Teofimo Lopez shall be making a voluntary protection of his WBO gentle welterweight title in opposition to veteran #13 Steve Claggett on June twenty ninth on ESPN and ESPN+. The occasion shall be going down on the James L. Knight Heart in Miami, Florida.
Claggett is Teofimo’s child, a fighter that he needed, and selected over these top-level fighters:
– Raymond Muratalla
– Elvis Rodriguez
– Kenneth Sims Jr.
– Keyshawn Davis
High Rank’s selection of Claggett is uncommon as a result of he’s not well-known within the U.S. It makes Teofimo appear to be his promoters haven’t any confidence in him anymore after his current poor performances in opposition to Jamaine Ortiz, Sandor Martin, Pedro Campa, and George Kambosos Jr. Increasingly more, Teofimo is wanting like a one-hit marvel, one other Kambosos Jr.
On condition that it is a showcase struggle for Teofimo, it’s essential that he seems to be good. He fought poorly in his final struggle and misplaced within the eyes of the boxing public, which is not going to assist Teofimo’s reputation.
In reality, Teofimo’s reputation, similar to it’s, will drop from this struggle as a result of Claggett is extra journeymen-level. The timing of this match is horrible, with Teo coming off a present determination in opposition to Jamaine Ortiz final February.
Teofimo ought to have chosen to clear up the controversy from his struggle in opposition to Jamaine by giving him a rematch, nevertheless it’s probably that High Rank noticed the writing on the wall.
Jamaine confirmed that he’s the superior fighter to Teofimo, and in the event that they made that rematch, the judges may not bail Teo out the second time as they did final February. That might be Teofimo’s second profession defeat or third when you rely his match in opposition to Sandor Martin as a loss from their struggle in 2022.
With all of the choices accessible for Teofimo to struggle at 140, it’s telling that High Rank selected to match him in opposition to the perimeter contender Claggett.
That’s a pink flag that they haven’t any religion in Teofimo’s capability to beat good contenders, in order that they’re going to play it secure till they’ll line him up for a big-money struggle in opposition to Devin Haney or Ryan Garcia.
The choices aren’t nice for Teofimo at gentle welterweight, particularly if he retains performing like he did in his final struggle in opposition to
Within the chief assist struggle on the June twenty ninth card, not too long ago dethroned former WBO featherweight champion Robeisy Ramirez shall be preventing Brandon Leon Benitez in a 10-rounder.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy misplaced his title to Rafael Espinoza in his final struggle in December, and there are numerous questions on whether or not he’s bought what it takes to climb his approach again. Benitez is on the identical stage as Teofimo’s opponent, a mushy contact to assist Robeisy come again from his devasting loss.
