Teofimo Returns To “Takeover” Joshua Taylor
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
by: ShreyThe last time Teofimo Lopez fought in the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden, he left with immense disappointment. Hoping to ride his considerable momentum after dethroning Vasiliy Lomachenko, Lopez was instead defeated by sizeable underdog George Kambosos Jr. Afterwards, Lopez apologized to his hometown fans and left the lightweight division behind. Nearly two years later he found himself again at the Hulu Theatre last Saturday, this time more than making up for his loss.
Now at 140lbs, despite being the underdog himself, Lopez (19 – 1) turned back the clock and brought out a masterful performance against undefeated champion Josh Taylor (also 19 – 1), claiming a second lineal title in as many weight classes and regaining much of the respect he had lost over the last two years. While Lopez’ future in the sport is uncertain given his unexpected declaration of retirement upon victory, let us first appreciate just how he became a champion again.
From Favorite to Underdog in the Same Arena
After defeating Lomachenko in 2020, Lopez demonstrated that even just at age 22 he had some of the finest skills in the sport. The bout was close, but Lopez earned his belts and established himself as the man to beat. Unfortunately for him, this is exactly what George Kambosos Jr. managed to do in Lopez’ very first defense. From the first round, Lopez was in trouble after getting knocked down by a sharp counter hook – the first fumble of many on his way to losing his title that night.
Lopez had two comeback fights at 140lbs, including most recently against Sandor Martin where he again suffered an early knockdown before narrowly nabbing the win. Meanwhile, his conqueror Kambosos promptly lost the 135lb titles in a poor showing against Devin Haney. Essentially, it was not much of a surprise that Lopez came in as an underdog against Josh Taylor, who had overcome various challenges of his own to become the undisputed Jr. Welterweight champion.
Taylor (from Scotland) had more recent success at the championship level and was coming in taller, longer and heavier Lopez, and was doing an admirable job ignoring Lopez’ typically vicious trash talk. The champion was a more than 2 to 1 favorite, despite going to Lopez’ hometown.
A Measured Beginning…
As the opening bell rang, Taylor and Lopez immediately got to squaring off with each other and exchanging jabs. Taylor got to leveraging his size advantage in trying to push Lopez on the ropes and smother him with punches, while Lopez got to measuring the distance and sneaking in occasional right hands. Of particular note is how little adjustment Lopez required against Taylor’s southpaw stance, comfortably positioning his pivot foot and smartly mixing in several right straights to the body.
Perhaps this was only to be expected after Lopez fought 3 southpaws since 2020 (Lomachenko, Kambosos Jr. and Martin) and got to know exactly how to best utilize his strengths against them. While many predicted Taylor would begin to impose himself after these opening rounds, Lopez had his own script in mind.
…Into a Tactical, Dominating Takeover
From the 4th round, the champion was under siege as Lopez employed his signature high-volume approach utilizing not flurries but several crisp one-twos. He stayed bravely in the pocket, demonstrating an improved level of defense from his previous fights by dipping and stepping away from Taylor’s own attempts at a counter-offensive.
While Kambosos and Martin found success against Lopez through frequent counter-hooks on the backfoot, Taylor was not able to mix in much of the same and by the middle rounds became positively gun-shy, throwing some of the least punches per round of his career. Lopez was simply too crisp, scoring rounds and avoiding damage in return. While his trash talk in the leadup may have been brutal (perhaps inexcusably so) his boxing in the ring was in many ways a textbook display of fighting behind a smart jab and employing how to “hit without get hit”. He didn’t hesitate though to get cheeky, particularly with an almost cartoonish jumping jab in the 8th round (which actually landed).
Taylor was unable to show any of his usual dominance, and by the closing rounds demonstrated neither fierce grit nor clever adjustments – perhaps against the reborn Lopez, he understood it wouldn’t be enough.
The New… and already done?
While the judges’ decisions were closer than expected, the right man won as Lopez’ became a champion of second weight class. Taylor deserves respect for going to his opponent’s territory, and at age 32 he will likely take step back and evaluate his next steps. His loss to Lopez does not take away from his string of prior achievements, and he still has enough to give anyone a tough outing.
And while the boxing world was only just beginning to congratulate the new champion, Lopez announced only a few hours later his intent to retire from the sport altogether. This is not wholly uncommon, and many new champions make such decisions in the heat of the moment. Lopez his however maintained this stance in the week since and even informed the WBO of his decision to vacate; this may really be the last we see of Teofimo for a time to come.
While it is a shame to see him bow out right after he shone so brightly, his decision must be respected. It’s easy to forget he is only 25, and may still be growing not only as a fighter but as a person. Regardless, it’s difficult to imagine Lopez could resist giving his loving fans another show at Madison Square Garden for too long – he himself may have been taken over by the joys of again being champion.