Teofimo Lopez defends WBO super lightweight world title against Arnold Barboza Jr in New York.
WBO super lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 knockouts) won his mandatory defense against Arnold Barboza Jr (32-1, 11 knockouts) with a commanding performance. At the spectacular “Fatal Fury” Fight Night presented by Ring Magazine in the middle of Times Square in New York, Lopez delivered a dominant performance and won unanimously on points.
Barboza Jr, who earned his place as mandatory challenger with a split points win over Brit Jack Catterall in Manchester just under two and a half months ago, suffered the first defeat of his professional career in New York. The judges scored the fight 118-110 and twice 116-112 in Lopez’s favor.
After his only defeat so far in 2021 against George Kambosos Jr, Lopez finally seems to be back on top form – it was his sixth win in a row. Barboza Jr was active and determined in the opening laps, but was unable to keep up the pace. From round four onwards, Lopez took command, shone with explosive hands and dominated the fight with his superior speed. In round five, he made the crowd sit up and take notice with some showboating after landing a clean combination.
But Barboza Jr did not give up without a fight: A hard right hook in round six caused Lopez to falter briefly. Nevertheless, the champion quickly got back on track. From round nine, Lopez took full control again, working effectively with the jab and moving cleverly to avoid Barboza’s attacks.
With this performance, Teofimo Lopez impressively underpins his claim to be one of the best boxers in the super lightweight division. A possible unification fight or a duel against one of the other top names in the division should now only be a matter of time.