Josh Taylor and Teofimo Lopez finally faced other earlier tonight at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York. For the highly anticipated bout, the WBO junior welterweight title was on the line.

For the main event, Josh Taylor (19-1, 13 KOs) came in as the undefeated junior welterweight champion. He looked to defend his title against the former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs). Needless to say, Taylor looked to keep his undefeated record intact.

An underdog for the 2nd time in his career, Teofimo did precisely what he’d done the first time around – score an impressive win over an elite boxer.

Lopez, who hasn’t looked good in recent outings, stood in the ring during his last fight in December against Sandor Martin. A visibly frustrated Teofimo asked his father, “Do I still got it?” After securing the WBO junior welterweight title tonight, the answer is an unmistakable yes.

Teofimo Lopez beats Josh Taylor via unanimous decision

Josh Taylor opened the 1st round landing powerful left hands on Lopez, particularly to the body. Being the much older fighter among the two, Taylor controlled the action throughout with sharp punches. The following round saw Lopez buckle the U.K. native with a nasty left hook. Following this, Teofimo continued landing a few counter shots in what appeared to be a close yet entertaining round.

Round 3 saw ‘Teo’ mostly looking to counter while Taylor pressed the action again. In a competitive fight so far, Josh appeared to get the better of the exchanges. It also seemed that Lopez had a small cut on his nose at this point. However, it didn’t seem to affect the Brooklyn native much as Lopez connected on some power shots while gaining confidence in the 4th round.

Round 5 saw Lopez inflicting more damage as both eyes of Taylor’s started swelling up halfway through the fight. To many, it was a close round, but Teofimo ended up edging it by the end. Fans collectively witness Lopez finding his rhythm in the 6th round. He consistently beat Taylor to the punch while disallowing the latter to get off. The round also saw Teofimo with a cut over his right eye.

Round 7 began with ‘Teo’ suffering from a cut on his right eye as well as one on the nose. Josh’s eyes still appeared swollen as he started to find a home for his overhand left. After losing a few rounds earlier, the U.K. native pushed Lopez back to the ropes. Round 8 saw Lopez taunting Taylor as he brimmed with confidence. A dazzling leaping left hook from Lopez closed the final moments of the round.

Since the Vasiliy Lomachenko fight, Teofimo appeared the most comfortable in the 9th round. He started having his way with Josh and sent the champion reeling into the ropes with a combination. Taylor appeared to have no answers at this point. Lopez appeared to take the next round off as he clowned around while barely throwing a punch. Josh kept pressing forward but missed most of his shots.

In round 11, Teofimo pushed Josh around and landed a barrage of punishing uppercuts. At this point, Taylor needed a KO if he wanted to keep his title. Lopez closed the final round in an impressive fashion. After buckling Josh a few times, he dropped the champion in a vintage Teofimo performance. Since the 4th round, it seemed to be a lopsided fight for ‘Teo.’

Taylor vs Lopez: Judges Scorecards

Teofimo shined at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden after a masterclass performance. The 25-year-old looked confident as ever during the second half of the highly touted fight. Lopez caught Taylor time and time again with power punches and proved to be the quicker fighter by far.

By the end of the 12-round war, Teofimo held a 158-82 advantage in punches that’d landed. This reaffirms how dominant he was throughout the match. However, despite visibly being the superior fighter, the scorecards for the newly crowned champion looked a bit scary.

Lopez won the fight via unanimous decision. The judges’ scorecards read as follows for the Brooklyn native – 115-113, 115-113, and 117-111.

After tonight, Teofimo has now secured titles in two divisions and is considered the lineal champion at junior welterweight. Taylor was the former undisputed junior lightweight champion. However, he’d relinquished his other three major belts in pursuit of rematching with Jack Catterall. But as that fight fell through, Josh turned to Lopez.

Tonight marked Taylor’s first loss in his professional career. In the post-fight interview, he asked for a rematch with Teofimo. Do you think it’s the right call to make? Let us know your thoughts.