- Sportsbooks favor Josh Taylor (-130) in a recently ordered WBO 140-pound title defense against Teofimo Lopez (+100).
- Taylor was expected to rematch Jack Catterall next month but the fight did not materialize after Taylor suffered an injury.
- Lopez defeated Sandor Martin in a close call during his most recent bout last December.
Josh Taylor has opened as the slight betting favorite in a potential junior lightweight title bout this summer.
According to BetOnline, Taylor is the -130 favorite to beat Lopez who came back at +100 odds when the betting lines opened this week.
The odds went live after the WBO formally ordered Taylor to defend his 140-pound belt against Lopez. A letter has been sent to Top Rank, the promoter of both fighters, to outline the terms of what is now regarded as a mandatory title defense for Taylor.
A report from ESPN says that both sides are looking at May 27 and June 3 as potential dates and the fight could be held at Easter Road in Edinburgh, Scotland which has a 20,000 sitting capacity. Taylor has competed in Scotland for most of his career while Lopez has never fought outside the United States.
Catterall Rematch Not Meant to Be
Taylor had been booked to fight Jack Catterall twice but their rematch never materialized.
The two were initially scheduled to fight last February but the bout was postponed to March 4th due to a scheduling change by Sky Sports, the network which was supposed to air the bout in the U.K.
Then Taylor suffered a torn plantar fascia last month and said he would need to sit out six to eight weeks before he could resume training, postponing the bout for a second time. Catterall moved on from the rematch and is now slated to return to the ring on March 25 in Manchester although no opponent has been announced yet.
Taylor was the undisputed 140-pound champion (WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO ) champion when he fought Catterall in Scotland last February. But instead of putting on a show, he barely escaped with a split decision win which many, including Catterall, questioned. Catterall lobbied for a rematch, and at first, it looked as if Taylor did not want to run it back as he hinted at a move to 147 pounds.
But after a public outcry over the judging in the bout, Taylor decided against moving up in weight. He went on to vacate three of his belts to avoid mandatory title defenses that would preempt a second bout with Catterall. Taylor had opened as the -240 favorite to beat Caetrall in a rematch, after closing as the massive -1700 chalk in their first encounter.
First Four-Belt Champion From the UK
Josh Taylor floored Jose Ramirez twice to become Britain's first undisputed world champion in the four-belt era đź‘Ź
He now holds the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO super-lightweight titles đź‘‘ pic.twitter.com/urjUY2KsLG
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) May 23, 2021
Taylor is the first four-belt champion from Britain and the second Scotsman to become an undisputed world champion in boxing. He accomplished that feat with a 12-round unanimous decision win over Jose Ramirez in May 2021 in a fight where he closed as the -175 betting favorite.
Known as the Tartan Tornado for his aggressive boxing style, Taylor first became a world champion in May 2019 when he defeated Ivan Baranchyk in the World Boxing Super Series lightweight semifinal, capturing the IBF lightweight belt. One fight later, he defeated Regis Prograis in the WBSS final while annexing Prograis’ IBF lightweight belt and the vacant Ring title.
As an amateur, Taylor represented Great Britain in the Commonwealth Games, winning the silver medal in the lightweight division in 2010 and coming back four years later to take the gold medal in Glasgow.
Taylor has an undefeated record of 19-0 with 13 knockouts, or a KO-to-Win percentage of 68%. Taylor has opened and closed as an underdog only once in his career, and that was when he fought Prograis at +130 odds.
Teofimo Lopez Also Coming Off a Close Call
Like Josh Taylor, Teofimo Lopez is coming off a close call. The 25-year-old from Brooklyn New York was listed as the -650 betting favorite by Bovada to beat little-known Sandor Martin in their December 10 bout. But Martin gave Lopez the fight of his life before losing a controversial split decision.
In that bout, Lopez started aggressively as usual and managed to bust open Martin’s nose during a clash of heads in the opening round. That gave Lopez some advantage as Martin struggled with his breathing for most of the fight. The 29-year-old Spaniard however, looked like the more prepared fighter in the bout.
Martin consistently countered Lopez who walked into check hooks. In the second round, Martin clipped Lopez with a right hook which dropped an off-balanced Lopez to the canvass for a knockdown. At that point, Lopez knew he was in for a fight.
Lopez however, was the fighter who kept moving forward, which probably swayed the judges’ decision. After 12 rounds, one judge had Martin winning 95-94 while two judges scored the fight for Lopez 96-93 and a 97-92 card which was highly questionable. Despite the win, Lopez failed to impress and showed a lot of flaws in his game.
The Takeover
One year ago today, TeĂłfimo LĂłpez introduced Vasiliy Lomachenko to 'The Takeover' đź‘‘ pic.twitter.com/Xuvrl5Ekkb
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) October 17, 2021
Four fights earlier, Lopez shocked the boxing world when he upset Vasyl Lomachenko in a lightweight title unification bout. Lopez entered the fight as a +330 betting underdog to Lomachenko who was then the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
Loma had won 13 consecutive world title bouts and was dominating one opponent after another prior to fighting Lopez. Teofimo dominated Lomachenko and won 119-109, 117-111, and 116-112 in a unanimous decision win where he declared himself as “The Takeover”.
However, one fight later, Lopez would lose his belts via split decision to George Kambosos in a fight where he closed as the heavy -1000 betting favorite. He moved up to 140 pounds in his next bout and stopped an overmatched Pedro Campa (+800) in the 7th round last August.
This marks only the second time in his professional boxing career that Lopez has opened with plus odds. He hit the opening betting boards at +260 odds when he fought Lomachenko. Lopez has a record of 18-1 with 13 knockouts.
