On Saturday night, June 29th, in the Top Rank Boxing main event, Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez will defend his WBO junior-welterweight world title against Steve Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KOs) at the James L. Knight Center in Miami Beach, Florida, live on ESPN.
For challenger Steve Claggett, this fight on Saturday night represents a life-changing opportunity. The defending champion, Teofimo Lopez, views this bout as a stay-busy fight designed to help him remain active, sharp, and focused.
In his second fight in the 140-pound division, the former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez stepped inside the squared circle to face a man once the king of the junior welterweights.
Josh Taylor was undisputed at 140, but after vacating multiple belts, Taylor remained the WBO champion.
The Teofimo Lopez vs Josh Taylor bout took place back in June 2023. In the opening round of the contest, the southpaw Taylor used his jab to close the distance, and once he got inside, he landed solid shots to the body.
For the next five rounds, Lopez and Taylor were involved in some even exchanges. During the second half of the championship bout, Teofimo Lopez dictated the pace of the fight. Lopez’s overall skill set, his hand speed, accuracy, and punching power overwhelmed Taylor.
After the 12-round bout, Teofimo Lopez earned a unanimous decision victory with scores of 115-113, 115-113, and 117-111. With the win, Lopez became a two-weight world champion.
Eight months later, Lopez successfully defended his WBO junior welterweight title against Jamaine Ortiz. Now Teofimo Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) wants to use this fight against Claggett as an opportunity to showcase his skills and possibly line up a unification bout or a match with a highly ranked pound-for-pound fighter.
Steve Claggett acknowledges that on Saturday night, he will enter the squared circle as a massive underdog. However, Claggett feels confident, hungry, prepared, and ready to seize the moment.
Challenger Steve Claggett is an aggressive fighter who uses the high guard while consistently pressing forward and throwing punches-in-bunches. The champion Teofimo Lopez is athletic, fast, has good power, and he’s a sharp counterpuncher.
Styles make fights, and believe it or not, this could be a risky fight for Lopez. When the competition is at the highest level, and the lights are shining bright, Teofimo Lopez is spectacular, but when the competition is average, Lopez will at times deliver a subpar performance.
Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez has a wish list that features unification or a mega fight with Terence “Bud” Crawford. Lopez has an ambitious list, but before he can focus on the list, he has to take care of business against Steve “The Dragon” Claggett on Saturday night, live on ESPN.
