Teofimo Lopez Dominates Josh Taylor En Route to Unanimous Decision Victory – Taylor vs. Lopez Results (Highlights)

Teofimo Lopez outstruck Josh Taylor and left Madison Square Garden with a well-deserved victory on Saturday night

Written by Craig Pekios
Last updated on June 11th, 2023
Josh Taylor
Courtesy of @trboxing on Twitter

Josh Taylor, the reigning WBO junior welterweight world champion stepped into the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, for a showdown with former unified lightweight titleholder Teofimo Lopez. 

Both fighters went into the matchup hoping to regain some momentum after struggling to impress in their last few outings. Taylor escaped with a split decision against Jack Catterall in his last outing, a fight many believe Catterall should have won on the scorecards. Lopez has been victorious in his last two contests, but he suffered a split decision loss to George Kambosos Jr. in November 2021, a defeat that has undeniably damaged his stock.

Lopez’s last performance against Sandor Martin also left a lot to be desired despite leaving MSG with a split-decision victory. 

Round 1

Josh Taylor comes out pumping the jab early. Lopez responds going to the body. Taylor looks considerably bigger than his opponent as he uncorks a right that is absorbed by Lopez. Taylor closes the distance early and the two men exchange with Taylor ripping to the body. Straight right hand from Lopez connects. Lopez moves in with a two-punch combination. Taylor attempts to respond in close, but the referee separates them and issues a warning to Taylor for pushing his opponent down in the clinch. Lopez is already sporting a cut on the lefthand side of his nose as the first round ends.

Round 2

Both men continue to fight with caution in the second round. Lopez is struggling to find his target as Taylor clearly has a speed advantage. Taylor moves in and eats a stiff body shot. They separate and quickly come back together, but a clash of heads separates them once again. Glancing jab from Taylor lands. Lopez throws a straight right and Taylor responds with a hook to the body. Lopez fires a big uppercut but just misses the timing. The left hand from Taylor closes the round. 

Round 3

Lopez picked up his work rate in the second round and intended to keep that pace going into the third. A straight left hand from Taylor puts Lopez against the ropes. As Lopez falls backward and is stuck between the ropes, Taylor throws a hook which prompts another warning from the referee. The two fighters reset and Taylor lands another straight left hand that seemingly puts Lopez on the mat, but the referee rules it a slip. Taylor is once again warned for pushing down on Lopez’s head in close. Two-punch combo from Lopez as he exclusively targets the head of Taylor. Moving in, Taylor smothers his opponent and lands to the body. Lopez throws a flurry of strikes as round three ends. 

Round 4

Both fighters trade early with Josh Taylor throwing a big left hand that glances off the head of Lopez. Taylor slips during an exchange with Lopez. He gets back to his feet and they continue trading blows as things begin to get a little more intense. Taylor rips to the body with a left hook. Lopez throws a right that lands. He follows it up with a two-punch combination. Lopzen unloads to the body which sends Taylor off-balance. Lopez moves in and unloads another series of strikes as the fourth-round bell sounds.

Round 5

Lopez comes out looking to capitalize on his progress in the fourth round and lands a big left on Taylor. Taylor responds with a left hand of his own. Taylor pushes Lopez to the corner and attempts to smother him with his size while peppering him with a bevy of strikes. With just 10 seconds to go in the round, Lopez throws multiple strikes in close, landing clean with a right hand before ripping to the body of Taylor. 

Round 6

Josh Taylor lands a left hand in the opening seconds of round six. Lopez continues to dance around and pops Taylor with a jab before going to the body. Taylor’s offense is seemingly slowing down while fans in attendance begin to show their support for Lopez who is, at this point, the much busier fighter. Lopez goes upstairs with a straight left. Lopez throws a right hook that Taylor dodges but eats a left on his way back up. Once again, Lopez hears the 10-second warning and unleashes a flurry of strikes until the round ends.

Round 7

Lopez continues the trend of being the more active fighter in the seventh round. Taylor pushes Lopez to the fence and attempts to land a looping left hook, but eats a counter right from Lopez. Taylor lunges in with a left but misses. The two fighters clinch and separate. Taylor is pressuring Lopez, attempting to catch him against the ropes, but the big man is able to circle away and avoid any potential danger. They continue to pepper each other with strikes, but Lopez continues to be the busier man.

Round 8

Lopez goes upstairs with a left followed by a right to the body. Taylor throws a right that misses as Lopez continues to stalk and land with a variety of strikes. Lopez catches Taylor in the corner but is unable to capitalize. Taylor returns to the center of the ring and rips to the body of his opponent. Straight right from Taylor glances. Lopez lunges in and lands to the body. Taylor lands a jab up top. Nearing the end of the round, Lopez throws a massive looping right hook, but hits nothing but air as the round comes to a close.

Round 9

More of the same in the ninth round with Lopez the more active fighter. Just past the one-minute mark of the round, Lopez lands a solid straight right that pops Taylor’s head back. Taylor responds with a short right hook to the head of Lopez. Taylor lunges in for a short right hook that glances. Taylor lands to the body as Lopez fires back with a two-punch combination. Lopez uncorks another combination that lands, sending Taylor back against the ropes moments before the bell sounds. 

Round 10

Josh Taylor looked to pick up the pace in round 10 after landing a meager 14% of his punches in the prior round. Taylor pumps the jab, but Lopez’s head movement keeps him out of danger. Taylor pushes Lopez against the fence and attempts to land, but Lopez circles out and once again avoids the slight uptick in output from his opponent. Returning to the middle of the ring, they clinch with Lopez ducking down allowing Taylor to land a heavy left hook to the body. Taylor doubles up on the jab and then throws a looping left that misses the mark as the round ends.

Round 11

Taylor opens the penultimate round with a blow to the body of Lopez. Taylor moves in and clinches against the ropes. Lopez separates and fires a right hand. Taylor is getting aggressive as Lopez continues to counter-strike effectively. Straight left followed by a right to the body from Lopez. Taylor attempts to respond with a right of his own but misses. Taylor moves in and eats a right uppercut from Lopez. Masterful head movement mixed with a little bit of cockiness from Lopez as he lands another big uppercut against the ropes. He once again turns up the heat with seconds left in the round and throws his hands up in celebration once the bell sounds.

Round 12

Potentially realizing he is down on the scorecards, Josh Taylor comes out aggressive, immediately targeting the body and swinging big against his opponent. Lopez fires back in close, targeting the body of Taylor as we hit the final two minutes of the fight. Taylor throws a straight right but gets one right back from Lopez that throws him off balance. Taylor recovers and continues to move forward, but he can’t muster the energy to land anything of value. Three-punch combination staggers Taylor. A left hook from Taylor lands, but Lopez responds with multiple strikes. Taylor clinches up with a headlock in an effort to make it out of the round and to the end of the fight. 

Official Result: Teofimo Lopez def. Josh Taylor via unanimous decision (115-113, 115-113, 117-111)

Check Out Highlights From Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez Below:

 

Published on June 11, 2023 at 12:22 am
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Craig Pekios

Craig Pekios
Covering the world of Mixed Martial Arts since 2012. Providing the latest news, picks, scores, results, and commentary on the world of MMA.

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