-
Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing Insider
MIAMI — Teofimo Lopez came into the night with big plans.
Perhaps he'd move up to 154 pounds to face future Hall of Famer Terence Crawford, who had looked unstoppable in recent bouts, or he'd move up to 147. All sorts of possibilities were on the table.
Why shouldn't it be? The 26-year-old Lopez is one of the most talented fighters in the world. When he's at his best, he's a shocking talent with an inventive way of attacking. But it's always going to depend on which Lopez shows up.
Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) didn't impress on Saturday, losing just one round on three scorecards and winning handily, but he was fighting an opponent well below his level, one handpicked to give Lopez his first knockout in four fights.
Steve Claggett also lived up to the hype, coming forward with punches and making himself an easy target for Lopez, who lived up to the hype by landing 315 shots to Claggett's (38-8-2, 26 KOs) 60.
But when you're picking a fighter like that (Lopez was a -1200 favorite, according to ESPN BET), winning isn't enough: Claggett has never competed in a 12-round bout and has lost seven times, all to lower-level opponents.
It's concerning that Lopez was never able to finish off the 34-year-old Claggett. Lopez surprised Claggett with a series of counter right uppercuts in the eighth round, but never really caused Claggett any real trouble.
And if Lopez plans to fight at 147 pounds (or higher), he'll need more power to command the respect of bigger, better opponents.
“I've cut weight, I've grown physically and it doesn't seem like I can compete on my own at 147 pounds, but I believe I can,” said Lopez, ESPN's No. 1 ranked junior welterweight. “I really believe I can do it, and I want a great champion like that.”
Lopez is something of an enigma. In December 2022, he barely beat Sandor Martin, a talented fighter, and afterward, cameras caught him asking his father and trainer, “Are you still got it?” Lopez then bounced back in a big way, winning a dominant decision over Josh Taylor to claim the 140-pound title.
That performance was followed by a win over Jermaine Ortiz in February that drew boos from the arena after a lack of action during the bout. That didn't matter Saturday night, because Lopez didn't need to look for an opponent; Claggett was right there.
And for a fighter who has shown so much power at 135 pounds, it was surprising to see Lopez land so many clean punches without any visible impact.
Lopez will likely write this performance off quickly when he returns and fights again in September, as he often seems to match his opponents' levels.
In October 2020, Lopez defeated future Hall of Famer Vasiliy Lomachenko to capture the undefeated lightweight title, an unlikely feat at the time. In his first title defense, Lopez lost to George Kambosos Jr. in ESPN's 2021 Upset of the Year.
There's no doubting Lopez's talent, but he's going to need to get a lot better to be taken seriously against a guy like Crawford.
