JOSH TAYLOR has shrugged off crazy threats from loudmouth rival Teofimo Lopez.
Scotland’s ring king hasn’t been impressed by the New Yorker’s trash talk ahead of Saturday’s clash at Madison Square Garden.
Josh Taylor brushed off the challenger’s outlandish statements
Teofimo Lopez will fight Taylor in New York this weekend
The challenger claimed he wants to kill Taylor during their WBO light-welterweight clash to send out a warning to rivals.
But champion Taylor said: “Come and try to take my life and let’s see who’s the one that ends up in the back of an ambulance. Let him come and try. We’ll see what happens.”
Taylor, 32, also took part in a Zoom interview with Lopez to promote the fight and came to the conclusion the former world lightweight champion isn’t all there.
He added: “We did a live show a couple of weeks back called Trash Talk and I just think his head is all over the place.
“I don’t know what to take away from that. It can be dangerous or very good for me.
“He seems to be all over the place, contradicting himself, making stupid and bold statements. The guy’s a bit of a wreck.”
Since moving up to the 140lb division last year Lopez has struggled to impress in victories against journeymen Pedro Campa and Sandor Martin and the feeling among fight fans is that Taylor – who plans to move up to welterweight – should be able to drop the younger man.
“There won’t be many people at this weight who are bigger and stronger than me – or who punch any harder than me,” he admitted.
“I’m definitely one of the top tier in that department, in my weight class.
“Lopez might be strong – he might even be a bit stronger than me in terms of physicality. But punching power? I can’t see many people punching as hard as me at this weight.
“Could this be my last time at this weight? Quite possibly. I just need to see how this goes. I could get a rematch with Jack Catterall or Regis Prograis and there’s Devin Haney coming up so they’re all big fights.
“But it’s more about my personal goals, I want to cement my legacy and add more accolades to my name at 147lbs.
“If I retired tomorrow I’d have left the legacy of being the only undisputed world champion from the UK and the first Scottish boxer to do it in the four-belt era and only the fifth in history.
“However, I want to leave an even bigger legacy, create even more history. I want to become one of the best fighters ever from the UK and Scotland. Long after I’m gone I’ll be in the history books.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
