Teofimo Lopez, the reigning WBO light welterweight champion and one of boxing’s brightest stars, will face veteran Steve Claggett in the main event in Florida this weekend. Here is our Lopez vs Claggett prediction.
Lopez vs Claggett Prediction: What are the Chances for an Upset?
Teofimo Lopez Preview
Teofimo Lopez, known as “The Takeover,” currently has a record of 20 wins (13 of them by knockout) and 1 loss. Born in a family of immigrants from Honduras, he has been boxing since the age of six. He had a successful amateur career and even represented Honduras at the 2016 Olympics. He turned pro immediately after the Games.
In 2019, he won the IBF lightweight championship belt after beating Richard Commey. He then added the WBA, and WBO belts to his collection after defeating Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko and became the youngest unified world champion in lightweight history.
In 2021, he lost the belts to George Kambosos Jr. and this is his only defeat to date. He decided to move up to light welterweight, where he won twice before getting a title shot against Josh Taylor.
In his last fight in February 2024, he defeated Jamaine Ortiz by unanimous decision and defended the WBO light welterweight title for the first time.
Teofimo Lopez is known for his flamboyant fighting style and knockout power. He also has the ability to adapt to any fighting style and always finds a way to exploit the weaknesses and mistakes of his opponents.
His last several performances were not as convincing, however, and he showed some instability. Nevertheless, he is the clear favorite ahead of this bout. But before we make our final Lopez vs Claggett prediction, we have to analyze his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
Steve Claggett Preview
Steve Claggett is a professional boxer from Calgary, Canada, who began boxing at an early age. Claggett quickly made his mark on the Canadian boxing scene and would eventually make his professional debut in 2008.
As a pro, Claggett He won several regional belts, as well as the IBF International and WBO International junior welterweight titles. He has faced stiff competition throughout his career and has proven himself to be a skilled and determined fighter who never quits. He has fought notable opponents such as Chris van Heerden, Konstantin Ponomarev, and Emanuel Lopez.
Claggett enters this contest with a nine-fight win streak and a professional record of 38-7-2. Claggett is known for his aggressive style and toughness, making him a dangerous opponent for any fighter. He has a powerful punch and good technique, which allows him to hold his own even against younger and faster opponents.
However, his weakness is his lack of experience at a high level and his tendency to forget about defense. This could easily be exploited by someone like Lopez.
Our Teofimo Lopez vs Steve Claggett Prediction: A Hard-Fought Knockout
This fight promises to be intense and exciting given the styles and skills of both fighters. Lopez, possessing superior technique and power, will strive to dictate the terms of the fight from the first rounds. He has to use his advantage to neutralize Claggett’s early aggression.
Lopez will likely try to control the pace and try to land fewer but more accurate shots. Claggett will look to get close and take the fight into the clinch, where his aggression and toughness can play a key role.
Nevertheless, we have to side with The Takeover for our Lopez vs Claggett prediction. We believe that Lopez has improved his endurance and he will look better in a potentially long fight.
He has every chance to win given his experience, technique, and power. However, the fight will not be easy, and Claggett will be able to provide decent resistance, especially in the early rounds. We expect this to end with a knockout but not before the 7-8th rounds.
Vlad is a former amateur MMA fighter. After a series of injuries, he found a different way to connect with the sport and its fanbase - through writing. He's been covering everything-UFC for over 5 years on various platforms and has been part of the team at NYFights since early 2022.
