Josh Taylor and Teófimo López out to jump-start stalled ascents in title fight

A pair of former unified champions who have strayed from once-clear paths to stardom will meet on Saturday at Madison Square Garden with a chance to restore faded luster

Some of boxing's most compelling matchups wither on the vine before they're finally made and others take place before they've ripened. One could argue that Saturday's fight at Madison Square Garden between Josh Taylor and Teofimo Lopez falls partway into each column.

Like the soupy haze that has enveloped Manhattan for most of the week, the outlook ahead of the scheduled 12-round showdown for Taylor's WBO junior welterweight title is thick with uncertainty. Both men are former unified champions in different weight classes whose once-clear paths to mainstream stardom have been diverted not by outright disaster, but lengthy spells of inactivity and performances short of their heightened standards. Yet each is heartened by the reality that a restoration of luster is one big result away. Crossroads fights like these seldom take place so close to the summit.