MIAMI — Teofimo Lopez arrived at night with grandiose plans.
Maybe a jump to 154 pounds to fight future Hall of Famer Terence Crawford, who has looked unbeatable in recent fights. Or a jump to 147. It was all on the table.
And why shouldn't it be? Lopez, 26, is one of the most talented fighters in the world. At his best, he is an electrifying talent with a creative offensive arsenal. But it always depends on which of the Lópezes appears.
On Saturday, Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) failed to impress. He won easily, losing only one round on three cards. But he was fighting an opponent far below his level, an opponent carefully chosen to give Lopez his first KO in four fights.
Steve Claggett also fought as advertised. He stepped forward, telegraphed his punches and provided an easy target for Lopez, who did so by landing 315 punches to just 60 for Claggett (38-8-2, 26 KOs).
But when you draft a fighter like that (Lopez was a -1200 favorite, according to ESPN BET), winning isn't enough. Claggett had never competed in a 12-round fight before and lost seven times prior to this, all against lower-level opponents.
It's troubling that Lopez never came close to finishing Claggett, 34. Lopez stunned him in the eighth round with one of his many counter right uppercuts, but he never put Claggett in serious trouble.
And if Lopez is going to campaign at 147 pounds (or higher), he'll need more power to earn the respect of bigger and better opponents.
“I feel like this weight loss and everything, my body is growing, and even though it doesn't look like I can handle my own weight at 147, I believe I can,” said Lopez, ESPN's No. 1-ranked junior welterweight. “I really believe I can. And I want these great champions.”
López is something of an enigma. He barely made it past Sandor Martin, a quality fighter, in December 2022. Afterwards, cameras caught him asking his father and trainer: “Do I still have what I need?” Lopez then bounced back in a big way with a dominant decision win over Josh Taylor to win the lineal championship at 140 pounds.
That performance was followed by his February win over Jamaine Ortiz, during which boos filled the stadium for the lack of action. That wasn't a problem Saturday night, as Lopez never had to find his opponent. Claggett was right in front of him.
And for a fighter who had shown so much power at 135 pounds, it was a surprise to see Lopez land so many clean punches without any tangible impact.
Perhaps Lopez will quickly forget this performance with a quick return in September, when he plans to fight again. He seems to often fight at or below the level of his opponents.
In October 2020, Lopez was the underdog when he defeated future Hall of Famer Vasiliy Lomachenko to win the undisputed lightweight championship. In his first defense, Lopez was defeated by George Kambosos Jr. in the 2021 ESPN Upset of the Year.
There's no doubting Lopez's talent, but if he's going to challenge players like Crawford, he'll need to be much better to be taken seriously.
