Teofimo Lopez believes his "explosiveness" can hurt Vasyl Lomachenko as he embraces his underdog tag ahead of Saturday's bout.

Lopez (15-0) and Lomachenko (14-1) will face off at the MGM Grand in a lightweight unification bout.

The holder of the IBF title, Lopez is supremely confident, although accepts he is the underdog against the Ukrainian.

"I expect him to get hurt, badly, with the explosiveness I bring to the table," Lopez told Stats Perform News.

"I knew I was the underdog coming into this. Listen, it doesn't motivate me any different, it doesn't change anything, you know what I mean?

"That is really what it comes to. I knew I was going to be the underdog coming into this fight."

While Lopez last fought in December last year, Lomachenko is in action for the first time since August 2019.

Lomachenko has been unsure how the long lay-off would impact him, but the 32-year-old said he was ready.

"We have a long time and we are always still in our shape," he said.

"We prepare 100 per cent and this preparation was the biggest preparation in my career, my professional career."