Teofimo Lopez is a world champion once more, this time at 140lbs, after embracing the outside noise – letting it fuel his fire in more ways than one – en route to an impressive unanimous decision win over former undisputed titlist Josh Taylor. The Scotsman started promisingly but was exposed defensively and had no answers, as the 25-year-old dazzled before threatening a late finish.
Lopez levels up again to dethrone Taylor
115-113, 115-113, 117-111: Teofimo Lopez bt. Josh Taylor (c) via unanimous decision, wins WBO light-welterweight title
- Lopez outlanded Taylor 158-82 over 36 minutes per Compubox punch stats, including connecting on a fight-high 21 power punches in R12 as he pushed for a KO against a champion whose defense was often breached
- Lopez’s post-fight interview: “It’s been a long time coming, we just beat the lineal champion and former undisputed… you’ve got to counter the counterpuncher, outsmart the man and I did enough. I questioned myself for a good reason, always been my worst critic, do I still got it?”
- Josh Taylor (19-1, 13 KOs) officially suffers his first professional defeat, 16 months after controversial split decision win over Jack Catterall set the chain of events which saw him lose undisputed status, left with one world title and now he eyes a long overdue welterweight move empty-handed
At the height of many doubting his capabilities, Teofimo Lopez answered those critics by going through the gears during an impressive decision win over long-reigning world champion Josh Taylor, inflicting the Scotsman’s first pro loss in style.
While he fed off the increasingly loud Teo chants and lapped up adulation, the winning feeling will be bittersweet for a troubled 25-year-old struggling with multiple issues in and outside the ring since dethroning Vasiliy Lomachenko in Oct. 2020.
That truth was reiterated afterwards when ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna asked him what challenges, or who in particular, he’d like to face next.
It was a sobering, uncomfortable moment that brought home why there was such hesitancy for him to take this fight in the first instance, given his current state of mind.
“My next battle is in court, I’m not really focused on who I’m going to fight next,” came the reply, then acknowledging his love for young son Liam.
Having already split from his wife Cynthia before the George Kambosos Jr defeat, the very real issue of achieving full custody is his next opponent.
The fight itself
Immediately from the off, you could see WBO light-welterweight champion Josh Taylor was noticeably bigger of the two and he began imposing his will early.
Consciously targeting the body, pushing the pace against a challenger whose mental headspace has been persistently questioned during fight week.
The Scotsman was warned by referee Michael Griffin after pushing down in the clinch and punching after he said break, but that didn’t deter him from more in the pocket.
Lopez countered well with the left hook and showed some explosive bursts in round two, though Taylor was more than comfortable exchanging.
The referee gave the champion another stern warning early in the third, after throwing a punch with Lopez unsteady on the ropes – that sparked a frantic firefight up close as both swung with bad intentions.
In the fourth, Lopez timed his uppercut and continued headhunting his way forwards as the former unified lightweight champion needed Taylor to respect his power.
He found the punch in the last few seconds that did exactly that, rocking him back against the ropes as the Madison Square Garden crowd noise swelled.
Taylor’s new trainer Joe McNally urged his charge to be more active, not lowering himself to fight the way Lopez wanted him to, but that was easier said than done for a world-class operator who hadn’t boxed for 16 months.
Lopez was more active in the fifth and sixth, chaining twos and three-punch combos – most didn’t land, but the optics were still positive – as he tried timing Taylor whenever they came close. He heard the ten-second clapper and threw a flurry with the champion up against the ropes, further suggesting himself as the aggressor.
Andre Ward on ESPN’s commentary said Taylor was falling asleep mentally late in the seventh, such was the alarming ease with which his activity had waned and his punches increasingly telegraphed, allowing Lopez to dodge and weave.
Growing in confidence, Lopez stung him with a straight right through the guard late in the round and that self-belief surged into the eighth.
He had landed 24 more punches more (82-58) through seven rounds, and a leaping left shot typified Taylor’s defensive vulnerabilities late in round eight as Lopez danced around the ring, baiting him into more mistakes.
A graphic popped up just before the next stanza: Taylor had thrown 28.9 punches per round, compared to his 45.6 average – the divisional number was around 57.3, further amplifying what was another stodgy showing as inactivity again surfaced.
Into the ninth they went, Lopez searching for a highlight reel punch while Taylor was frequently made to miss when he did throw more than single shots.
Taylor recoiled against the ropes after eating a straight right, the last in another furiously fast combo – the latest in a long line of painful moments for a champion who didn’t have many answers or sufficient resistance to keep Lopez off him.
Taylor was heavily booed in R10 for some not-so-subtle dirty boxing as it seemed like Lopez took his foot off the accelerator, before throwing more right uppercuts and even some digging body shots to chip away at the Scotsman’s resolve.
McNally was quoted as saying if we win the last two rounds, we go home with the belt. Although the scorecards were closer than it looked there was to be no worry for Teofimo in that regard, often threatening a finish, connecting with big right hands.
Taylor’s chin durability saved him from an even more painful defeat Stateside.
Picture source: Getty Images
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