Josh Taylor will ‘outwork’ Teofimo Lopez when he faces his 140lbs rival this Saturday night in New York City, according to former world champion boxer Tony Bellew.
Taylor, who faced incredible criticism when controversially defeating Jack Catterall on points last year, travels to Lopez’s backyard as he looks to make an impressive statement against the former unified champion at lightweight and Bellew is backing him.
Just two years ago, this bout would've been seen as the biggest fights in boxing due to Taylor being the undisputed ruler at super-lightweight and Lopez defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko at the backend of 2020.
Since then, both men have endured hard nights in the ring with Taylor struggling against Catterall and Lopez surrendering his unbeaten record and world titles to George Kambosos.
With both men fighting with a point to prove after disappointing form in recent fights, Bellew, the former WBC cruiserweight champion, expects Taylor to get the job done.
“Two excellent fighters and it’s going to come down to who wants it the most on the night,” said Bellew when speaking exclusively with DAZN.
“We’ve seen what both of these fighters are capable of when at their best and if we get the best version of both men then this fight could be something special.
“Josh is the naturally bigger man and I think he’d be wise to use his size. Make it his fight early and then stay on top. If he can do that then he’ll outwork Lopez and take this fight on the cards.”