Thurman defeats Lopez, defends welterweight title

After a 22-month layoff due to a hand injury, WBA welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (29-0, 22 KOs) defended his title, winning a difficult majority victory over Josesito Lopez (36-8, 19 KOs) in the main event of the evening at the arena of Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The attendance was 9,623.

At the end of the second round, Thurman sent Lopez to the canvas by left hook, despite this Lopez looked good in the middle rounds. However, it turned out that the champion still had the strength to finish, and the final rounds were for Thurman. The judges had rather strange scores for this bout: 113-113, 115-111 and 117-109. Lopez could have taken three middle rounds, but he obviously did not deserve a draw.