Teofimo Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) will need to put on a stellar performance to defend his WBO light welterweight title against the talented Steve Clagett (38-7-2, 26 KOs) tonight at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Fla. in a 12-round bout that will be televised on ESPN and ESPN+, with kickoff time at 10 PM ET.
Former WBO featherweight champion Robbie Ramirez (13-2, 8 KOs) will face Brandon Benitez (21-2, 9 KOs) in a 10-round quarterfinal bout.
Boxing 247 will provide you with live updates/results from tonight's fights below.
Lopez has to impress tonight.
The 26-year-old Teofimo faced Jermaine Ortiz in February of last year in what was the worst fight of his career, a near-disastrous defeat. Though Teofimo won the bout, many fans viewed him as a loser and the controversial win tarnished his image.
Lopez is confident he will shine in tonight's bout with the 34-year-old Claggett because Claggett is a slow-moving fighter and Teofimo is a real-life Rocky Balboa — a cipher and Claggett gets hit easily.
Clagett does have power, and if Teofimo chooses to play it safe and avoid war, Clagett could tarnish Teofimo's reputation.
Tonight's main event on ESPN+ and ESPN
Teofimo Lopez vs. Steve Clagett
Robbie Ramirez vs. Brandon Benitez
Arum's plans for welterweight against Lopez
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum would like Teofimo, if he wins tonight's fight against Claggett, to move up to 147 pounds to challenge Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 23 KOs) for the WBO welterweight title.
It remains to be seen whether Teofimio will reject Arum's plan to take on the dangerous puncher Norman or go along with it. Teofimio has said he wants to fight in September, which means he's willing to face someone else, like Claggett, to make some easy money.
Arum may need to force Teofimo to 147 pounds to take on Norman, as the risk is high and Teofimo likely won't be willing to take the bout.
Qualifiers
– Yan Santana vs. Brandon Valdes
– Rohan Polanco vs. Luis Hernandez Ramos
– Niko Ali Walsh vs. Sona Akhare
– Euri Cedeno vs. Dormedes Potes
– Lorenzo Medina vs. Colby Madison
– Brian Polaco vs. Richard Acevedo
