Teofimo Lopez vs Steve Claggett Fight Results: Lopez Scores UD

In what was clearly a stay-busy and-get-well fight for Teofimo Lopez after his lackluster win over Jamaine Ortiz, Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) scored a clear unanimous decision victory over the veteran fighter Steve Claggett (38-8-2, 26 KOs) tonight in Miami.

To his credit, Claggett (out of Canada) came out with no fear, pressing Lopez and smothering a lot of the champion’s blows early, even if Teofimo was landing more often. Lopez did some mugging in the second round, but it was obvious that Claggett’s constant pressure was annoying him, if not causing great harm. Lopez started to create more space in the third and began landing cleaner blows. Claggett took the shots well, but the signs that Lopez was starting to find his preferred distance against Claggett became more apparent. The fourth round was more of the same, and you could see Lopez’s superior skill and athleticism start to discourage Claggett, a fighter who, if he isn’t throwing, doesn’t have the movement to slip Lopez’s punches.

At the same time, Claggett gave a good account of himself despite losing nearly every round. Had Claggett more skill, this fight would have been more competitive on the scorecards. Claggett was fighting how he wanted to, forcing Lopez to compete in close quarters most of the time, whereas Lopez wanted the room to unload, but he couldn’t seem to find that room very often against the deep underdog. Like with the Ortiz fight, Lopez won but did not win his way. In the last minute of the 8th, Lopez finally started to assert his will, landing hard shots with length on them. Lopez’s uppercuts started to find a home with greater regularity and force. Still, Claggett, a lesser fighter in every regard, made the night hard for Lopez. It’s not hard to win rounds, but it’s hard to look great. For as many sharp shots as Lopez landed against the journeyman, he never really had him hurt.

Which brings about a couple of points: Does Lopez’s power come up to 140? Claggett certainly has a beard and a huge heart, but if Lopez wanted to look spectacular (and I’m sure he did), well, he didn’t. He looked good against a 35-year-old opponent who has rarely fought outside of his Canadian home and has never fought for a title or at this level of competition. Hell, despite being 35 and having fought 47 times before tonight, this was Claggett’s first 12-round fight ever. In the post-fight interview, Lopez talked of moving up to 147. If Steve Claggett can take Lopez’s power (and Lopez landed a hell of a lot of punches), is it realistic to think Lopez will be able to move up and bother Terence Crawford at welterweight?

Based on tonight’s performance against a tough B-lister, I can’t see it, no matter how hard I squint.

Robeisy Ramirez vs. Brandon Leon Benitez

After losing his WBO Featherweight title to Rafael Espinoza by majority decision last December in one of the best fights of the year where each man scored a knockdown, Cubano Rubesiy Ramirez looked to get back on track against Mexican journeyman Brandon Leon Benitez and did so with style. Ramirez (now 14-2 with 9 Kos), the former two-time Olympic champion from his native country, looked sharp early and often, easily outclassing his game but overmatched opponent. Ramirez ripped Benitez (21-3, with 9 KOs) early in round three right out of the gate with wicked combinations. Benitez weathered the storm, but Ramirez kept peppering Benitez to his already swelling face with alacrity.

Benitez was game and kept trying throughout the night, but the skill gap between him and Ramirez was obvious in every single round. By the 6th round, Ramirez was painting Benitez’s face with the swollen red color from the crayon box. In the 7th, Ramirez lit up Benitez with a savage uppercut that made the referee’s count superfluous. The ref soon saw what everyone else did and waived off the fight. Offensively, defensively, power-wise, footwork, and every measurement of skill favored Ramirez throughout the bout. If Ramirez was trying to get right and feel better about himself after losing his belt, he certainly accomplished that tonight.

Let’s be clear: Ramirez was supposed to win this fight and did so in spectacular fashion, pitching a shutout round after round before truly unloading and closing the show in style. Ramirez absolutely delivered what he should have. Now the question is, what’s next? An Espinoza rematch sure would be tasty, and well-deserved.

Nico Ali Walsh vs. Sona Akale

In a rematch between middleweights who fought last August (resulting in Walsh’s only loss, with Akale winning a majority decision), Nico Ali Walsh (10-1, 5 KOs) managed to avenge the loss by a close unanimous decision over Sona Akala (9-2, 4 KOs), but not without significant difficulty. Walsh dominated the first three rounds, dropping a flat-footed Akale with seconds left in the round. Walsh slowed down in the fourth, and Akale took advantage of Walsh’s lack of activity by swarming him in round four–clearly doing damage to the left side of Walsh’s face. In the sixth, Walsh dislocated his left shoulder. With his arm dangling from his side, Walsh was forced to fight southpaw. Walsh showed a lot of guts fighting the final round with one arm, but Akale’s lack of aggression helped Walsh survive.

It’s hard to know what to make of Walsh as a fighter. He’s a good athlete with some power, but he’s far from highly skilled, and as much as Walsh swears, he’s not trading on the legacy of his famous grandfather, Muhammad Ali. If Walsh were entering the ring as Nico Walsh instead of Nico Ali Walsh, I’m not sure the boxing community would pay him a lot of attention. Nothing about Walsh suggests he will ever be an A-list fighter. Certainly not taking a 6-rounder against Akale, a man who is 36 years old, didn’t start boxing until he was 29, and has a TKO loss on his record against Cameron Krael from last June, a boxer who entered the fight with a 19-27-3 record. After the bout, Walsh spoke up for his honor, saying he turned down a multi-million dollar exhibition fight against Jake Paul to fight a real fighter. The problem is Walsh only fights against C-fighters in bouts that have been almost exclusively six-rounders or less. One could argue that if Walsh isn’t willing to raise his level of competition, he is essentially fighting exhibition fights based on his name value, not his fight value. Long story short, it’s time for Walsh to step it up and risk being exposed.

Highlight From The Deep Undercard

Emiliano Vargas (11-0, 9 KOs), son of former champion Rafael Vargas, scored a first-round KO over Jose Zaragoza (9-p-2, 3 KOs) in a Super Lightweight bout. Of all the prospects on the deep undercard, Vargas is the most exciting, and if you had to pick one among them most likely to be a future world champ, this is the guy.

David Phillips

David Phillips has been writing on boxing for just over a decade for The Sweet Science and NY Fights. He runs his own blog dedicated to the appreciation of classic and overlooked films, reelreframe.com, and writes on film and television for Awards Daily. His essay “My Black Grandpa” was shortlisted as “Best of Folklore” by The Bitter Southerner in 2018. Author of Goodnight to the Peoples. You can follow David on Twitter @BrotherJulius83

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