Teofimo Lopez Jr. dominates Steve Claggett to retain the WBO/Ring junior welterweight titles

MIAMI, FL – The little engine inside his head went down. Besides, Teofimo Lopez Jr. he had given up trying to control his anxiety a few years ago. He thinks carefully. He is more relaxed. He learned to control the dark fear that would creep in from the outside and enter each battle.

That would be no more evident than this week, as he prepares for a WBO/Ring Magazine junior welterweight world title shot against Canadian Steve Claggett on Saturday night at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida.

It took a while, but Lopez Jr. he likes his meditation. His easygoing demeanor translated into the ring.

One of the most famous boxers made a show, starting with his ring tour, dancing to Michael Jackson. It failedwearing a white jacket trimmed with gold.

Lopez (21-1, 13 knockouts) finished by unanimous decision, winning by two counts, 120-108, and 119-109 on the other scorecard.

From the start, Claggett (38-8-2, 26 KOs) put the pressure on Lopez. He kept coming forward, throwing a jab. He may not have had much of them, but fists were always there. Lopez took as much as he could with his shoulders and arms. Unusual and hanging thin, Claggett is still bent forward.

Whether he will be able to maintain that kind of tempo throughout the 12 rounds will be the question.

In the second, Claggett tried similar tactics, trying to knock Lopez down. He seemed to hit Lopez with a million stones—not one. Lopez will retreat, luring Claggett forward. Lopez made plenty of shots in the second, although Claggett’s output seemed to drop off a bit.

In the third, Lopez hit Claggett with a left hook early in the round, and a few seconds later, he hit Claggett with a straight right. Lopez’s punches landed with a thud.

Lopez seemed to bounce back in the third, which was his best round at the time.

Lopez hit Claggett, who was face down, with uppercut lefts and right uppercuts, taking the Canadian’s head back.

By fifth, Claggett’s score dropped significantly from the first four rounds. He was still stalking Lopez, but he wasn’t coming in. Claggett seemed content at times to just touch Lopez, with little behind his fists.

Using his left shoulder as a battering ram, Lopez ran toward Claggett to start the seventh. Meanwhile, Claggett was throwing one punch at a time, and Lopez was pinning him with ease. He started playing at Claggett, and the tough Canadian could do little to stop him.

Claggett was brave. He kept coming forward, crawling more on Lopez than he was willing to sit down with his punches. Lopez plows Claggett with two rights to the jaw, then a right uppercut. Lopez made Claggett pay every time he came close, mostly with a steady diet of uppercuts.

In the ninth, Lopez continued his attack. He worked the levels well, hitting Claggett’s sides with rolling rights, and forcing his will behind his left shoulder.

Claggett kept coming forward bravely.

But it was clear that he was taking a slap.

At 10, it’s the same. Lopez hits Claggett with the above words, and Claggett takes them. Lopez finished the round with a blistering flurry that Claggett couldn’t answer.

In the final round, Claggett tried, to come forward, although this time he was greeted by a barrage of shots from Lopez. Then he was shot with a gun, then he was shot in the left shoulder, and then he was shot in the upper right.

Lopez closed the show with a big shot. As the final bell rings, the two soldiers embrace.