Teofimo Lopez’s father, Teo Sr, Predicts his son will punish his stay-busy opponent, Steve Claggett, like he’s never done before this Saturday night at the James L. Knight Center in Miami.
(Courtesy: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Social media fans haven’t shown much interest in Teofimo’s showcase fight against Claggett, and it’s obvious why. They want to see Teofimo fight quality opposition and are tired of seeing him repeatedly matched against safer fighters.
His last fight against Jamaine Ortiz was a cherry-pick gone wrong. Teofimo got schooled for twelve rounds against a fringe contender he was supposed to beat.
I watched the fight and had Ortiz winning 10-2, and it was embarrassing to see how inept Teofimo looked in that fight. The faster and more technically gifted Ortiz beat him in every exchange.
Top Rank is playing it safe with the 26-year-old Teofimo after he was arguably beaten in his last fight by Jamaine Ortiz but was given a controversial 12-round unanimous decision win last February in Paradise, Nevada.
Another worrisome performance by Teofimo suggests that he’s lost something from his game after his loss to George Kambosos Jr. and his war with Vasily Lomachenko.
Matching Teofimo against fringe contender Claggett is one way for Top Rank to keep him temporarily winning for a little while longer, but obviously, it’s not a permanent fix. It’s like using sealant spray on a flat tire. Teofimo looks like a broken fighter.
The problems will still be there for Teofimo once Top Rank matches him against quality opposition. His last performance against Jamaine Ortiz, a fringe contender, showed that he’s incapable of beating good opposition, which is one of the reasons he’s being matched against Claggett. It’s to protect him.
Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) is defending his WBO light welterweight title against the 34-year-old Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KOs) in the twelve-round main event. The telecast beings at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 P.M. PT on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
“The amount of punishment my son is going to give this guy. He’s never seen nothing like it,” said Teofimo Lopez Sr., the father of Teo, talking about the little-known fringe contender opponent, Steve Claggett, whom he’s fighting this Saturday night on ESPN.
“We take all our fights serious, and you’re going to see the best Teofimo Lopez. This is the best fight he’s ever had where he’s going to show all his skills.”
Considering the low level of opposition that Teofimo is fighting this Saturday, he’d better do a good job of beating Claggett. If Teo struggles against this guy, Top Rank will need to start thinking about putting him in a cash-out fight and then cutting him loose to focus on fighters with true ability.
“I don’t want to say I’m in my prime yet. I think it’s too soon, I’m only 26,” Teofimo Lopez said to Top Rank Boxing. “I think it’s way too soon to talk like that. I think I’ll hit my true prime at 28. We got like another year or so to see that come through.”
Teofimo’s prime was four years ago when he beat an injured Vasily Lomachenko by a close 12-round unanimous decision in October 2020. Since that fight, Teofimo has been in free fall, heading downhill, losing to Kambosos, and getting gift decisions over Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz in fights many people felt he lost.
The only true wins for Teofimo in the last four years have been against a washed-up Josh Taylor and journeyman Pedro Campa. That’s it—just those two. Teofimo’s record should be 2-3 in his last five fights instead of 4-1.
Top Rank will have to do something with Teofimo because they can’t keep matching him against lower-level fighters like Claggett without his popularity dropping off to nothing.
