Keith Thurman successfully defended his WBA super welterweight belt with a majority decision over Josesito Lopez after almost two years on the sidelines.

Thurman was back in the ring for the first time since beating Danny Garcia by split decision in March 2017 – an elbow and hand injury keeping the American out of action.

And the 30-year-old reigned supreme after 12 rounds against Lopez (36-8, 19 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Judges scored the fight 115-111, 117-109 and 113-113 in favour of Thurman (29-0, 22 KOs) on Saturday.

According to Thurman, he warned everyone that he likely would not be at his best when he faced Lopez in the ring.

But he was pleased that a prior hand injury did not re-occur.

"My hand took some contact tonight," said Thurman.

"Lopez had a tough head but we held out strong. I said you wouldn't see the best Keith Thurman tonight, but you'd still see a world class performance, and I gave you that tonight."

Thurman started fast, landing a clean left hook on an exchange that put Lopez on the canvas with 15 seconds left in the second round. Thurman continued to move effectively and pick out power shots to Lopez's head.

But in the second half of the fight, Thurman found himself in serious trouble in the seventh.

Lopez tried to crowd the space, attack the body and then use his length to surprise Thurman with power shots. In round seven, Lopez connected with a straight right hand that hit Thurman cleanly and had him immediately in retreat mode.

Thurman took plenty of punishment, but he was able to regroup in the eight and boxed well until the final bell.