A closely anticipated bout, which was predicted to be a close contest, concluded with Shakur Stevenson delivering a one-sided masterclass in outpointing Teofimo Lopez over twelve rounds at a sold-out Madison Square Garden.

Stevenson’s jab became prominent as he led off those shots with left hands. Lopez revealed a frustrated figure but was unable to stem the action from Stevenson.

Lopez’s hand almost touched the canvas in the fourth and was arguably knocked down in the sixth although the referee waved it off.

Lopez made a strong comeback in the eighth round, his best round by far, with a powerful right hand to conclude his brief resurgence.

Stevenson continued to press Lopez, snapping the champion’s head back and leaving him unable to respond to the questions being asked of him.

Lopez showed a champions heart but was hitting shadows with Stevenson scoring 119-109 according to all three judges scorecards.

Stevenson now holds the WBO and Ring 140 lb titles whilst taking his record to 25-0, 11 KOs.