Teofimo Lopez defeats Josh Taylor to win junior welterweight title

Teofimo Lopez stood in the ring during his last fight in December and showing his frustration, asked his father if he still had it. After defeating Josh Taylor to win the WBO junior welterweight title, the answer is a resounding yes.

Lopez shined at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, looking confident as ever during the second half of the fight. He was able to catch Taylor time and time again with his power punches and was the quicker fighter by far. Lopez won the fight by unanimous decision (115-113, 115-113, 117-111).

Lopez has now won titles in two divisions and is considered the lineal champion at junior welterweight.

Taylor, of Scotland, was the former undisputed junior lightweight champion. He relinquished his other three major belts to pursue a rematch with Jack Catterall, whom he’d beaten in a controversial decision in February 2022. When that rematch fell through, Taylor turned to Lopez, who had seemingly struggled since his emergence at 140 pounds. This was Taylor’s first professional lost.

Mike Coppinger and Michael Rothstein recapped the action as it happened: