Josh Taylor and Teofimo Lopez will meet in a highly anticipated fight on June 10 in New York. Both have had winning runs and are currently in good places in their careers, but the fight represents more than just the opportunity to become the WBO super-lightweight belt-holder. For both fighters, it is about restoring their reputations in the wake of previous controversies and being viewed as the best 140-pound fighter in the world. Taylor needs to prove himself after a controversial win over Jack Catterall in February, while Lopez needs to quiet the noise in his own head. Although Taylor may argue that he doesn’t need to restore his reputation, his fight against Lopez is a chance to do just that. Until he deals with Catterall in a more conclusive manner, that fight between the two of them over a year ago will always be the stick with which Taylor’s critics used to beat him. On the other hand, Lopez’s time at the top of his career was short-lived, as shown by his loss to George Kambosos. Since then, he has shown signs of regression and seems unsure of himself and his career trajectory. The fight between Taylor and Lopez will be a match between two aggressive, confrontational and controversial boxers who are fueled by a level of machismo that wouldn’t wash in most other walks of life. Although Taylor is flying higher at this moment in time, Lopez has the ability to be quite the talent, as shown in his fight against Lomachenko. However, some fighters are just like that–they ignite quickly and then fizzle out at the same rate.
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