puerto Rican junior middleweight phenom Xander Zayas will take on Ronald “Diablo” Cruz.

Taylor-Lopez and Zayas-Cruz will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs) is a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, who is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent. A seven-year veteran, he experienced his most significant year as a pro in 2022. Ortiz secured the NABF lightweight title in February after outpointing Nahir Albright, then followed up with a 10-round unanimous decision victory against former world champion Jamel "Semper Fi" Herring in May. In October, the 27-year-old used his size and strength to take an early lead against former lightweight champion Vasiliy “Loma” Lomachenko before losing the tightly contested battle via unanimous decision.

Ortiz said, “It feels great to join a stable that has created so many Hall of Fame champions. I’m looking forward to becoming their next one. It's been a long journey fighting my way up to get the respect I deserve. With Top Rank working with CES, I’m now hoping for bigger and better fights.

“It feels good to be back in New York to get some redemption after the loss to Lomachenko. I gained many new fans that night, and a lot of people thought I won. People know I’m the real deal now. I’m motivated to improve and take over the lightweight division. I only took 10 days off after that fight and went straight to the gym. I’m coming to make a statement on June 10 that I’m not to be played with.”

[MightyWarrior]

Fight of the year and it’s really going under the radar.

Does anyone know who’s training Josh these days?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Fight of the year and it’s really going under the radar.

Does anyone know who’s training Josh these days?

Is it McNally?