Josh Taylor believes he simply had a “bad night” when he lost to Teofimo Lopez earlier this summer.
The former undisputed 140-pound champion from Scotland still thinks he is the best in the division and is hoping to move onto bigger money fights, possibly at the 147-pound limit.
Taylor lost his WBO 140-pound title to Lopez, the former unified lightweight champion, by unanimous decision, in June, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The win reinvigorated the embattled Lopez, whose career appeared to be in extremis. With the loss, Taylor, on the other hand, seemed to have lost a step, given that it was his second consecutive performance where he did look like the superior fighter in the ring. (Taylor’s close win over Jack Catterall last year was regarded as one of the biggest robberies in recent British boxing.)
In a recent interview, Taylor (19-1, 13 KOs) chalked up the lone defeat of his career as nothing more than an aberration.
“Listen, don’t be fooled,” Taylor told Boxing News+. “I’m not short of any options moving forward. It’s more a case of what I want to do. What’s best for me at this time and what kind of path I want to take. I have plenty of options. I still believe I’m the best in the division. I just had a bad night.
“When you’re at the top-tier level—Teofimo Lopez is no slouch. He’s arguably, although I still say he’s not—he’s arguably a two-weight undisputed world champion. He’s beaten the man who has beaten the man twice….when you have a bit of an off night you’re not going to win these fights when you have a bit of an off night when you’re at the peak level of the sport.”
Taylor, a career 140-pounder, has hinted that he may be looking to restart his career as a welterweight.
“Just anybody with a big name and whoever has got the title, whoever has got the belts,” Taylor said. “Obviously, I’m at a stage in my career where I have to earn the most money. I want to be able to earn some good money fights now. I feel I’ve earned that right given what I’ve achieved the last several years. I’m looking for the big fights and whoever’s got the titles really.”
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.