Josh Taylor Plans To Retire Teofimo Lopez: ‘You Can See He’s A Bit Mentally Fragile’

Josh Taylor plans to retire Teofimo Lopez on June 10.

Taylor is set to defend his WBO title against Lopez at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City in an intriguing matchup. Lopez is the former undisputed champ at 135, but he has struggled as of late, although he is winning his fight he isn’t looking impressive.

After his last fight as well, Lopez was picked up asking his corner if he still has it. With that, Taylor believes when he wins, he will retire the 25-year-old.

“That [loss] he got from Kambosos certainly dented his confidence and his ego,” Taylor told Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast (h/t BoxingScene). “His ego has taken a massive hit. You can see he’s a bit mentally fragile, anyway. Me, with this fight, I plan on retiring this guy. I plan on giving him that much of a beating that he doesn’t think that he’s that guy anymore. He’s already got them doubts, I’m gonna cement them and retire him.”

Although Josh Taylor knows Teofimo Lopez hasn’t looked as good as of late, the Brit is expecting a good fight but one he is confident he will win with ease.

“Yeah, I just can’t wait for this fight,” Taylor continued. “You know, I just think that given his profile and his attitude and what he’s achieved in the sport as well—He beat [three division champion Vasiliy] Lomachenko. He’s a very, very good fighter. I was the fifth person in history to become the undisputed world champion in the four-belt era so I’ve got a lot of accolades to my name as well. He hasn’t looked great in his last couple of fights but I didn’t look great in my last fight either. He could say the same thing about me. He is a great fighter. I can’t say he isn’t. I would be talking nonsense if I said he wasn’t a great fighter. Yeah, I think he is a great fighter.”

Do you think Josh Taylor will beat Teofimo Lopez?