Teofimo Lopez, WBO light welterweight champion, insists that his opponent, Steve Claggett, will not be his easy fight this Saturday night, June 29, in their twelve round main fight at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida.
(Courtesy: High quality)
The Elusive Mega-Money Fight
Fans feel that the 35-year-old Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KOs) is another chip shot for Teofimo (20-1, 13 KOs) to ensure he doesn't get beaten again.
Those money fights have not been available to Teofimo, due to his loss to George Kambosos Jr. and controversial victories over Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz.
What has been missing from Teofimo's game over the past few years or the strikingly bright goals he's consistently scored leading up to his 2020 fight with Vasily Lomachenko? That fight changed Teo into a fighter who had a hard time trying to win by decision.
Apart from that fight, Teofimo always chose to face opponents where he was the favorite, which led to his matches not creating noise for the fans. Teo's popularity, or lack thereof, is the direct cause of his tendency to only take gimmes, and he's too shocked to understand that.
“My thoughts on Steve Claggett are the movie Rocky Balboa. I'm Apollo Creed, and that's what I think about,” said Teofimo Lopez on Sean Zittel's YouTube channel. “I ignore him. You will bring out the best in me in this fight.
Claggett has too many defeats to step into the Rocky Balboa mold, and fans aren't buying Teofimo's excuses for why he's using the guy as his opponent. They think it's just another soft pick for Teofimo, who hasn't faced a professional fighter since 2020.
Teofimo made a big production about his fight with Josh Taylor, but that guy was washed, out of work for a year and won the controversial Jack Catterall in February 2022.
“I choose those types of fighters to bring the best to me. I want to see what else I can do. Some champions in my weight class, even though I am ranked and number 1 in the division, want to join these guys,” said Teofimo.
Teofimo, 26, could increase his popularity if he could reach outside his comfort zone by moving up the weight class to 147 to take on Jaron 'Boots' Ennis and Brian Norman Jr., but that would require courage.
It will also involve Teofimo giving up his habit of fighting only. He's only had one fight in his career where he wasn't considered the favorite, against the older, younger, injured Vasily Lomachenko.
“We want to do these big battles. However, they have their own agenda. They have their own plans for their fighters. All I can do is stay busy. That is the most important thing in everything I need right now,” said Teofimo.
Teo won't get those big fights he wants unless he takes on some of the bigger fights, like Shakur Stevenson and Keyshawn Davis.
If Teofimo isn't willing to move up to 147 to fight Jaron Ennis or to 154 to fight the killers in that division, he needs to at least take a few risks against Keyshawn and Shakur.
“If I'm not well prepared, this is a really tough fight,” said Teofimo about his title defense against the unknown Claggett. “This will look bad on my record if things go well for him. Since I have that winning mentality, I believe I will win it with flying colours.”
Yes, Teofimo is prepared for the Claggett fight because this is a journeyman fighter he is facing. How can Teofimo be prepared for that kind of enemy?
He can beat this person even if he is unprepared, which says a lot about the type of matchmaking they do for him. They should not trust Teofimo to include Claggett.
“I'm looking forward to a good game. We have the best partners in the world. They know what they see and what will happen on June 29,” said Teofimo.
After Teofimo's last fight against Jamaine Ortiz, it is understandable why he is looking forward to the Claggett fight. That was a nightmare for Teofimo, as he was knocked out for the entire twelve round fight and booed by the fans afterwards.
“Steve Claggett is a great striker and a pressure fighter. The guy doesn't stop throwing punches, he comes forward, and the guy doesn't take a break. These guys are by no means easy fighters. It's not easy. They are tough, tough, tough fights,” said Teofimo.
It's not attractive to hear Teofimo call Claggett a very cautious striker because that suggests that he is his punching bag and not someone who will be able to win this fight.
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