By Vince D’Writer: Back in October 2020 Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez put together a brilliant performance as he scored a massive upset victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko, and almost three years later, Lopez did it again, as he pulls off another big upset by defeating Josh Taylor (19-1, 13 KOs) and winning the WBO super-lightweight title.
During the promotion of the fight, Lopez said a few things that were inappropriate, and his comments made some people question his mental state, and his level of focus for the June 10th bout with Taylor.
On fight night at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, Lopez walked to the ring first, and he looked focused and ready to put on a show. Once the bell sounded to start the opening round, the first thing that stood out was the size difference between Lopez and Taylor.
Taylor was the much bigger fighter, and he got off to a good start by pressing forward, using feints, throwing the jab, and landing a couple of combinations. In the second round, Lopez came back as he had success countering Taylor and touching him with the right hand.
In the fourth round Lopez started getting into a rhythm as he landed solid hooks and uppercuts. The uppercut continued to work for Lopez in the 5th round, and when Taylor stood in front of him, Lopez made him pay as he connected with a sharp right hand.
As the fight went on, the difference in hand speed became apparent as Lopez looked fast and sharp. At the midway point of the seventh round, Lopez landed a right hand shot that knocked Taylor off balance.
Early in the eighth, Josh Taylor caught Teofimo with a straight left, but Lopez closed out the round with a leaping left hand shot and a solid right. Teofimo Lopez had a big ninth round as he connected with sharp single punches, and crisp combinations.
During the championship rounds Teofimo Lopez took control of the fight down the stretch, with some big punches that wobbled Josh Taylor on multiple occasions. At the end of twelve rounds, Lopez was awarded the unanimous decision victory by the scores of 115-113, 115-113, and 117-111.
During his post-fight interview the new WBO 140-pound champion Teofimo Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs) spoke about being thankful.
“Listen, I just want to thank God first. He has given me this glorified win. I’m so thankful right now. It’s been a long time coming. We just beat the number one ranked guy, number one champion, lineal world champion, Josh Taylor.”
While conducting the post-fight interview, Lopez took a moment to apologize to Josh Taylor in regards to the controversial comment he made. Lopez also spoke about his dominant performance.
“You know Josh Taylor man, he’s a tough dude man. I can see why he beat so many fighters. You gotta counter the counterpuncher, you gotta outsmart the man and get in there, you know, and I think I did enough, and this is what it’s all about,” Lopez stated.
Teofimo went on to say, “I question myself for a good reason you guys don’t understand. I’ve always been my worst critic and you guys got a little glimpse of it but I got to ask you one thing and one thing only, do I still got it?”
Teofimo Lopez had it on the night he upset Vasiliy Lomachenko back in 2020, and he had it once again on the night of June 10th as he gave Josh Taylor his first professional defeat. The 25-year-old Teofimo Lopez is now a two-weight champion, and he’s proven that when he’s focused, he’s hard to beat.
