Teofimo Lopez shines in battering Arnold Barboza to retain title, calls for fight with Jarron ‘Boots’ Ennis

Every few years, Teofimo Lopez Jr. reminds boxing fans how truly great his pound-for-pound skills are when he’s focused and motivated.

Friday night was one of those times.

Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) was masterful and in complete control for most of his WBO junior welterweight title defense against Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-1, 11 KOs), in the first of a pay-per-view tripleheader emanating from the streets of Manhattan in New York’s Time Square.

The event, which marked first U.S. card of Saudi Arabian adviser Turki Alalshikh’s new “The Ring” fight series, saw Lopez rely on his noticeable hand and foot speed advantages to (quite literally) dance his way to a unanimous decision on judges’ scores of 116-112 (twice) and 118-110. CBS Sports scored it 117-111 for Lopez.

“I’ve been telling myself this whole week that anything that is happening is happening for me and not against me,” Lopez said. “I felt great, I felt reborn. At 140, I have been at this weight for some time but we will talk about, me and my team, going up [in weight], maybe.”

Despite looking off at times in recent years, Lopez recaptured the magic that once saw him climb P4P lists after breakthrough wins over Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor. And even though Barboza rallied late to steal some rounds of his own, Lopez soundly outlanded him by a margin of 126 to 70 over 12 rounds.

Whether he was working behind his lightning jab or exploding with counter rights, Lopez routinely disciplined Barboza by lowering his output and limiting him to one punch at a time. Even when Barboza landed stiff shots in the first half, Lopez was quick to counter each one with a combination of his own to stay fresh in the mind of judges.

Lopez, 27, who made the third defense of his WBO title, relied on his footwork to never stay around long enough for Barboza to feel comfortable timing him. “The Takeover,” in fact appeared as if he was on his way to a shutout through five-plus rounds until a hard counter right from the 33-year-old Barboza buckled the legs of Lopez and created an opening.

To his credit, despite markings under both eyes, Lopez regained control of the fight’s terms quickly in Round 7. But his pace lowered over the second half and opened up a door for Barboza’s consistent pressure to make the rounds closer than they needed to be.

After the victory, Lopez appeared excited about the possibility of moving up to welterweight and challenging unified champion Jarron “Boots” Ennis.

“You know me guys, I go after the tough challenges,” Lopez said. “Definitely, Turki Alalshikh and everybody that has played a part in this, I want to see ‘Boots.’ Definitely.”