Teofimo Lopez was patient enough to crack champion Josh Taylor and not only take away his WBO world title but also cut off the winning streak Taylor had been on since his debut in 2015.
On Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York, Lopez managed to break Taylor and took a unanimous decision victory (115-113, 115-113, and 117-111).
"It's been many years to be number one. God has brought me here," said the New Yorker, who conquered a new weight category and added it to his resume. "He's a tough fighter who has beaten great fighters, but you have to outsmart him, and we beat him back. I've been doubting, questioning myself too. But now I ask you: 'do I still have it?'"
With a good start, in which he managed to impose his distance thanks to the fact that he kept the centre of the ring and used the jab, Taylor took the early rounds, but little by little Lopez exploited the holes in the champion's attack to start playing with the possibilities.
Despite having the odds against him, Lopez managed to open up space and began to enjoy success until he managed to leave his opponent with no alternatives, despite the fact that he had a height and reach disadvantage.
Lopez, who was coming off a very bad fight against Spain's Sandor Martin and that 2021 loss to George Kambosos, managed to box and counter-punch his opponent and work his way to a much-needed win that put him back in the big leagues.
But before revealing which big names he would like to face in the future, Teofimo pointed out that his next fight will first be in court, following his recent divorce and now looking to get access to his son.