NEW YORK – Teofimo Lopez redeemed himself Saturday night in the same venue where his career came apart 18 months earlier.

The former unified lightweight champion clearly beat previously unbeaten Josh Taylor and won a 12-round unanimous decision to take the WBO junior welterweight title in a main event ESPN televised from The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Judges Steve Gray (115-113) and Joe Pasquale (115-113) had it closer than the action appeared to warrant, but Benoit Roussel scored nine rounds for Lopez, who won 117-111 on his card.

Lopez’s superior hand speed, intelligence, assortment of punches and athleticism made it difficult for Scotland’s Taylor to mount a sustained attack and enabled Lopez to pick apart the former undisputed 140-pound champion at times, especially during the 11th and 12th rounds. The 25-year-old Lopez looked nothing like the fighter who struggled with another southpaw, Spain’s Sandor Martin, whom Lopez barely beat by split decision in his last fight, a 10-rounder December 10 at Madison Square Garden.

Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs) won the WBO 140-pound championship from Taylor (19-1, 13 KOs), who relinquished his IBF, WBA and WBC crowns in 2022 because he wasn’t interested in making mandatory defenses in lower-profile fights. The Brooklyn-born Lopez also became a two-weight world champion in the same arena were Australian underdog George Kambosos Jr. upset him by split decision to win the IBF, WBA, WBC franchise and WBO lightweight titles in November 2021.

“It’s been a long time, a long time coming,” Lopez told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna in the ring. “We just beat the number one-ranked guy, number one champion, lineal world champion, Josh Taylor, former undisputed world champion. Two-time undisputed world champion, Teofimo Lopez.”

After an embrace in the center of the ring, Lopez apologized to Taylor for stating before their fight that he wanted to literally kill Taylor in the ring.

The self-proclaimed “Takeover” didn’t perform nearly as well in his three previous fights as he did during his career-changing unanimous points win against favored Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020 at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

On Saturday night, however, the mandatory challenger for Taylor’s title fought fantastically through well-documented turmoil in his personal life and suggestions that he was no longer the fighter he once was a month before his 26th birthday. Lopez told a group of reporters at ringside that he was better Saturday night than the night he conquered Lomachenko.

“You know, Josh Taylor, man, he’s a tough dude, man,” Lopez said. “And I can see why he beat so many fighters. But you gotta counter the counterpuncher. You’ve gotta out-smart the man and get in there, and I did that. I think I did enough. And this is what it’s all about. I questioned myself for a good reason [after the Martin fight]. You guys don’t understand. I’ve always been my worst critic. And you guys got a little glimpse of it. But I just wanna ask you one thing, and one thing only – do I still got it?”

The crowd cheered wildly in response to Lopez’s playful question.

Taylor, 32, lost in his first fight in more than 15 months. Before Lopez beat him, Taylor hadn’t boxed since his controversial 12-round, split-decision victory over English southpaw Jack Catterall in February 2022 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.

“Hey, listen, no excuses,” Taylor told Osuna. “I wasn’t my best, but listen, the better man won on the night. So, I’ve got no excuses. I prepared to the best of my ability. Felt amazing in the gym, felt brilliant, you know, so no excuses. Just he was better on the night tonight, so yeah, it is what it is.

“But congratulations to Teofimo. And I thought it was a close fight, but listen, that 117-111 was way too [wide]. So, I would love to do it again. I would love to do it again, no problem. I definitely know I’m better than that and I know I can beat him. So, yeah, I would love to do it again. But he’s the champ, so the ball’s in his court.”

Already way ahead on the cards, Lopez still tried to knock out Taylor in the 12th and final round. Lopez drilled Taylor with a right hand that staggered the former champion with just under 20 seconds to go in their fight.

Lopez’s combination to Taylor’s body hurt Taylor with just over 1:20 to go in the 12th round. Lopez’s left hook to Taylor’s head wobbled Taylor 1:05 into the 12th round.

Lopez blasted Taylor with a right uppercut that stunned him with 15 seconds to go in the 11th round. A counter right on the inside by Lopez clipped Taylor with just under 1:10 remaining in the 11th round.

Taylor knocked Lopez backward with a left hand that landed with about 30 seconds on the clock in the 10th round. Lopez eluded Taylor’s attempts to follow up, though, late in a round during which Lopez wasn’t nearly as effective as he had been in a one-sided ninth round.

A quick right by Lopez knocked Taylor off balance with 24 seconds to go in the ninth round. About seven seconds later, Lopez drilled Taylor with another right hand that knocked him into the ropes.

A right by Lopez landed cleanly 1:20 into the ninth round.

Lopez lunged forward and stung Taylor with a left hand when there was just over 10 seconds on the clock in the eighth round. A very confident Lopez showboated after landed that punch.

Taylor and Lopez exchanged hard shots – two rights by Lopez and a left by Taylor – with just over 1:10 remaining in the eighth round.

A short right by Lopez landed about 45 seconds into the eighth round. A straight left by Taylor backed up Lopez about 10 seconds into the eighth round.

Lopez landed three right hands in the final few seconds of the seventh round. Two counter right hands by Lopez got Taylor’s attention just before the halfway point of the seventh round.

Lopez’s right hand knocked Taylor off balance with 20 seconds to go in the sixth round. Lopez landed a low left with 35 seconds on the clock in the sixth round, which caused a brief break in the action.

Taylor eluded a lot of Lopez’s punches earlier in the sixth round, when Lopez was less aggressive than he had been in previous rounds. Taylor landed a short left in an exchange about 40 seconds into the sixth round.

Taylor pressued Lopez, but Lopez landed a right hand with about 50 seconds on the clock in the fifth round. Lopez stung Taylor with a quick left uppercut that snapped back his head a little less than a minute into the fifth round.

Lopez caught Taylor with a right hand that made Taylor hold him just before the fourth round ended.

A right hand by Lopez got Taylor’s attention at about the midway mark of the fourth round. Taylor tattooed Lopez with a straight left almost 40 seconds into the fourth round, but Lopez wasn’t hurt.

An agile Lopez sprung out of a southpaw stance and hit Taylor with a left hook a few seconds before the third round ended. Lopez connected with a left hook that made Taylor retreat about 55 seconds into the third round.

Referee Michael Griffin admonished Taylor for hitting Lopez when Griffin called for a break because Lopez was tangled between two ropes about 15 seconds into the third round.

Lopez drilled Taylor with a right hand that moved Taylor into the ropes with about 1:10 on the clock in the second round.

Taylor landed a short right hook on the inside with just over 1:45 to go in the second round. A right hand by Lopez backed Taylor into the ropes and caused him to hold barely 10 seconds into the second round.

Griffin sternly warned Taylor for holding Lopez down and hitting him with a left hand with a minute to go in the opening round. Lopez landed a right hand that backed up Taylor with about 1:10 to go in the first round.

Taylor landed a left hand that backed Lopez into the ropes in the middle minute of the first round. Taylor then landed a hard left to Lopez’s body as Lopez attempted to tie him up.

Taylor was supposed to face Catterall before his fight with Lopez was scheduled. It was postponed twice – first from February 4 to March 4 and then indefinitely – the second time due to a foot injury Taylor suffered while training in January.

Taylor-Catterall II hadn’t been rescheduled again before the WBO ordered Taylor to fight Lopez next. 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.