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Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing Insider
MIAMI — Teofimo Lopez glided around the ring with palm trees surrounding him back where it all started for the junior welterweight champion.
Lopez was born in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up in South Florida after relocating at the age of 5. It is near here, about 20 miles away in Davie, where Lopez began training in boxing a year later under the guidance of his father, Teofimo. Lopez Sr.
And that’s where Lopez returns at 26 – with his father still manning the corner – for his first professional fight in Miami, when he defends the WBO junior welterweight title against Steve Claggett (10 pm ET, ESPN and ESPN+).
Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) is once again looking to build momentum. He claims he retired last summer after an impressive victory over Josh Taylor to become a two-division champion. Then, in February, Lopez fought to a decision victory over Jamaine Ortiz in a non-event fight that drew boos.
Lopez, perhaps, just needs a break. He rested after his last fight, Lopez told ESPN earlier this month in Little Havana, and now feels rejuvenated.
“I think that he did a good thing for me; I think that overall I needed that,” said Lopez, ESPN’s No. 10 pound-for-pound boxer. “I trained after the fight with Josh Taylor. So you look like eight months of camp, really.”
For the second outing in a row, Lopez will face someone below the elite level. Against a well-made opponent in Claggett, Lopez can use another highlight-reel KO to create some buzz for a far-greater matchup in the future.
He is a uniquely gifted fighter, an athletic boxer-puncher with a creative offensive arsenal. Ana Lopez beat Vasiliy Lomachenko (2020) and Taylor. Both were eye-opening performances that made Lopez the lineal champion (Lomachenko at 135 pounds, Taylor at 140).
However, Lopez is also prone to letdowns. He was appointed by George Kambosos Jr. on ESPN’s Upset of the Year 2021. The fight – the first after Lomachenko’s victory – took place in November of that year in New York. It was originally set for June at LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins. Then he came down with COVID-19, canceling Lopez’s long-awaited homecoming fight and putting him out of action.
Lopez moved up to 140 pounds afterward, and Saturday’s bout will be his fifth at the weight class. The bout with Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KOs) was a busy fight. Despite 47 pro fights, the 35-year-old Canadian has never fought a 12-round fight.
Claggett was chosen, of course, because it presents an easy target to produce Lopez’s first KO victory since August 2022. Lopez is -135 to do just that, per ESPN BET, and -1200 to win outright.
“When he announced the fight with Claggett, I was surprised because he had to dominate and win no matter how long the fight went,” longtime matchmaker Eric Bottjer told ESPN. “… Lopez is in another world, so this fight shouldn’t be competitive. … It’s just an important time fight. Teofimo keeps busy, keeps his mind on boxing.”
Lopez called Claggett a “tough, tough” fighter. In other words, he won’t offer the same style, box and movement as Ortiz, which frustrates Lopez in close fights. Sandor Martin, whom Lopez did in December 2022, in the same way.
“Steve Claggett is just a progressive guy,” Lopez said. “… I don’t like guys who talk about it just to get a paycheck and not show up to fight.”
Regardless of the style of all three opponents, not one of them represents anything remotely close to a marquee fight for Lopez, a rising star with an outsized personality.
Lopez plans to return in September — “we got something in mind” — and hopes for a fourth fight in December. He said a big fight was “around the corner,” though it wasn’t clear when.
He seems frustrated that the other big names in the division, according to Lopez, don’t want to take the risk against him.
“Everybody just has to accept it: If you lose to Teofimo, you don’t lose to the worst,” Lopez said. “You lost to the best person. So just reacting to the fact that the loss is just a lesson for you to know that I’m just a better person.
The junior welterweight division Lopez sits on top of offers some intriguing options. Star boxer Gervonta “Tank” Davis competed at 140 pounds once and has negotiated a return. He is in talks to meet Lomachenko later this year in a lightweight title unification.
Another star, Ryan Garcia, was suspended until April 2025 after testing positive for a banned substance before his fight with Devin Haney. Haney just vacated the 140-pound title and looks to be headed to the welterweight division.
While Lopez has never campaigned above 140 pounds, he singled Terence Crawford, who challenged Israil Madrimov for the junior middleweight title on August 3.
“I was able to fight in ’54,” Lopez said. “… It doesn’t matter how big it is, it’s about your skills. It’s about how you fight, how you can handle it. As long as you have strong legs, you can go up in any. weight class.”
Lopez said that when he fought Taylor, he was 152 pounds that night while Taylor was 165.
“Is (Crawford) willing to do another big fight?” Lopez asked. “We’ll see. I just focused on cashing out and said, ‘Good riddance. I did my part.’
“But I can’t believe that a guy like myself who is so competitive would want to go out like that. You can’t say you’re the best; you have to face someone like me. s—, but I support it.”
In the meantime, Lopez will stay busy and in search of the one thing he can prove may be more elusive than his great enemy: consistency.
“We have some things to do,” Lopez said. “It’s okay. That’s part of it. I’m only 26. The way I fight looks like I’m in my prime in my thirties, but I’m not. I’m still a baby at this and I’m learning. So I think the best thing is that I know if I have time and time is my best friend.”
