Teofimo Lopez Jr. dominates Steve Claggett to retain WBO/Ring junior welter titles

by Joseph Santoliquito |

MIAMI, FL — The little engine inside of his head has slowed down. Besides, Teofimo Lopez Jr. had given up trying to catch his anxiety a few years ago. He is more reflective. He is more relaxed. He has learned to tame the dark apprehension that would fold in on the outer reaches and crease its way in with each fight.

That could not have been on more display than this week, in preparation for his WBO/Ring Magazine junior welterweight world championship title defense against Canadian Steve Claggett Saturday night at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida.

It has taken time, but Lopez Jr. likes his reflection. His easy demeanor translated into the ring.

One of boxing’s most flamboyant showman put on a show, starting from his ring walk, dancing to Michael Jackson’s Beat It, dressed in a white tux jacket trimmed in gold.

Lopez (21-1, 13 knockouts) finished with a unanimous decision, winning by a 120-108 shutout on the scorecards of judges Lisa Giampa and Efrain Lebron, and 119-109 by judge Steve Weisfeld.

“I am absolutely thinking of moving up. My legs, my body has to move up, moving to 147. I want Terence Crawford. That’s the goal. I don’t know, I don’t care who has the 147-pound belts, All I want is the guy with The Ring belt and that’s Terence ‘Bud Crawford.”

Lopez landed a career-high 315 punches, connecting on a career-best 26 punches per round, and threw a career-high 946 total, averaging a career-best 79 punches per round.

“I am really relaxed, I do like where I am, I’m getting older, my son is getting older and I have to show what it means to be a stand-up man,” Lopez said. “It may have been as easy as it looked. Claggett is a tough guy. I have much respect for him. But in the end, they were telling him that he had the fight, and that I was getting tired.

“In reality, I was there. We had a game plan and we stayed with it. The guy was tough. I was aiming for a tough fighter. I knew this guy was going to test my limits. He touched me for the sake of touching me. I had no fear of him. If there is anything you have to include, Muhammad Ali’s quote, the will has to be stronger than the skills.

“I am absolutely thinking of moving up. My legs, my body has to move up, moving to 147. I want Terence Crawford. That’s the goal. I don’t know, I don’t care who has the 147-pound belts, All I want is the guy with The Ring belt and that’s Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford.”

From the outset, Claggett (38-8-2, 26 KOs) put pressure on Lopez. He kept coming forward, flicking out a jab. He may not have had much on them, but the punches were constant. Lopez absorbed as much as he could with his shoulders and his arms. Awkward and hanger thin, Claggett still burrowed forward.

Whether he would be able to keep that kind of tempo throughout 12 rounds would be a question.

In the second, Claggett tried the same tactics, attempting to smother Lopez. He seemed to hitting Lopez with a million pebbles—not one rock. Lopez would backpedal, luring Claggett forward. Lopez did the brunt of shots in the second, though Claggett’s output seemed to drop slightly.

In the third, Lopez banged Claggett with a left hook early in the round, and a few moments later, popped Claggett with a straight right. Lopez’ punches arrived with a thud that could be heard ringside.

Lopez seemed to wake up in the third, which was his best round at that point.