Teofimo Lopez’s next fight: Who could ‘The Takeover’ face after beating Claggett?
The Brooklyn native defeated the Canadian in an intense battle via unanimous decision and is now thinking about his next move.
Teofimo Lopez was expected to come out on top against Steve Claggett last weekend, and he did so, but it wasn’t as easy as many thought it would be.
‘The Takeover’ stepped into the ring looking to record a spectacular win but he was also aware that his rival was tough enough to give him a good battle. And that’s what ended up happening.
The fight was competed at a short range, with both men looking to brawl, clashing heads and shoulders while delivering punches and waiting to counterpunch each other. However, Lopez, aware of his boxing IQ and skills, also used his footwork to make Claggett chase him and take a breather from the Calgary native’s intensity and pressure.
Lopez, who landed the best shots and showed he was in great shape throughout the fight, dominated his opponent via a wide unanimous points win (120-108, 120-108, and 119-109). to retain his WBO and Ring Magazine junior welterweight titles.
Teofimo Lopez reveals who he would like to fight next
Although it wasn’t Lopez’s most impressive performance in his career, he was the better boxer and was never seen in trouble in a hard-fought clash.
The Takeover admitted after the fight the better the challenge is, the better and more confident he feels and added he would like to fight a big name next. And among those potential candidates, Isaac Cruz is a real possibility.
“I’m ready for it [a fight with Cruz]. I’m 26, and still learning this game. Nobody is going to fight like Steve Claggett. There’s only one fighter that is going to fight like him a little bit, and he’s smaller, and that’s Pitbull Cruz”, he said after the fight.
“Other than that, no other fighters fight that way at all. They all box. [Terence] Crawford boxes. He doesn’t slug in there. I do these types of fights for a reason”, Lopez stated.
To make a Lopez vs Cruz fight possible, the Mexican will first have to defeat Jose Valenzuela on August 3, when Pitbull will defend his WBA super-lightweight belt.