Josh Taylor out to prove again who’s boss at 140 in title bout vs Teofimo Lopez

Josh Taylor may not be a household name, but he is arguably one of the best in the junior welterweight division—if not the best.

And, once upon a time, Taylor had the hardware to prove it: all four belts—WBC, IBF, WBA, and WBO—in his possession and the title of undisputed junior welterweight champion.

But The Tartan Tornado vacated his WBC, IBF, and WBA titles as he angled for a rematch with Jack Catterall, who last year came close to beating an overconfident, out-of-focus, and out-of-shape Taylor.

The rematch never materialized, and now Taylor has his sights set on a marquee name in the sport: Teofimo Lopez. A former WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO champion at lightweight, Lopez is moving up to 140 in an ambitious bid to wrest away from Taylor his WBO diadem.

Taylor figures to have something to say about Lopez’s plans. And he is confident he’ll get the job done decisively this time because he won’t be taking The Takeover likely—something Taylor admits he did with Catterall.

"I'd just been to Vegas and conquered the world and had become the undisputed champion. And [against Catterall], it felt like I was coming back to fight a domestic-level fighter,” Taylor told Yahoo! Sports. “That was the mistake I made… I got back into the gym and I was soft, fat, and unconditioned, and I spent most of the camp trying to get back into condition."

The 32-year-old Scot has vowed not to make the same mistakes as he sees himself as being the man to beat at 140.

“The belts the other lads have got, they’re my belts. I never lost them. I let go of them,” Taylor told Boxing Scene. “So, they’re my belts. They’re still number two in the division. I’m still the king. No one’s beaten me, so I am the man to beat. I am the top dog in the 140 division.”