WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez lived up to his nickname “The Takeover” as he defeated Steve Clagett in a dominant 12-round decision on Saturday night.
Teofimo's disability and fun interactions
Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) landed the cleaner, stronger and more accurate punches throughout the bout. He fought with his back against the ropes, handicapping his Rocky-like limited opponent Claggett (38-8-2, 26 KOs) and making the bout competitive and entertaining for the fans.
Claggett's best performance came in the early rounds, when Teofimo lay motionless against the ropes, trading punches with the challenger at close range. Throughout the first quarter of the bout, Claggett landed punches that raised Teofimo's brow but never hurt him.
Theo was smiling throughout the match, letting his opponents and fans know he was enjoying the close action.
Teofimo was more active in the second half of the bout, forcing Claggett to chase him and go for the strikes. From rounds six through 12, Teofimo landed a lot of uppercuts, but the 34-year-old Claggett was able to parry them well.
That punch would knock out most fighters in the 140-pound division, but not Claggett, who has only been knocked out once in his lengthy pro career and has fought bigger punchers than Teofomo.
Lopez's strategic shift
In the 12th round, Teofimo stopped moving and went head-to-head with Claggett, both of whom were hit with powerful head shots. Teofimo moved in time with the punches and was not hurt, but a hard right punch from Claggett caught Teofimo's attention. It landed with a nasty thud and shook his head.
The final scores were 120-108 and 119-109 in favor of Teofimo.
It's unclear where Teofimo plans to go next. He has said he wants to move up a weight class and fight Terence Crawford, but that's unlikely to happen.
Teofimo's promoter, Bob Arum, would like Teofimo to next challenge Brian Norman Jr. for the WBO welterweight title, but Teofimo seems reluctant to do so. Norman has much more striking power than Claggett and is only 23 years old, making it a tough fight for Teofimo.
