Teofimo Lopez vs Steve Claggett: Who Wins?

On Saturday night, the WBO junior welterweight crown will be on the line as the champion Teofimo Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) will be defending his title against Steve Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KOs) at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, FL live on ESPN. For Lopez, there are some potential mega fights on the horizon if he can successfully defend his title on Saturday. On the other hand, Claggett wants to ruin all those plans and capture the title, making him the fighter who will get big paydays in the future. Who will come out on top?

Which Version of Teofimo Lopez Do We Get On Saturday Night?

There isn’t any doubt that Lopez is one of the best young fighters in boxing who is also a champion but, in the past, he has been known to perform at the level of his competition. Lopez mailed it in a bit against Sandor Martin in December 2022, which almost cost him the fight. He walked out of the Madison Square Garden with a split-decision victory while famously asking Top Rank’s Gardy Lopez on a hot mic if he “still had it.”

He would return in June 2023 with a masterful performance over Josh Taylor, which led to him retiring after the fight, being elevated to super champion, and then unretiring. Lopez would face Jamaine Ortiz in February and barely squeezed out a highly contested unanimous decision. Lopez didn’t look like the fighter we saw against Taylor, and it set things back for him. Now he faces Claggett to hopefully restore the buzz he had after the Taylor fight.

Claggett was picked for his aggressive, come-forward fighting style, tailor-made for Lopez’s counterpunching ability. Lopez must use his athleticism, footwork, and precise punching abilities to defeat Claggett. If Lopez is in shape and can use his legs all night, then a late stoppage is not out of the question. If Lopez didn’t prepare well for Claggett, we could be in for a shocking decision.

Claggett Needs To Go For It Early In The Fight

Claggett doesn’t have a resume that jumps off the page, as the biggest name is former WBA junior welterweight champion Alberto Machado. He was part of a four-fight 2023 that were all victories for the 35-year-old Claggett. He would take that momentum into this year by stopping Marcos Gonzalez in the second round of their January fight. Although Claggett hasn’t fought in the U.S. since 2019, he’s kept himself busy and is now getting the biggest opportunity of his career.

How does Clagget win? He needs to catch Lopez by surprise and go after him early. George Kambosos did that in 2021 when he beat Lopez in November 2021. Claggett must go to the body immediately to slow Lopez down while making him use his legs more than he has in recent fights. If Claggett can establish this early in the fight, he may have a shot at stealing the late rounds, making the scorecards interesting.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ VS STEVE CLAGGETT PREDICTION

Teofimo Lopez is too smart and athletic of a fighter to succumb to Steve Claggett’s pressure so look for Lopez to catch Claggett coming in the late rounds and stopping him. Lopez by TKO between rounds seven and ten.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ VS STEVE CLAGGETT BETTING ODDS

Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Teofimo Lopez is the favorite at -1100, and Steve Claggett is the underdog at +650.

Teofimo Lopez: TKO/KO -145; Decision +160

Draw: +2200

Steve Claggett: TKO/KO +1100; Decision +1600

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TEOFIMO LOPEZ VS STEVE CLAGGETT DATE, START TIME

• Date: Saturday, June 29
• Start time: 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT
• Main event ringwalks (approx): 12:00 a.m. ET / 9:00 p.m. PT

These timings could change due to the length of the undercard fights. 

WHAT CHANNEL/STREAM IS TEOFIMO LOPEZ VS STEVE CLAGGETT?

• U.S.: ESPN, ESPN+ & ESPN Deportes
• UK:   Sky Sports

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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