WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez stayed true to his ‘Takeover’ moniker, winning a lopsided twelve-round unanimous decision over the game Steve Claggett on Saturday night.
Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) landed cleaner, harder, more accurate punches throughout the fight. He fought with his back against the ropes to give his limited Rocky-esque opponent Claggett (38-8-2, 26 KOs) a handicap, making the fight competitive and entertaining for the fans.
Claggett was at his best in the early rounds when Teofimo stood stationary with his back against the ropes, exchanging shots with the challenger at close range. During the first quarter of the fight, Claggett landed many punches, swelling up Teofimo’s brow ridges but never hurting him.
Teo smiled throughout to let his opponent and the fans know he was having fun and enjoying the close combat.
In the second half of the fight, Teofimo Lopez used more movement, making Claggett follow him and walk into shots. During rounds six through twelve, Teo connected with many uppercuts, which the 34-year-old Claggett took well.
The punches would have knocked out most of the fighters in the 140-lb division, but not Claggett, who has only been knocked out once in his long professional career, and he’s been in with bigger punchers than Teofomo.
Lopez’s Strategic Shift
In the twelfth, Teofimo stopped moving and fought Claggett in a toe-to-toe battle, with both fighters getting hit with massive headshots. Teofimo moved with the punches so they didn’t hurt him. However, one big right hand from Claggett got Teofimo’s attention, landing with a sickening thud, snapping his head sideways.
The final scores were 120-108 and 119-109 in favor of Teofimo.
It’s unclear where Teofimo plans to go next. Although he said he wants to move up to fight Terence Crawford, that has little chance of happening.
Teofimo’s promoter, Bob Arum, wants him to challenge Brian Norman Jr. next for the WBO welterweight title, but Teo doesn’t seem too excited about the fight. It would be tough for Teofimo because Norman hits a lot harder than Claggett, and he’s 23.
