NEW YORK (AP) — Teofimo Lopez captured a title in a second weight class Saturday night, beating formerly unbeaten Josh Taylor by unanimous decision to win the WBO's junior welterweight belt.
Lopez, the former lightweight champion, hadn't looked sharp lately after moving up to 140 pounds. But he delivered a superb performance inside Madison Square Garden, with punches that were just quicker and stronger than the champion's.
“Josh Taylor is a tough dude. I can see why he beat so many fighters," Lopez said. “But you’ve got to counter the counterpuncher. You’ve got to outsmart the man and get in there. And I did that. I think I did enough. This is what it is all about.”
Lopez (19-1) won by scores of 115-113 on two of the cards and 117-111 on the other, and he threw power shots throughout the final round in hopes of not even getting to the scorecards.
Coming off a split decision victory last December that was so unimpressive that he was caught on camera afterward asking if he still had it, Lopez showed that he most definitely still does. He looked like the fighter who had won multiple versions of the title at 135 pounds, highlighed by a victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko, before losing them to George Kambosos Jr. in November 2021.
The Associated Press scored it 117-111 for Lopez.
Taylor (19-1), the former undisputed champion at 140, lost the only belt he still owned. He had opted not to keep the other three while attempting to stage a rematch of his split-decision victory over Jack Catterall in February 2022. It had been scheduled but then postponed, with Taylor then moving on to Lopez.
Taylor ran into a revitalized performer who had to get up from a knockdown to edge Sandor Martin last time he fought at MSG. This time, Lopez was rarely in danger, and most times he was caught answered back quickly.
The Scotland native said he hoped for a rematch, but also indicated he may move up to welterweight.
“I definitely know I’m better than that, and I know I can beat him still,” Taylor said. “I’d love to do it again. But he’s the champ, so the ball is in his court.”
Lopez, who had been knocked down early in two of his last three fights, tried to set a quick pace by darting in close for power shots. He got caught with a couple good ones for his trouble in the first round but began having more success in the second.
Lopez landed some strong rights in the fourth, knocking Taylor backward off balance in the final seconds of the round. The left-handed Taylor would often land something good early in a round, only for Lopez to quickly regroup and get the better of the action the remainder of it.
___
More AP boxing: https://apnews.com/hub/boxing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
