The DAZN Boxing Show discussed Teofimo Lopez’s prospects at super lightweight.
Lopez will take on WBO 140lb champion Josh Taylor on Saturday night in New York, and the Scot is ranked as the clear favourite by the bookmakers.
That is despite Taylor’s last appearance being an unconvincing, and some say ill-deserved, victory over Jack Catterall early last year.
However Lopez has also struggled recently. He moved up a division after losing his unified lightweight status to George Kambosos Jr, and in his last fight against Sandor Martin he was not at his dominant best.
Both fighters appear determined to set the record straight in their first fights of 2023.
Speaking on The DAZN Boxing Show, Akin Reyes and Barak Bess discussed his achievements.
Reyes said: "Some say Teofimo was undisputed at 135, in a lot of people’s eyes he was. He beat the guy [Vasiliy Lomachenko]."
Bess concurred, adding: “It’s not his fault we didn't call him undisputed, it was the WBC instituting the franchise belt, because they made it kind of confusing. If Loma never took it on, maybe he would have fought Haney and lost.”
Discussing the betting odds, Reyes suggested: “I think Las Vegas will give Teofimo a little motivation as it’s rare for Teofimo to be an underdog. He is +145 and Taylor is -185.
“In Taylor, we all know the Catterall fight was suspect, but he’s the same guy that beat Regis Prograis.
“I’m not forgetting about Teofimo, he’s a very special fighter and to be honest, I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him. Him being mentally strong and being in the right mindset to give us that, that remains to be seen. But in terms of talent, he’s one of the most talented fighters in boxing. Here’s the opportunity to remind us about that against a fighter as talented as Josh Taylor. I think something special is going to happen.”
Bess addressed his fight with Martin, saying: “I think he had a tough fight with Sandor Martin.
“They say because of that we say we don’t know what kind of Teofimo Lopez we are going to get. He was sick in the Kambosos fight, that’s what the doctor says afterwards, that’s why we got that Lopez fight, and he was still trying to drop him.
“That’s the kind of guy we have. Teofimo is still Teofimo. I feel athletically and physically he is going to show he’s a very good fighter, fast and explosive. His first fight at 140 ended in a knockout.”