Former undisputed king Josh Taylor, who lost a unanimous points decision to Teofimo Lopez in 2023, has given an honest assessment of the 28-year-old’s power.
‘The Takeover’ will face Shakur Stevenson this Saturday at Madison Square Garden im New York, where he makes the fourth defence of his WBO world title.
A dominant performance saw Lopez claim his belt by dethroning Taylor, who was considered the division’s top dog at the time, in only his third outing at 140lbs.
Before that, the American had suffered a shock defeat to George Kambosos Jr following his monumental victory over Vasyl Lomachenko in 2020.
Since jumping up from 135lbs though, Lopez has remained unbeaten and looked particularly sensational against Taylor, who later claimed to have entered their fight with an injury.
But even so, it must be said that Lopez delivered a superb performance against the Scot, who has now come out and downplayed the Brooklyn man’s power.
Speaking with Daily Mail Boxing, Taylor insisted that, while being a physically imposing operator, his former opponent is by no means a devastating puncher.
“It’s not really like he’s got much power, to be honest. He’s quite strong, physically, but he hit me with some big shots and I just walked through them.
“He didn’t really hurt me at all. I never felt his power at all; I’ve been in with a lot bigger punchers, so I don’t think the punch power will be an issue [for Stevenson].
“Maybe the physical strength [will be a factor] but, apart from that, I don’t think [Lopez’s power] will be a problem for Shakur.”
Stevenson, who is moving up from 135lbs, will no doubt be forced to contend with a noticeable size disadvantage this weekend.
The three-division world champion has also claimed that, regardless of the result, he is likely to move back down and defend his WBC lightweight title after facing Lopez.
But while Stevenson is indeed the naturally smaller man, Taylor seems to think that the power of Lopez is hardly a point of concern for the slick technician.
