That’s all for tonight. Thanks for following along with us and be sure to check out the full fight report when it crosses later on.

“This was the art of boxing: hit and don’t get hit,” Stevenson says. “I felt good. I picked him apart and I did what I was supposed to do.”

Meanwhile, Britain’s Conor Benn has made his way into the ring and entered into a shouting match with Stevenson. Oh dear.

Round 12

Stevenson flies through the tape. There’s the final bell. No embrace between them afterward, a sign of authentic ill will. And in a few moments the 28-year-old southpaw from Newark will officially be a four-division world champion.

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 9-10 Stevenson (López 110-118 Stevenson)

Round 11

A trickle of blood is running from López’s left eye to start the 11th round. A bit of an oversight by the champion’s corner, which has been chaos from early on. López keeps running into counters and Stevenson puts a little extra mustard on them in the closing seconds of the frame. One-way traffic. Only three more minutes of this.

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 9-10 Stevenson (López 101-108 Stevenson)

Round 10

Just a masterclass in control of distance and pace by Stevenson, who has barely broken a sweat.

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 9-10 Stevenson (López 92-98 Stevenson)

Round 9

López let his hands go in the ninth, landing a series of crunching blows to the body, while Stevenson gives another round away. But the outcome still feels like a fait accompli. A group of four López supporters seated to the left of the press tribune has just made their way up the aisles, calling it a night at ten to 1am. Stevenson has landed more than twice as many punches (119) as López (50) through nine rounds, according to Compubox’s punch statistics.

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 10-9 Stevenson (López 83-88 Stevenson)

Round 8

Stevenson took it easy in the eighth before taunting López near the end of the round. López’s father doesn’t know what to tell him in the corner. López still chasing ghosts, but probably did enough in that frame to shade it as the challenger looked to conserve his stamina for the final stretch.

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 10-9 Stevenson (López 73-79 Stevenson)

Round 7

López has nothing. At this point he can only hope that Stevenson walks a trap, but the challenger’s ring intellegence (which is breaking the needle tonight) makes that outcome seem nearly impossible.

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 9-10 Stevenson (López 63-70 Stevenson)

Round 6

Stevenson, who continues to fight on his front foot as the aggressor, appears to have opened a cut over López’s left eye. A classy, comprehensive performance that brings to mind Terence Crawford’s one-sided beatdown of Errol Spence Jr from three years ago. It must be said López has been investing in body work, throwing lots of shots to Stevenson’s midsection. But to what end?

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 9-10 Stevenson (López 54-60 Stevenson)

Round 5

López competed well in the fifth but it was still an easy round to score for Stevenson, who continues to dominate with the jab. López, meanwhile, simply can’t find the target. A shocking mismatch through five rounds.

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 9-10 Stevenson (López 45-50 Stevenson)

Round 4

López has nothing for Stevenson, who is faster and more precise and can’t get out of the way of the punches. From what we’ve seen it seems like the only drama is whether Stevenson will step it up and wear López down and try for the stoppage.

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 9-10 Stevenson (López 36-40 Stevenson)

Round 3

Stevenson picks up where he left off, winning another easy round behind a ramrod jab delivered with quicker hand speed.

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 9-10 Stevenson (López 27-30 Stevenson)

Round 2

Some flick jabs from López. Stevenson lands a flush shot that prompts oohs from the crowd, the biggest punch of the fight. Dismissed by critics as a runner, Stevenson is walking López down early. Stevenson goes down but the referee immediately rules that he tripped. Another very solid round by Stevenson, who is jabbing beautifully and scoring at will with the left. He looks to be in total control.

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 9-10 Stevenson (López 18-20 Stevenson)

Round 1

There’s the bell! They meet in the center of the ring, the orthodox López’s and the southpaw Stevenson’s front feet meeting. Stevenson touches him with a jab only seconds in, but a feeling-out period follows as they circle one another. Stevenson is a little more active with the jab early on. López lands a shot as chants of “TEE-OH! TEE-OH!” ring through the lower bowl. A good left by Stevenson. Another good left upstairs by Stevenson, whose blinding hand speed has been on full display early.

Guardian’s unofficial score: López 9-10 Stevenson (López 9-10 Stevenson)

The waiting is over. The final instructions have been given by referee Harvey Dock, the seconds are out and we’ll pick it up with round-by-round coverage from here!

… Teófimo López, whose name draws louder boos but louder cheers also. The Sunset Mark native makes his entrance to Punisher by late Bronx rapper Big Pun before it segues to Whoa! by Black Rob before it segues to U Don’t Know by Jay Z before it segues to Skrilla by Kodak Black. And he’s not even out of the tunnel yet! Perhaps a spot of gamesmanship as he makes Stevenson wait in the ring.

Now a half-dozen of the Jabbawockeez have taken the runway while MOP’s Ante Up goes into DMX’s Party Up. Good lord: López is making a movie. He finally makes it to the ring, dancers in trail, before climbing the apron and holding a single green glove aloft. The crowd is eating this up.

The lights have gone down inside Madison Square Garden, which looks pretty close to a complete sellout. Ring announcer Michael Buffer has taken his position at the center of the ring and the fighters are making their entrances for the main event. First out is Shakur Stevenson, a world champion at 126lb, 130lb and 135lb but the challenger tonight as he climbs to 140lb. Everyone in the lower bowl is standing with most pointing their cameras toward the tunnel as Stevenson emerges to JAN 31ST (MY TRUTH) by YFN Lucci, accompanied by the Atlanta rapper himself. Stevenson climbs the apron after a very measured and methodical walk to the ring. And now it’s time for ...

Keyshawn Davis has just finished off Jamaine Ortiz in the final undercard fight of the night. The 2020 Olympic silver medalist was dominant from the opening bell and closed his opponent’s left eye almost entirely before dropping him in the 11th with a crunching left to the body. The ring doctor took a long look at Ortiz’s eye before the 12th and final round before allowing the fight to continue, but Davis closed the show with another knockdown in the final seconds, prompting Thomas Taylor to immediately wave it off for a technical knockout at the 2:47 mark.

An impressive performance for Davis in his junior welterweight debut. He also had the best ringwalk of the night, at least so far, making his entrance to CeCe Winans’ Goodness of God.

Next up: Teófimo López v Shakur Stevenson for the WBO junior welterweight championship

Teófimo López has built a career on extremes, and few places have reflected that volatility like Madison Square Garden. It’s where he blasted Richard Commey to win his first world title, saw his momentum derailed as a heavy favorite, then returned as an underdog to dismantle Josh Taylor and claim a second divisional crown. Not long from now, the Garden will stage another reckoning as López defends his junior welterweight title against Shakur Stevenson.

López, who goes off as a near 3-1 underdog, believes the matchup suits him. He has often produced his clearest performances when the stakes are highest and the odds longest, thriving in moments where structure breaks down and instinct takes over. Stevenson, by contrast, arrives undefeated and widely regarded as the sport’s purest technician, a master of distance and control whose discipline has rarely been tested over 12 rounds.

The intrigue lies in whether López can force those moments of chaos again … and whether Stevenson can keep them at bay.

The punches started flying a full day before López and Stevenson were due to do it for real. A sprawling melee broke out during Friday’s weigh-ins at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, briefly turning the buildup to one of boxing’s marquee fights into a security scramble.

Video from the scene showed multiple flashpoints as tempers flared near the stage and later by the venue exits, with several men throwing punches before being separated. Bill Haney, the father of Devin Haney, was caught on camera stepping into the middle of one confrontation in an apparent attempt to calm things down.

Among those involved was unbeaten welterweight Delante “Tiger” Johnson, who appeared to be taunted before squaring up as others rushed in. The disturbance eventually dissipated without police intervention. The NYPD said officers were not dispatched.

An MSG spokesperson later issued a statement warning that violence of any kind would not be tolerated and could result in lifetime bans from all company venues:

Violence will not be condoned at MSG across any type of event including, hockey, basketball, boxing, concerts, or special events. If any individual is found to participate in violent activity, whether you are part of the event, or a patron, you will be banned for life and unable to attend or participate in any event across all our venues.

Although there was no indication that Friday’s dust-up had anything to do with López or Stevenson, the scuffles came against a backdrop of simmering tension all week, including heated exchanges at press events involving both camps.

Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s his preview of tonight’s main event.