Teofimo Lopez held on to win the WBO and The Ring light welterweight titles against Josh Taylor in a fight that was fought on even terms. The bad left hook crew covered the fight live from the Hulu Theater in New York City.
Round three: Both fighters are cautious, but Lopez looks the sharper fighter early. He flicks the jab and lands a big right hand that backs Taylor up a bit.
Jab
The jab is an effective tool in any fighter’s arsenal, and both Lopez and Taylor have shown the ability to throw this punch in a variety of ways. Both men should continue to use it as a part of their overall game plan, but it’s clear that Lopez is the better counterpuncher and holds the athletic advantage in this fight.
The first round of the fight saw both men try to figure each other out, with Lopez landing some hard lefts from his southpaw stance while Taylor looked for a chance to work in some combos. Taylor threw a few good right hands, but he was unable to connect with his left hook. Lopez also landed a few straight right hands and a nice uppercut, and he may have scored with a big left hook near the end of the round.
Round two saw Lopez get more aggressive and push Taylor back to his own corner. Teofimo threw a few straight right hands, and he also tried to land a couple of hard lefts in the body. Taylor landed a solid left hook, but he was unable to follow it up with any kind of combination.
In the third round, Lopez started to put together some combinations and landed some good right handers. Teofimo was also able to land some hard lefts to the body and a short straight right. A few more combinations from Lopez in the fourth round and he began to start to take control of the fight.
In the final round, Lopez closed the fight in impressive fashion, and he appeared to be close to dropping Taylor at least once. Teofimo used his height and reach to his advantage, and he also seemed to be able to land some very hard shots on Taylor. Ultimately, Teofimo won the fight and claimed his second world title. It was the first time that Lopez has lost a championship bout. Previously, he had been unbeaten in his career and was the current WBA, IBF, and WBO lightweight champion. He won the title by defeating Vasily Lomachenko in 2021.
Counters
The jab is the backbone of any boxer’s game and it’s clear that both Lopez and Taylor are capable jabbers. But the difference between the two is that Lopez is more explosive and can hit harder with his punches, especially at 140 pounds. If he can maintain that power through the fight, it could be a knockout victory for Lopez in Madison Square Garden.
Round one: Teofimo looks a little more settled in the early rounds here, jabbing to the body and showing real intent when he throws his shots. He’s also using the southpaw stance to his advantage. Taylor looks a little shy and hesitant at times, but he’s still putting some good work in.
By the end of the first round, it’s a close fight and the only thing keeping Teofimo behind is the fact that Taylor doesn’t land many big shots. He needs to up the aggression and start connecting with his counters.
Round two: Still close, but Taylor is starting to find his range a bit more with the left hand. He’s getting caught by a couple of good right hands from Lopez though, which is putting him on the back foot.
It’s becoming clear that the counterpunch is the best strategy for Lopez. He’s waiting for Taylor to charge into him and then picking him off with a series of quick, hard strikes. Taylor is getting stabbed with lefts and right hands, and by the end of the round, it’s become clear that a big right from Lopez is going to hurt him.
Round three is the turning point in the fight. The bigger right hands from Lopez are catching Taylor and he’s having trouble keeping up with the pace of the fight. Lopez is also taking advantage of the southpaw stance, landing a few lead right hands to the body that have Taylor writhing on the canvas.
Round-by-Round Analysis
The fight is a 50-50 matchup on paper, but there are reasons to believe the outcome will be much closer. The main reason is that both fighters are coming off subpar performances and that could have a big impact on their abilities in the ring. Another is that both fighters are dealing with stuff outside the ring, and that could affect their mental state.
Round 1
Taylor tries to get in with a couple of lefts and a right hand, but Teofimo Lopez’s counter punches are effective. He has good footwork and moves to avoid getting hit. Taylor, on the other hand, looks sloppy and slow in his movements.
Round 2
Teofimo Lopez is still dominating this fight, but Taylor is starting to get into it. He lands a nice right hand that stung Taylor, but he doesn’t follow it up. Lopez has a lot of power, but he’s also careful to keep his distance.
Round 3
Both men are fighting hard in this one. Lopez landed the more powerful punches, but Taylor was able to move and avoid damage. The round was close, but I gave it to Lopez.
Round 4
Teo starts the round with a jab to the body and a straight right that backed Taylor up. Then he threw a nice combo to put Taylor on the ropes and ended the round with another combination. This was his best round of the fight so far.
Round 5
Teofimo is starting to look very confident and his combinations are getting more and more impressive. He threw a series of punches that pushed Taylor back and even had him in the corner at one point.
Round 6
Teo continues to dominate this fight, although Taylor landed a nice right hand in the closing seconds that stung him. But he smothered the rest of the round with his defense and scored a few more solid shots to finish off the round.
Teofimo dominated the final two rounds and threw more punches than Taylor in both of those frames. He threw more than 138 power punches in the entire fight, while Taylor only threw 60.
Final Words
Teofimo Lopez dominated Josh Taylor and made the champion look lost at times and hurt at other times in a 115-113, 117-111, and 116-112 unanimous decision victory. The Brooklyn native showed off his footwork and movement as well as his power as he broke Taylor in round four and never looked back.
The first round saw the pair trade jabs and land some combinations. It was a close round, but it seemed that Lopez had the edge. The second round was much more of the same, with both men putting in some good work.
In the third round, Lopez began to put more pressure on Taylor. He landed some hard shots to the body, and he also threw an uppercut that staggered the champion. Teofimo then used a series of volados to generate damage to Taylor, who had to take several blows to the head as well.
Lopez was a little more aggressive in the fourth round, but the round was still close. However, in the fifth round, Teofimo started to really break Taylor. He hit him with a bomb that left Taylor trembling but he held on and did not fall. Then he hit him with another bomb that made Taylor flinch, but once again, he did not drop the champion.
Teofimo continued to dominate Taylor in the sixth round as he closed the fight with some great shots. He even had a chance to knockout the champion at one point, but Taylor managed to hold on.
By the end of the ninth round, Taylor was a shell of his former self and was looking like he was in trouble. He tried to fight back in the tenth round, but it was a waste of time as Lopez used some great pressure and a series of clinches to buckle the champion.
This was a great performance from Teofimo Lopez, and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. He could be a big draw at junior welterweight, but he may have to move up in weight to make that a reality. He definitely has the speed and power to overwhelm naturally larger opponents, but he will need to prove that he can do so in some tougher tests first.
