Bob Arum admits that he isn’t quite sure what to make of one of the highest-profile fights on his promotional company’s calendar.
The 91-year-old founder of Top Rank Inc. is convinced fans will respond both by buying tickets for their June 10 showdown in New York and by watching it on ESPN. But based on how Taylor and Lopez performed in their most recent bouts, Arum finds it hard to predict who will win when Lopez challenges Taylor for the Scottish southpaw’s WBO junior welterweight title.
“I don’t know,” Arum told BoxingScene.com. “I don’t know what Teofimo has anymore. And really, I don’t know what Taylor has anymore. You know, this is not like you can predict the fight based on guys who fight frequently. Teofimo has been a little disappointing, in his last fight and in two of his last three fights. And Taylor didn’t look great against Catterall. Hopefully for this fight, they both can present the public with their top-flight self.”
Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) and Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) will headline a Top Rank card that will be held either at Madison Square Garden or MSG’s Hulu Theater, downstairs from the main arena. Madison Square Garden can accommodate more than 20,000 fans for boxing, approximately 15,000 more than Hulu Theater, but it might not be available based on how far the Rangers and/or Knicks advance in the NHL and NBA playoffs, respectively.
The 25-year-old Lopez’s last fight took place at Madison Square Garden. The Brooklyn native got up from a flash knockdown during the second round and edged Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (40-3, 13 KOs) by split decision in their 10-rounder December 10.
That narrow win marked Lopez’s second fight since he lost the IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight titles to Australian underdog George Kambosos Jr. (20-2, 10 KOs), who upset Lopez by split decision in November 2021 at Hulu Theater.
Taylor, meanwhile, will end a 15-month layoff when he opposes Lopez. The former undisputed 140-pound champion hasn’t boxed since English southpaw Jack Catterall dropped him in the eighth round, only to lose a controversial split decision in February 2022 at OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
The 32-year-old Taylor insisted on a rematch with Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs), but he ultimately decided to face Lopez next after their second fight was postponed twice. Their rematch was rescheduled for March 4, but Taylor withdrew from it in mid-January due to a foot injury.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.