Teofimo Lopez to face Steve Claggett in June title defense

Teofimo Lopez will reportedly fight Steve Claggett next.

Teofimo Lopez will face Steve Claggett in a June 29 title defense, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Coppinger.

The 34-year-old Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KO) is a veteran from Calgary who has never truly been near the actual world class level in his nearly 16-year pro career, but Lopez (20-1, 13 KO) was pretty upset that Jamaine Ortiz didn’t stand still and let him beat him up in February, so they were looking for someone who doesn’t do much moving or defense. Claggett does fit that bill.

To give some deserved respect, Claggett is very tough and you get your money’s worth watching him fight. And, perhaps, if Teofimo has slipped as badly as some believe, this could be more of a struggle than will be expected.

But style-wise, this would rather clearly be an attempt at TV video package image rehab for WBO super lightweight titlist Lopez, who was once loudly heralded as “exciting” and has been anything but for two-and-a-half years at this point.

Claggett has won nine straight fights dating back to 2021, but all of it has come against limited opposition. His career record in Canada is 35-2-2, meaning he is just 3-5 outside of his home country, and specifically he’s 2-4 in the United States. His last win on American soil came back in 2016, when he won a 10-round split decision over Emanuel Robles.

At the moment, Claggett is listed to fight Mike Ohan Jr (19-2, 9 KO) in a 10-round bout on April 11 in Montreal. That could be scrapped, or it could be Claggett taking a final tune-up. He did just fight on Jan. 25, beating Marcos Gonzalez in two rounds.