By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Teofimo Lopez is finally back as a boxing champion after dominating Josh Taylor to clinch the World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior welterweight belt last June 11, 2023, held in New York City.
Lopez pulled off one of his best boxing performances in three years and earned the nods of all three judges: 115-113, 115-113, and 117-111.
Despite a roller coaster ride in his career when he was blasted for his immature comments and work ethic, the former lightweight pound-for-pound king showed why he is still one of the top dogs in the sport.
Taylor stood no chance from the get-go and was getting bullied by Lopez’s sharp jabs midway through the first round. Despite the fluid head movement he displayed, the American pug still found a way to penetrate inside and score early points.
Lopez just kept on putting more pressure as the rounds went by and flipped the switch in the seventh round when he consistently landed his big right hook.
Taylor and his camp made an adjustment when he fought smarter in the late rounds, attempting to steal some points with his sneaky jabs but Lopez always brought the fight when he hounded him as he cut through the distance.
After a dominant 11th round, Lopez sent the early exclamation point when he sent in a flurry of jabs to start the final round which officially fended Taylor off of his comeback attempt.
“Josh Taylor is a tough dude, man, and I can see why he beat so many fighters. But you gotta counter the counter-puncher, you gotta outsmart the man and get in there, and I did that,” Lopez said after the fight.
With the huge win, Lopez improved his professional boxing record to 19 wins, one defeat, and 13 knockouts. His lone loss was against former lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. last 2021.
