In what is sure to be a very entertaining fight, Josh “The Tartan Tornado” Taylor puts his undisputed title and the WBO belt on the line against a fierce competitor in Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez. This fight, which is not on PPV, will be shown on ESPN+, which by the way is worth every penny just for the fights alone, I hope Bob Arum lives another 30 years, is going to be a Canadian wildfire…. huh, throwing in a little current events in there, could have said barn burner but what’s that compared to a cookout in the Canadian woods, that’s a crap load of smores they can make with that blaze. Anywhooo…. getting back on subject… The two fighters are going to put it on the line in a must win situation for both fighters. The last two outings for the pugilists saw them barely hold on to get another notch on the W column keeping them relevant. Taylor’s match against Catterall saw Taylor win a split decision victory and there were many who agr….. and there were some that agr…. and there was one who agreed and his name was Josh Taylor and that’s a maybe. In Lopez’s last outing against one of my countrymen, Sandor Martin, Lopez was knocked down and pulled out a squeaker in similar fashion as Taylor, by split decision. That fight was a little less controversial even though some thought that Martin, pronounced Marteen and make sure you roll that r, with his slick boxing might have given him the edge. I saw the fight and it wasn’t a robbery to give Lopez the decision, I mean they didn’t stop the fight while Martin was punching Lopez like in some other fights …Tony Weeks… And Lopez was landing the more telling shots, when he could land, mainly because Martin isn’t a power puncher. That being said, these two dualists must win convincingly, there can’t be controversy. Let’s break it down….

We’ll start with the Champion and betting favorite, Josh Taylor, who sports an undefeated record in Scotland, just joshing, everywhere. Taylor (pictured above yelling for more crumpets, both versions) sports a record of 19 wins no losses with 13 big wins coming by KO. Taylor’s biggest asset is his good hand speed and ring IQ as well as being a southpaw with real good foot movement. His other plus is that he is very confident, which can turn into a negative if you don’t take an opponent serious, but I think that’s what happened in his last fight so he had that moment and I’m pretty sure he learned from it. His biggest win is against Prograis, another world champion and damn good fighter, when he isn’t fighting Taylor. Taylor (pictured above screaming for tea with those crumpets) has a good chance of beating this version of Lopez, what I will call the electrical version or electric Lopez. Taylor has to maintain his distance, use that right jab to keep electric Lopez from setting up big shots and then sneak that left hand in when electric Lopez is trying to place his feet. Taylor’s biggest weakness, besides his, we’ll just keep naming it over confidence, is that he gets too close because he likes hooks, which means that he gets in range of his opponent. With fighters like Catterall, he might get away with it because Catterall doesn’t pack big power, but if the dynamic Lopez shows up and not the electric Lopez, it will be a short night and a quick nap in front of millions for Taylor.

The challenger in the red corner… blue corner?… the other corner is Teofimo Lopez who has an impressive record of 18 wins with 1 defeat, to a tough Aussie, with 13 big wins by KO. Lopez (pictured above wondering if the Scottish alphabet is the same as the American alphabet) is a naturally gifted boxer, when he is dynamic Lopez and not electric Lopez. Lopez (pictured above screaming at the wall for just standing there and doing nothing) is what you will call a 5 tool boxer; speed, agility/athleticism, ring IQ, power and force. There are only a handful of other boxers that have all those qualities at a high level; Davis, Inoue and Crawford. I know some might disagree with my assertion that Lopez belongs on that list but before he became electric Lopez and was dynamic Lopez, he was definitely on that list. Lopez is, maybe now we can say was but can still be again, hopefully, an elite boxer. He, along with the other fighters mentioned, were, some still are, must see fighters. For Lopez to be considered that again, he must win and if he wins in impressive fashion, then he just joined that list once again. Lopez has his work cut out for him due to Taylor’s height and reach, sort of, 1 inch advantage. The first thing that has to happen is that dynamic Lopez has to show up and not electric Lopez, but that’s not something he can control. Then Lopez must must be quick and show lateral movement and get the angles, keep turning Taylor to make his jab useless. Then he has to take out the body, chop down the tree, and then go on top. He can’t get hyper focused on the chin of Taylor because the Scotsman is quick and slick. The obviously funny thing about my assessment, that I stole from the real pros, is that dynamic Lopez did all those things, the electric Lopez comes out too fast and tries to take out his opponent with one punch and then just stands there and takes unnecessary punishment or leaves himself open for counters. In all honesty, the best version of Taylor, even the uhhh… supremely confident and best prepared version of Taylor, would not be able to beat dynamic Lopez and would most likely get knocked out. The latest version of Lopez, electric Lopez, will most likely lose to Taylor. So for Lopez, the fight hinges on electricity… and dynamics.

Best of Luck to both combatants and may the best man win.

On a side note… some reporter was outraged at Lopez’s statement of “I’m going to Kill Taylor”. Well, I believe that Taylor’s goal was to decapitate Lopez, which he didn’t bring up, so, somehow, decapitation isn’t as bad as killing someone, because I guess you can just pick your head up afterwards and sew it back on? The selective outrage by the reporter is unnecessary and shouldn’t have been reported on. If you gave me a dollar every time a boxer used the hyperbole of making their opponent deceased in one form or another, then I would be hanging out with Elon Musk or Bill Gates or Steve Jobs… not Steve Jobs, he is actually deceased. He stated it was the worst thing he ever heard a fighter say… ridiculous, this must be the first fight he ever covered.

UPDATE: Dynamic Lopez showed up. It was a really good fight. Taylor gave a good showing but Lopez was too young, too quick, too slick, too strong and too much for Taylor on this night. The one thing I did notice is that Taylor was hurt on a couple of occasions and Lopez backed off. There is no doubt that the criticism levied at him about his comments by some reporters made him pause when he should have stepped on the gas. It is worse to take prolonged punishment then to take one shot that knocks you down. Lopez shouldn’t worry about knocking someone out, his concern should be for him not to get hurt and to win in emphatic manner if at all possible and secure a good payday for him and his family. His opponent knows the risks and is trying to do the same thing thing, win in an emphatic manner. I will say that at the end of the 12th, Lopez backed off with about 5 seconds left after he hurt Taylor with a good right hand, maybe was an alright move if he didn’t think he could get the knock down. But as the scores showed, that round decided the fight and if he could have gotten the knock down and decided to back off because of some asinine comment by a reporter and they gave Taylor that round, Taylor would have went home the Champ by majority decision draw. I would also like to say that both fighters were classy at the end of the fight. Taylor made no excuses and Lopez gave Taylor his props. You see, all the disparaging remarks by both fighters was just hyperbole, like in every other fight ever made. I’m disappointed at how this was reported prior to the fight… I’m going to go eat a honey bun. Big ups to the broadcasting, they were on point.

And just to harp on it some more…. what do you call that instinct? The one when you have someone hurt and you go in for the knockout? It’s called the killer instinct and all great fighters have or had it. What the hell did I do with that honeybun, that’s my killer instinct.

There must be something in the water giving people the courage to actually step up and fight people that are a danger to their undisputed claim as the “king” of their division, it might be that cucumber lemon thing I see at fancy hotels, it’s really refreshing, either way, whatever it is, they should drink more of it. In a boxing match, which is sure to be a classic, the undefeated Devin Haney will square up with a former pound for pound king and current real threat to win Vasyl Lomachenko. The lightweight bout for undisputed will take place this Saturday, May 20th, at the MGM Grand. This fight is going to be filled with intrigue, as these two technicians match their skills and IQ in a 20 foot by 20 foot ring. The word that comes to mind when I think of this fight is proceleusmatic (word of the day on my dictionary toilet paper). I’m trying to expand my vocabulary and hopefully one day someone can tell me how to pronounce it. It means inspiring. So, this fight is going to be inspiring. Two combatants, one in the beginning of his dominance, the other towards the end. It’s the optimistic, not really brash, but definitely confidant young gun against the wily older veteran who moves like a samba dancer and punches like he was an octopus, just punches from every angle and you swear he has more than two arms.

Let’s start with the betting favorite, Devin Haney who sports an undefeated record of 29-0 with 15 KO’s. Haney (pictured above asking for his two dollars and lets see who can guess where that reference is from) made his bones fighting in Tijuana before taking his talent back to the U.S., has quick hands and an educated jab. Haney (pictured above looking dissatisfied with his Happy Meal) has really good ring generalship and controls distance with sharp punches. While Haney isn’t the hardest puncher in the division, that distinguishment goes to Davis, he still has a hefty punch and has a good eye for the openings. If Haney has a weakness, which all fighters do, it would be his power. When I say power, I don’t mean force, which is the one punch knockout threat, it’s maintaining that force from round 1 to round 12. The definition of power is the amount of energy transferred or converted per unit time or power equals work (force) over elapsed time. In this case, the youngster, like all youngsters, comes out hard and fast and then fades, as most of his KO’s come before the 7th round. Haney (pictured above disgruntled with the seating arrangements) will eventually learn how to disperse his energy as he gets older and wiser.

The opponent, since he is fighting for the belts and not to retain them, Vasyl Lomachenko has an impressive resume with the limited amount of fights he has had at the pro level, with 17 wins against 2 losses and 11 wins by KO. Lomachenko (pictured above trying to recall how to say “let the best man win” in English) is a unique case in the fight world as he has fought more current and former world champions than Haney even though he has less pro fights. Lomachenko (pictured above trying to locate the buffet at the MGM Grand) has a vast amount of experience and some crazy movement. If a person didn’t know any better, you would think that he was doing the pee pee dance in the ring, by the way he moves quickly in and out and has excellent lateral movement. Loma isn’t and has never been an “opponent” and he isn’t, yet, a gatekeeper to the upper echelon. What he is… is a former pound for pound candidate and an excellent fighter. His game plan of playing ghost, as people seem to punch and miss a lot, and counter is a really good one but the one thing he does have is power. Loma’s knockouts come on the later half of the fight, after he has his opponent flustered and weary, he seems to have an extra gear and he turns it on to get his opponents out of there. Maybe he is a hybrid, half gas – half electric. His weakness is that he is a natural featherweight, but as all fighters do as they get older, they pig out on NY pizza and eventually have to move up in weight.

The fight is set and these two guys, two actual real nice guys, at least as far as I can tell. Not vociferous (toilet paper) or braggadocious (had to look that one up) but two guys that enjoy the sport and want to be at the pinnacle (that one I knew) of their division by challenging themselves with the best and not making excuses. One of my favorite fighters Willie Pep, reminds me a little of Loma by the way he moves, not the way he punches, lost to Sandy Saddler 3 times and won once. Even though Sandy had Willie’s number, Willie kept fighting him….not avoiding him, you know why… because he was a fighter. I don’t think you can be the best ever without having a loss and avenging that loss. That’s why I always considered Sugar Ray Robinson the best ever, you thought I was going to say Willie Pep, hahaha , are you crazy. That’s also why I admire these two fighters because either one can lose and one will most likely will but they want to be recognized as one of the best ever, so they do what fighters do, they fight, in their prime, where there is a real chance of losing.

My prediction for this fight is simple, the one with the most points and is still standing at the end will be the winner. Good luck to both combatants.

UPDATE: It was a great true boxing match. Both fighters gave their all with Haney coming out strong and then fading a bit and Loma, maintaining his power all through the fight. As for who won, what I think doesn’t matter, Haney won and what I think won’t buy you a taco on Tuesday, Haney could have won even though some people saw it differently. My opinion is that there is something wrong with the scoring process. The most clear rounds were the 10th, 11th, and the 1st…. and anyone that watches the fight again will see those were Loma’s rounds. I always said that, for some reason, the scoring ringside is more difficult due to the angles then scoring it on TV, where you can see all, well, most of the angles. The fighters were getting credited for missed shots, blocked shots….. no shots. That’s why I think their should be 6 judges, 3 ringside, 3 TV judges. Watch how the ringside judges differ and how the TV judges would be similar. Dave Moretti gave the 10th to Haney, which was a clear Loma round, but his angle of view made it seem like Haney squeaked it out or he couldn’t really see Loma’s clear punches. Congratulations to Haney…. If I was his matchmaker, I would stay away from Davis, at least for the next fight, you will eventually have to fight him because you’re a fighter, and fight Stevenson next and I would ask Loma to train me. Maybe you can have AI score the fight, it can’t do any worse.

One more thing, Haney looked like a monster next to Loma, in stature and yet, David always finds a way to defeat Goliath, in theory, anyway. I hope Loma doesn’t quit and goes to 130 and fights Navarette, That’s the fight to make for Loma.