Teofimo Lopez vs. Steve Claggett: Tale of the Tape

We analyze the credentials of Teofimo Lopez vs. Steve Claggett as the pair get set to battle it out for the WBO super lightweight world title at the at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida, in June.

Lopez produced an underwhelming display in a points win over Jamaine Ortiz last time out and will be hoping for a better showing in the next defence of his WBO belt.

Claggett will be fighting for a world title for the first time but he comes into the bout in good form after nine successive wins.

Fighter Bio	Teofimo Lopez	Steve Claggett
Odds:	-900	+550
Age:	26	34
Nickname:	The Takeover	Dragon
Height:	5ft 8”	5ft 8”
Reach:	68.5”	70”
Weight division:	Super lightweight	Super lightweight
Record:	20-1 (13 KOs)	38-7-2 (26 KOs)
Titles:	WBO light	None
Last Fight:	W (UD) Jamaine Ortiz (February 2024)	W (KO) vs Marcos Gonzalez Barraza (January 2024)

Read Teofimo Lopez vs. Steve Claggett fight date, ring walk times, undercard, odds & how to watch on site.

Teofimo Lopez In Profile

Lopez has become somewhat of an enigma among boxing fans. He has put in some truly outstanding displays since becoming a world champion that seem to back-up his ‘The Takeover’ moniker, but he has also underperformed against opponents he has been expected to beat comfortably.

Lopez was lucky to avoid an upset against Ortiz in his last bout earlier this year and that is perhaps why Claggett has been lined up for his next title defence, as the Canadian may be the ideal opponent for Lopez to put on a bit of a show against.

Ortiz proved to be a defensive master who was able to frustrate Lopez throughout their contest. Claggett will be another game challenger and he should relish this chance to fight for a world title for the first time at the age of 34, but his defence is perhaps not his biggest strength.

Lopez enjoyed an impressive amateur career and represented Honduras, where his parents are from, at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. He made his professional debut later that year, defeating Ishwar Siqueiros in the second round.

Lopez recorded five straight stoppage wins before being taken the distance in a six-round affair by Christian Santibanez, winning that bout via unanimous decision.

The 26-year-old secured his first regional title in 2018 by stopping the 25-1 William Silva in the sixth round, and picked up further regional belts in bouts with Mason Menard, recording a first round KO in that win, and Diego Magdaleno.

Those victories set him on a path towards a first world title challenge and in 2019 he faced the undefeated Masayoshi Nakatani in a final eliminator for the IBF world lightweight title.

Lopez went 12 rounds for the first time in his career as he claimed a unanimous decision win over Nakatani to secure a first shot at a world title against champion Richard Commey, who he defeated in devastating fashion, ending the fight in the second round with a huge right hand.

The Takeover produced the performance of his career to date in his next bout as he defied the odds to claim a unanimous decision win over Ukrainian superstar Vasyl Lomachenko to become a unified lightweight champion.

However, he followed that up with a poor display against Australia’s George Kambosos Jr. and was beaten for the first time in his career.

Lopez beat Pedro Campa and Sandor Martin in a pair of comeback fights before returning to world level against the unbeaten Josh Taylor and then Ortiz. 

Taylor is a former undisputed super lightweight champion but only held the WBO belt by the time he lost to Lopez, who became a two-weight world champion after his decision win over the Scot. 

Strengths	Weaknesses
Speed	Application
Power	Inconsistency
Technique

Steve Claggett in profile

Claggett made his debut some eight years before Lopez’s first professional bout with a majority decision win over Brandon Carlick in Edmonton.

The 34-year-old won his first four fights before being held to a draw by Dave Petryk. Claggett picked up seven more wins before suffering his first defeat in his first fight outside of his native Canada, losing on points to Romeo Jakosalem in the Philippines.

Claggett has enjoyed some success at regional levels. In 2013, he stopped Francesco Cotroni in the sixth round to claim the Canadian welterweight title. He has also won a title on US soil, beating Emanuel Robles to win the NABA lightweight strap.

Claggett’s last defeat came at the hands of Mathieu Germain in 2021 and he has since managed nine straight wins to set up this world title shot. However, he has rarely campaigned outside of his homeland and he has a losing record outside of Canada of 3-5 - and 2-4 in the US.

His last bout came in January as he stopped Mexican Marcos Gonzalez Barraza in the second round in Montreal.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Power	Defence
Form	Movement
	Lack of experience at world level

Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.