Watch the full fight highlights of Teofimo Lopez vs Steve Claggett in this intense boxing showdown! 🎥🔥 Teofimo Lopez defends his title against the tough challenger Steve Claggett in a battle filled with power punches, slick defense, and non-stop action.
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00:00We are ready for our world title fight from here in Miami.
00:11Teofimo Lopez looking to defend against Steve Claggett.
00:15Of course, we've seen Teofimo Lopez at his best at Madison Square Garden in Vegas,
00:20but he spent critical years here in South Florida.
00:23And now he returns home to face this man from Calgary, Canada, Steve Claggett.
00:30His first world title challenge.
00:33It comes as a 15-year veteran.
00:37He's put in all the work.
00:39He's had ups and downs.
00:40He's been on a win streak of late of nine fights.
00:44And he feels very confident and comfortable that he can apply his style in his way
00:52and bring the fight to Teofimo Lopez and pull off a shocking upset.
01:00To be true of our mercy.
01:02B-C-R-O, K-R-O, K-R-O, K-R-O, K-R-O, K-R-O, K-R-O.
01:18Shake it off
01:28Shake it off
01:30Shake it off
01:38Shake it off
01:42And take it off
01:48Whooa a rat
01:54We are not affected
01:56They don't remind
01:58They don't win
02:00You never know about them
02:02Don't wanna see the future
02:03You never need to be
02:05The pandemic
02:07The flames in their eyes
02:08You're not so clear
02:09They are so offended
02:11Just prose
02:12You do
02:13You never wonder
02:15And it's nothing
02:16You have to love
02:16I don't want consolation
02:18He says he's happier than he's been in a long time.
02:48And he's showing it right now.
02:50The lineal, Ring Magazine, and WBO Junior Welterweight World Champion,
02:56the takeover, the showman, Teofimo Lopez.
03:18Ladies and gentlemen, welcome inside the James L. Knight Center here in beautiful Miami, Florida.
03:36This is Boxing.
03:37This is Top Rank, presented by Hall of Fame Boxing promoter, Mr. Bob Arum.
03:42We are brought to you this evening by AutoZone.
03:45Get in the zone.
03:46By Drafting Sportsbook, download the app now.
03:49By C4 Energy, energy that hits.
03:52And by Twisted T, Hard Iced T, keep it twisted.
03:55We are sanctioned by the Florida State Athletic Commission.
03:59Executive Director, Timothy Elshipman.
04:01Ladies and gentlemen, this fight is scheduled for 12 rounds for the Ring Magazine
04:06and WBO Junior Welterweight Championship of the World.
04:11Our judges at ringside, Lisa Giampa, Efren Delbron, Steve Weisfeld,
04:18and the man in charge at the sound of the bell is Mr. Louis Pabon.
04:23And now, to everyone here in attendance, inside the James L. Knight Center, Miami, Florida.
04:32And to everyone watching on ESPN.
04:37This is Boxing.
04:39This is Top Rank.
04:41And oh, baby!
04:44This is the main event.
04:46This is the main event.
04:47Introducing first, out of the blue corner, presented in association with Eye of the Tiger,
05:00with head trainer Michael Gatwa.
05:02He weighed in at 139.5 pounds, wearing black trunks with red tiger trim.
05:10His record, 38 victories, 7 defeats, 2 draws, 26 of those victories coming by way of knockout.
05:21He is making his first attempt at a world title from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
05:29Steve the Dragon!
05:33Calaget!
05:34Introducing out of the red corner, presented in association with TakeOver Promotions,
05:48with head trainer Tiafimo Lopez Sr.
05:52He weighed in at 139.4 pounds, wearing platinum with gold and royal blue.
06:00His record, 20 victories, with one defeat, 13 of those victories coming by way of knockout.
06:09He is a two-weight lineal world champion.
06:13He is the former WBA, IBF, WBO, WBC franchise, and Ring Magazine lightweight champion of the world.
06:24He is the reigning, defending, WBO, and Ring Magazine junior welterweight champion of the world,
06:37from Brooklyn, New York, the TakeOver, Tiafimo Lopez!
06:45Yay!
07:07Come on! Come on!
07:08Okay, guys, I give you instruction in the dressing room.
07:15They're having a clean match, okay?
07:17Good luck.
07:18God bless you.
07:19Joe Tessitore and the man who once held this WBO Junior Welterweight World Championship belt,
07:27Chris Algieri on the call ringside.
07:29Chris, I want to get back to a couple points of conversation about this fight that we discussed earlier tonight,
07:34but specifically Teofimo Lopez.
07:36As you saw that ring walk, you saw the joy, you saw the happiness, the bounce in his step.
07:41When he has been at his best, the week of the Josh Taylor fight,
07:43it was complete chaos where there were so many doubters with some of the behavior out of the ring.
07:48That is not what we've seen this week.
07:50Yeah, I was actually a little concerned.
07:51I mean, the Lomacheco fight week was very similar.
07:54It was mayhem.
07:54It was chaotic.
07:55And it seemed that that's when Teofimo does his best work.
07:59And this week he's been very calm.
08:01I wonder if he is going to be switched on tonight.
08:03Now, the other point is you say, don't dismiss Steve Claggett.
08:09There are reasons why he could be a live dog and make this a more challenging night than many expect against Teofimo.
08:16And we're seeing it already.
08:17He's already been able to pin Teofimo across the ropes a few times.
08:20He's got kind of frantic motion.
08:22He's getting inside.
08:23He's not getting hit with any big shots yet.
08:25And the way to beat a counter-puncher is to overwhelm them with volume.
08:28That's exactly what Claggett does.
08:33Teofimo.
08:34Getting out to the left.
08:35Claggett.
08:36Staying on top of him.
08:41Claggett's the kind of guy who...
08:41He's the right hand to the body.
08:42Claggett's the kind of guy who wants to put his head on your chest and bang away with both hands.
08:46Averaging 100 punches a round.
08:49Well, when it comes to CompuBox superlatives, look no further with Steve Claggett than what he did in November of 2023 in a fight.
08:59When he produced 512 total connects and 417 landed power shots.
09:07Now, I know not everybody are boxing geeks out there like us on this group.
09:10But the 500 total connect club, that is a line that you cross.
09:16That's rare air, Chris.
09:17Very, very rare group of people to get there.
09:20I mean, that's super impressive.
09:21Did that recently.
09:22It's awesome.
09:23He's 35 years old.
09:23He's still throwing those numbers.
09:27And even tonight, I mean, he's landing more, especially with the jab, than I would expect this early on.
09:37Staying tethered to Teofimo as he follows him right into that.
09:40Mutual corner.
09:47A lot of times, guys who are this aggressive and throw this many punches, they get you into that same game.
09:53You already see Teofimo taking some of the power off those shots, trying to match the volume of Claggett, which I don't think is a good idea.
09:59He's going to have to beat the volume with power.
10:02Teofimo just dug that left hand to the body.
10:05Had a right hand moments before that.
10:10He's underneath from between the punches.
10:17A right hand to the body again from Teofimo as he looks to probe underneath.
10:21Claggett trying to burrow his way in again as we come to the end of round number one.
10:37There's Steve Claggett, his first ever world title challenge.
10:42We mentioned the 512 total punches connected on.
10:47And there it is, according to CompuBox, fifth highest figure in any 10-round fight.
10:51In the history of that company tracking fight, Steve Claggett put it forth.
10:57Of course, you recall Teofimo Lopez's only loss was to Cambosis, who also had a smothering style.
11:06Of course, Teofimo was dealing with so much that evening.
11:08The major medical issue that he endured that night at Madison Square Garden with that shocking upset.
11:16To the punch stats in round number one, a 16-10 connect advantage for the champ.
11:22You mentioned smothering.
11:24Claggett is very good at smothering his opponent, but still gets his punches off and generates some good pop on those shots.
11:31Nice body work there.
11:33Look for that left hand from Claggett.
11:34That's his best punch, whether it's high or low, but especially low to the body.
11:37He just hit a body shot the left hand moments ago there.
11:41On the inside against Teofimo.
11:43Teofimo goes to the body himself.
11:45Teofimo just targeted the body, landed three good, tricky body shots.
11:49Didn't slow Claggett down one bit.
11:56Already starting to see a little bit of frustration.
11:58Teofimo not comfortable with the fight being fought at this distance.
12:02He's going to have to get some respect and hit Claggett with something that makes him think twice.
12:05There's a left uppercut from Teofimo as Claggett remains right on him, pinned against him and throwing punches.
12:13Sweeping wide right hand from Teofimo.
12:17Now able to draw him straight back, trying to create space.
12:20Claggett just walks right with him.
12:21He's going to stay in that pocket and just keep throwing punches as best he can.
12:28Another thing about Claggett, you know, a guy like this, you wonder, can he take the shots?
12:32Well, he fights like this all the time, so he's going to get hit.
12:35So he is very sturdy.
12:37Been stopped once in his seven losses.
12:39His record's 38-7-2 in his 15 years.
12:43But more recently, he's been better on the back end of his career.
12:47He's on a nine-fight win streak, and seven of those nine are by knockout.
12:52You see some nice footwork from Teofimo to get out of that corner.
12:56But Claggett staying glued to Teofimo, even with a good right hand.
13:02Teofimo Lopez with that right hand, and he comes back with it again.
13:05And another one.
13:06See, this is what he needs.
13:06Getting a little bit of shimmy in those legs from that right hand across the top.
13:10Teofimo's a momentum fighter.
13:13Once he finds that momentum, he builds off of it.
13:16He's hyper-athletic as well.
13:19When he can showcase that, he is at his best.
13:21But you've got to have a little bit of room, a little bit of space to do so.
13:24Finding a home for that chopping right hand over the top.
13:26Being able to back, Claggett up a few times with it.
13:29And the body work.
13:31Nice push-off there from Teofimo Lopez.
13:37Trying to place that right hand between punches was Lopez.
13:40That's the thing.
13:41Lopez needs space.
13:42Claggett wants the opposite.
13:44That's why you see him pushing off every so often with that left shoulder,
13:47just to generate a little bit of punching room.
13:51Coming to the end of round number two here in our World Championship fight.
13:54Teofimo Lopez in Miami against Steve Claggett.
13:57AutoZone.
14:06Get in the zone.
14:09Beautiful weekend here in Miami.
14:11We are at the James L. Knight Center right on the Miami River in Brickell,
14:17which, if you blink, another skyscraper just went up.
14:21Round number three.
14:23Teofimo Lopez with a 42-27 advantage against the upset-seeking Steve Claggett.
14:30Total punches through round two.
14:32Claggett, as is always the norm, throwing more than his opponent.
14:35But the effectiveness only landing 18%.
14:37That's an interesting stat, though.
14:39It's not much more.
14:40He's forcing Teofimo to punch much more than he's used to.
14:43Teofimo's not that busy, normally.
14:46Of course, Teofimo Lopez is trained by his father.
14:50What are they saying, Bernardo?
14:51Yeah, his father wants Teofimo to work the body.
14:54That's going to be the key, but he's got to stay busy as well.
14:58Had a moment of success to the body in that last round.
15:00Yeah, he did.
15:01He focused on it.
15:02After Claggett landed a good left hook to his liver.
15:03I think what Teofimo really needs to do is he needs to use those cuffing shots,
15:07whether it's the right cuffing hook and then slide out to his right,
15:10or that leaping left hook that we saw four moments ago and then slide out to his left.
15:14He has to corral Claggett and not get stuck in these positions right here.
15:22Good level change there from Teofimo, creating openings.
15:26Nice uppercut.
15:27There's a right hand by Claggett.
15:29Teofimo gives an angle out to the right.
15:32Good body work.
15:33Two left hands to the body.
15:35Teofimo gives him one back with a right hand to the body in a three-punch combination.
15:38Dead center on that.
15:40Remember what I said, Tess.
15:41Teofimo's now taking the power off.
15:43He's trying to match the output.
15:45Oh, good uppercut.
15:45Nice uppercut.
15:46That got a little funky leg from Claggett as he came forward.
15:53Good uppercut.
15:54Landed here in the midst of round number three from Teofimo Lopez.
15:57And I'm sure what a pleasure it is for Teofimo Lopez to just not be opposite Jermaine Ortiz right now.
16:02Jermaine Ortiz, who was just the total opposite stylistically and strategy-wise of Steve Claggett.
16:08Rarely engaging in the fight.
16:10Teofimo struggled to cut off the ring.
16:11And now he's got a guy right in front of him coming forward throwing punches.
16:14I don't think anyone who's ever shared the room with Claggett has that trouble finding him.
16:17Nope, you're not going to worry about that.
16:18No, he plants his head on your chest and goes to work.
16:22Oh, the right hand.
16:22Teofimo punching between punches again.
16:24Claggett land the right hand, but Teofimo got the best of it.
16:28Three jabs in a row.
16:29Body work.
16:29Left uppercut.
16:30Teofimo straight right hand splitting the guard.
16:33Finding success here.
16:35Teofimo listening to his father's instructions.
16:37He's targeting that body.
16:38And you're starting to see, he's starting to be a little more physical.
16:40He's creating space.
16:41That's exactly what Teofimo needs to find his power like that.
16:44Right uppercut again.
16:45Wraps around with the right hand.
16:47Yeah, I foresee those uppercuts from Teofimo paying off big dividends as the fight goes on.
16:53Touch him with the left uppercut.
17:02As soon as Claggett's pace slows, he's in trouble.
17:06He will not be able to keep Teofimo off it.
17:08No, no.
17:09And then his only defense is going to be the outrageous, outlandish, volume-punching offense.
17:13But he has to take so much damage in order to do that.
17:14That's correct.
17:17Big finish for Teofimo.
17:20Big finish for Teofimo.
17:21Chen Bur brightness for Teofimo.
17:33Bound for pound to lead.
17:33Shakur Stephenson in action next week as he will have a top-of-defensiveness WBC's lightweight
17:38championship against Kartunien.
17:40That played in Newark, will be on ESPN.
17:43Oshaki Foster defends his belt against Robeson Conceisau next week in the go feature as well.
17:49Let's go back to that uppercut in the third round by Teofimo Lopez, Chris.
17:52Yeah, I mentioned last round that those uppercuts are going to pay dividends as this fight wears on.
17:55Here's Teofimo setting up, doubling up the right hand.
17:58Over and under.
17:59Great move against somebody who tries to put their head on your chest.
18:02Over and under.
18:04Great execution there by Teofimo Lopez.
18:07Got a little bit spaced last round.
18:08Bernardo, what are you hearing in the corner of Steve Claggett?
18:11Remind you that Mike Ruffa could not make the trip to the U.S., so Michael Gadbois is in there.
18:16He says, look, I need him to continue moving to his left.
18:20Take away Teofimo's right hand is the key and break him down.
18:24Just hit a right hand as he came straight in against Teofimo.
18:28Another right hand comes from Lopez.
18:31Yeah, those right hands are having an effect, but Claggett's very dogged in his approach.
18:34Pushing through.
18:35There's a body with a right hand.
18:46See, there's that leaping left hook and then slide it out.
18:48That's going to be a good weapon for Teofimo to create some lateral movement, get out, get some space,
18:52and make Claggett chase him down.
18:54Nice dig to the body there from Teofimo on the inside, but he gets called to the right hand as he gets tall, pulling out.
19:10Good body shot from Claggett.
19:18Left hook to the body from Claggett.
19:20Claggett has a highlight reel of left hook liver KOs.
19:25It's his favorite punch.
19:26Oh, there's the uppercut from Teofimo Lopez.
19:38That was a tricky shot.
19:39Took an angle and delivered it.
19:41Tried to come back with it.
19:42Now wraps around with a wider right hand.
19:45Claggett's rocked right now, but he's pushing forward because that's all he knows how to do.
19:48Oh, he gets it again.
19:49Finding that target here in round number four.
19:53Yeah, the space is trouble for Claggett.
19:55At mid-range and longer range is where Teofimo is going to hit those shots.
20:11I think that's the longest I've seen in this fight where Claggett didn't throw a punch.
20:14Yes, and as you said, when he stops throwing is when he's going to be in trouble.
20:19Well, he found himself in trouble here in the past minute.
20:22Yes, as soon as his pace slows, this fight's going to change dramatically.
20:27Four-punch combination from Teofimo.
20:31Wide right hand that lands.
20:34This is a dominating fourth round for Teofimo Lopez.
20:38Goes to the body with a right hand.
20:40That was a very impressive fourth round from Teofimo Lopez.
20:51We'll get to the punch that's in a moment.
20:52First, Mark Kregel.
20:54Four rounds to none.
20:56But the weird thing is that Claggett has succeeded in making this fight exactly the kind of fight that he wants to do.
21:02And he's, in a certain way, imposing his will.
21:05He has an incredible ability to remain undiscouraged.
21:09If Teofimo wants to make it a little bit easier on himself, he might try a jab once in a while.
21:12All right, now as for the punch stats in round number four.
21:15He was 29 of 100.
21:19Prior, he threw 96 in the third round.
21:21But then comes back and throws 100 punches in the fourth round.
21:24And that is a career high, according to CompuBox, for Teofimo Lopez.
21:29It's a tricky, tricky stat, Tess.
21:32I'm telling you, Teofimo's not used to working that hard.
21:35Claggett is making him work.
21:37Let's see how this fight plays out as we go on.
21:39If Claggett can survive these rounds, how much will be in the gas tank for Teofimo Lopez down the stretch?
21:44Get him out of here!
21:45This is the least aggressive I've seen from Claggett.
22:03He's the aggression in a full minute.
22:11Level of competition changes the way you fight, doesn't it?
22:14This is the first world-class, world-championship caliber opponent that he has faced.
22:20First time he's ever fought for a title.
22:23Been a pro for a long time.
22:26Teofimo Lopez turned 11 years old, and six weeks later is when Steve Claggett became a pro fighter.
22:3335 is 35.
22:35Steve Claggett is 35 years old.
22:36This kind of output, fighting a very sharp, young champion.
22:44Claggett comes in behind the jab, two right-hands after that.
22:55Claggett has this tricky left hook that he throws.
22:57He actually dips down, doesn't see the punch land.
22:59Throws a looping left hook as he drops his head to the right.
23:02He actually landed that on Teofimo.
23:05It's the kind of shot you don't see.
23:06He can catch you off guard.
23:16Teofimo's consistent body work has played a major role in these last few rounds.
23:21A little bit of redness around the left eye of Teofimo Lopez.
23:25Yeah, Teofimo's one of those guys.
23:26He's got that skin that marks up.
23:28But also, he's been getting touched up more than we're used to seeing him.
23:31And 350-plus punches have been coming his way.
23:39That's what Teofimo needs to do.
23:41Once he creates that distance, make him run into that jab.
23:46Shoulders in the way as we come to the end of round number five.
23:50Big crowd in Miami to see the junior welterweight world champion, Teofimo Lopez.
24:02Down number six.
24:03He has a 123-67 connect advantage, does Lopez.
24:07By the way, you notice on the score bug down in your left corner, a change for Teofimo Lopez.
24:13Obviously, he's U.S. born, U.S. citizen.
24:17He has proudly displayed the Honduran flag, his parents from Honduras.
24:22And he has asked our production team to be represented with the Spanish flag for this fight.
24:29His grandfather, also Teofimo, originally immigrated from Spain.
24:33So, he has requested that the Spanish flag represents him moving forward.
24:43Teofimo coming out here in round six.
24:44Using his jab pretty well.
24:46Much better than he has in other rounds.
24:47Some stab jabs down low.
24:49Getting low, getting high.
24:52Plaga trying to cut off the ring, but...
24:54Plaga does a nice job keeping his elbows in.
25:04And we talked about the face marking up of Teofimo Lopez.
25:07Plaga's face is actually looking surprisingly good with all the leather he's been taking.
25:11It ain't pretty.
25:34It ain't that effective.
25:36But, he is imposing his will.
25:38The fight is being fought where he wants it.
25:41He wants to get away from that uppercut that's been so effective these last couple rounds.
26:06Right hand trying to get around the guard.
26:17Look at the bottom of the body.
26:18That hit that left elbow.
26:19No question, the harder, heavier shots.
26:30No doubt, you can hear it.
26:31From Teofimo.
26:32Yeah, you hear that slug, Chris.
26:34Plaga's more of a death by a thousand cuts type fighter, but I don't think he's landing enough for that.
26:38You mentioned the uppercuts for Teofimo Lopez.
27:04Of course, we saw the big one do damage in the third round.
27:07Take us through the night.
27:08Yeah, these uppercuts have been very, very effective.
27:10Gotten away a little bit in the last couple rounds, but here we see a nice uppercut.
27:14A lot of times, you got a guy who has that high guard defense.
27:16He's blinded by these shots.
27:18As long as it comes straight up the middle, slides in between those elbows, splits the guard.
27:23That was an interesting double left uppercut.
27:25Not something you often see, but again, this is what Claggett makes you do.
27:28You take the power of the punches to try and match his output.
27:34As we can see from CompuBox.
27:36And 41% of his power punches landed to Teofimo Lopez.
27:39Only 19% total punches landed for Claggett.
27:4418% on his power punches.
27:46Let's go.
27:59Claggett locked in, focused on the task at hand.
28:07Hey, more quickly, okay?
28:11Teofimo's thrown more punches than up to this point.
28:13The volume-punching swarmer has been outpunched by Teofimo Lopez.
28:26Oh.
28:26Right hand comes in from the champ.
28:29You know, a few rounds ago, it was early on, Claggett had mentioned Teofimo's right hook.
28:33I don't know if he said that if he had hurt him or if that was a good shot,
28:35but it was a topic of discussion in the corner of Claggett.
28:39It's Teofimo's right hook, and there we saw a couple of them that landed very flush.
28:52Claggett has an iron body.
28:54He's been eating vicious left hooks, especially on that liver side, the right side.
28:58He is a totally obsessed pro when it comes to training and his dedication to the sport.
29:09Says, I have nothing else in my life.
29:11Likes to do a little creative writing, most of it about training and boxing.
29:15That doesn't surprise me.
29:17Nope.
29:17Nice.
29:19Teofimo using that shoulder roll defense.
29:21And comes with the right hand.
29:22Which always leads to his offense.
29:26Claggett trying to go over the top with the right hand of his arm.
29:30There's that left uppercut again from Teofimo Lopez.
29:33But in true Claggett fashion, he comes right back.
29:37There it is again.
29:37Combination stays in the pocket and fires back.
29:44You know where to find him, and he's not going away.
29:47And that's the thing.
29:48Teofimo cannot admire his work.
29:50He lands a big shot.
29:51He's got to keep his head moving.
29:52Claggett's going to throw.
29:57Lean fight.
29:58Lean fight, okay?
30:00Okay, stop.
30:01Stop.
30:01Let's go.
30:19Those uppercuts, man.
30:22Teofimo finds those holes.
30:23Even for those little shots.
30:25Really surprised that Claggett's face is holding up to these shots.
30:29Those uppercuts usually damage.
30:32Good body shot in there from Teofimo.
30:34Whoa, whoa, whoa.
30:36Off your head.
30:40And one thing that Claggett doesn't get credit for, he's just tricky enough.
30:57He's not getting hit really clean.
30:59You know, he's in a position where he smothers your punch,
31:02so he's not getting hit at full power.
31:09Sending him back.
31:10Oh, a big right hand.
31:11He's really digging in on a series of punches.
31:27Here's an example of what I was speaking about,
31:42kind of admiring his work as Tiafimo.
31:45My coach used to say, don't wait for the receipt.
31:48Hit the guy and get out.
31:50He lands these good shots, and then Claggett comes right back,
31:54answers everything, even if he gets hit with a shot that hurts him.
31:58In that seventh round, Tiafimo Lopez landed 38 connected punches.
32:03That is a high total for him tonight.
32:09There goes O. There goes O. There goes O.
32:17Same look from Steve Claggett,
32:20and that same approach to walk three quarters away across the ring
32:24as soon as the bell rings and meet him.
32:29The word that comes to mind is undeterred.
32:31Yes.
32:46I was speaking with Tiafimo Lopez, father in the corner.
32:50He says, look, behind the jab, he can hurt him.
32:53He just has to keep going forward,
32:54and I'm comfortable with this pace.
33:02Right hand to the body again, wrapping around.
33:04Goes underneath, goes with the uppercut,
33:06left uppercut on the inside.
33:07Essentially what Tiafimo's stab is saying is that behind the jab,
33:16he can hurt him, meaning he needs to hit him with a shot he doesn't see.
33:18That's why the old one-two is so effective.
33:20The jab will blind you, and the right hand will hurt you.
33:24Claggett sees all these punches coming,
33:26or he's in a position where he's smothering the power.
33:33Doubling up the left hand, went to the body on the back end.
33:37I would like to know what Claggett does for Abort,
33:39because he's taking a ton of body shots.
33:41I know.
33:45That's that jab.
33:46Gets a little bit of room, spear and jab.
33:48He can put the two behind it.
33:51Now we're talking.
33:51That's exactly what Papa Tia wanted.
33:55Papa Lopez.
34:15Oh, yeah, it's the legs.
34:17The legs of Claggett.
34:19Oh, the big uppercut.
34:21Here comes the champ.
34:25And this is where Tiafimo is dangerous.
34:28Tiafimo in control.
34:30Claggett in trouble.
34:32Final minute of round eight.
34:36Drawn him in.
34:37You know which way he's coming.
34:40And gives Tiafimo opportunities.
34:42Pushes him back with the right hand.
34:44Uppercut.
34:44Another uppercut.
34:46Just missed with the left hook.
34:47Left uppercut.
34:49Claggett only knows one way.
34:53And Tiafimo taking advantage.
34:55You know he's coming in the front door.
34:56That's why I was saying that uppercut.
34:57Look at the hand position of Claggett.
35:00He's so heavy over his front foot.
35:02That head is going beyond that lead knee.
35:04Yep.
35:04So many opportunities for the lead uppercut.
35:06Or even the rear uppercut.
35:08Kind of like how we saw Robeson Ramirez in the co-feature.
35:11So Claggett damaged here in round number eight.
35:15And Tiafimo Lopez in complete control.
35:18One big last shot at the belt.
35:20First time that Steve Claggett has taken a seat on the score.
35:39Here we see that uppercut that we've talked about all night long.
35:55We had a great example of that.
35:56We saw Claggett's head so heavy over that front foot.
35:58That uppercut is there for Tiafimo Lopez.
36:01And it has been there all night.
36:02But he has finally broken through.
36:05Claggett's the kind of guy.
36:06He doesn't bend.
36:07He breaks.
36:09Tiafimo's looking to break that chin.
36:12As usual, Claggett comes back.
36:14Whenever he gets touched, he lets those hands go.
36:17And Tiafimo has a tendency to admire his work.
36:20He gets touched up at times.
36:23Mark Kregel.
36:25Hey, it's still a shutout, fellas.
36:27But I call your attention in the seventh round.
36:29When Tiafimo went to look at the ref.
36:30He's being tested here.
36:33Something Chris Algieri brought up earlier in the evening.
36:36Is his power the same as it was at 35?
36:39Or is this just Claggett's superhuman chin?
36:43Steve Claggett has absorbed a lot, to Mark's point.
36:46195 power punches landed.
36:50And you see the last round, where 29 were landed by Lopez,
36:54including the big uppercut.
36:56And aside from Claggett being hurt last round,
37:01it was his least effective offensive round.
37:04Tiafimo may be thinking about how he brings an end to this show.
37:10Tess, to your point about Claggett sitting down that last round,
37:14George Foreman used to always stand in the second half of his career.
37:17And I remember him as a commentator saying,
37:19Great combination.
37:20If you're going to stand, you need to stand the whole fight.
37:22You've got to commit to it, because you're telling your opponent,
37:24You got me.
37:32Wrapping him around with that left hook around the guard.
37:34Tiafimo probing.
37:36Knows the opportunity is going to be right in front of him.
37:38Yeah, it certainly seems like the resilience of Claggett is starting to wane.
37:55A lot of offense from Lopez tonight.
38:03Just waiting on Claggett now.
38:05Hyper-athletic, natural-born counterpuncher is Tiafimo Lopez.
38:12Claggett, not as relentless as he was.
38:36Tiafimo finding enough space, enough gaps, enough distance.
38:38To actually avoid these punches now.
38:40Not getting touched up nearly as much as he has in pass-arounds.
38:44And has made the land heavier, harder shots at a distance.
38:48Oh, good push-off right hand.
38:50Create space and deliver.
38:52Tito Trinidad was fantastic at that.
38:54Push-off with that lead left elbow, right hand over the top.
38:59Oh, the body, the body, the body, the body.
39:02Right hand lands there.
39:03Touching, touching, touching, touching.
39:11See if something a little more substantial comes behind it.
39:13See the head movement from Lopez.
39:44The defense on one end and then he gets to work on the other.
39:48Beautiful.
39:48Make him miss, make him pay.
39:49Tiafimo Lopez has great shoulder roll defense.
39:52When he finds that upper body rhythm, I said he's a rhythm fighter.
39:54Once he finds that rhythm, he's a very, very dangerous man.
39:57Beautiful stuff there.
39:58Making Claggett miss.
39:59And Claggett, who normally lets his hands go no matter what,
40:02is starting to keep those punches at home.
40:04Oh, you have a great combination with the uppercut, left uppercut in the midst of it.
40:13Tiafimo Lopez wants to prioritize activity this year, staying busy.
40:18Tiafimo Lopez wants to fight four times this year.
40:23Of course, he had to fight Super Bowl week out in Vegas.
40:26This title defense, which he is well out in front of,
40:30looking to bring it home against Claggett.
40:33And then he says early fall and December.
40:36He's at his best when he's busy.
40:38Well, this is a good fight for that because he's had to prioritize being busy in this fight.
41:03Oh, there's a right hand again.
41:16I was about to say, we've seen a second wing from Claggett here,
41:20but punches like that will knock that second wind out quick.
41:24And Claggett's going to know the kind of fight he was in tomorrow, isn't it?
41:27Oh, yeah.
41:28Oh, yeah.
41:29You're getting big punches from a big puncher.
41:33Especially those uppercuts.
41:37Those tend to stay with you.
41:46Oh.
41:49Right hand over the top.
41:50Left hook.
41:50Well-timed by Tiafimo Lopez.
41:55Again, catching Claggett when he finds space.
42:01Oh, chopping.
42:02Chopping right hand.
42:18Good right hand from Claggett there.
42:20Back comes Tiafimo Lopez.
42:22Nice little uppercut.
42:23Over-under combination there.
42:25And then slides out to his right.
42:26That's something that I think he should do more of
42:28so he doesn't get caught with his back against the rope so much.
42:44Claggett discussed all the years, all the work ethic,
42:47everything he had to put in just to get to this point.
42:50So, you know, he doesn't want to have any regrets.
42:53He wants to be true to himself with his effort down the stretch.
42:58I don't think he was going to question his effort.
42:59Nope, not at all.
43:00His heart, his will, his conditioning.
43:03He came here in great shape tonight.
43:04Otherwise, he wouldn't be here.
43:17Just a little bit of swelling.
43:19More pronounced around.
43:20That left route with Tiafimo Lopez.
43:24Look at that.
43:25Letting those hands go to close out round number 10.
43:34Six minutes to go as Tiafimo Lopez has been in complete control
43:38in this title defense against Steve Flaggett.
43:42269 punches landed.
43:43800-3 thrown.
43:45Those are both career highs for Lopez.
43:52Lopez has shown excellent conditioning tonight.
43:55Big output.
43:56A lot of punches.
43:57Big volume fight for him.
44:00Still looking sharp here in round 11.
44:04In Steve Klavik's corner, they say,
44:07look, it all starts with the body work.
44:09That sets up the right hook.
44:10And the only way to win this fight is with guts.
44:13It's in the championship rounds.
44:22Tiafimo accurate just picking his spots there.
44:27You see now, there's different power on the shots now from Flaggett.
44:30He's so uncomfortable and unaware if he's going to land the shots.
44:33He's taking some of the power off.
44:34Because every time he lets those hands fly, he gets touched up.
44:40Now we've got blood from the nose of Flaggett.
44:42That started to come about in the last round.
44:44Just ate another uppercut.
44:46It's about time.
44:47All the uppercuts he's been eating.
44:53Tiafimo such a snap on his punches.
44:55Still, even here in the 11th round,
44:57with all the output and volume that he's put out tonight.
44:59He has a viper approach.
45:00He has velocity to create that power.
45:02Yeah, so twitchy, so springy.
45:10Well, he knows that uppercut's going to be available.
45:12You can see him sitting, waiting on it.
45:17Maybe now, you see the power and the punches of Flaggett.
45:19They're barely even moving.
45:21They were bouncing Tio's head back early on.
45:24We're not seeing that anymore.
45:30Comes with the right uppercut again.
45:32Again, just like Tio Sr. said,
45:35I would love to see that jab from Tiafimo Lopez.
45:38Put the right hand behind him, finish with the left hook.
45:41Classic Fundamentals.
45:42Good attempt there.
46:08A little pull counter with the right hand from Tico Lopez.
46:10A little too high, though.
46:12Leaping left hook, right behind the ear.
46:22Beautiful shot.
46:24Leaps out to the left, seen him do that throughout his career.
46:30Now, triples up the jab, throws the right hand behind it,
46:33coming on strong here at the end of round number 11.
46:38Top-ranked boxing on ESPN.
46:40Presented by AutoZone.
46:44Get in the zone.
46:47The good crowd here in Miami tonight.
46:49We saw Nico Ali-Walsh with an unanimous decision.
46:54Robesi Ramirez, which, folks, you're going to be seeing that highlight for a long time.
46:58The left uppercut has scored the sensational knockout for the former featherweight champion.
47:03And now Tiafimo Lopez in complete control with three minutes to go.
47:07CompuBox has recorded career highs for Tiafimo Lopez tonight.
47:34Two hundred and eighty-seven punches landed.
47:38He's also had a career high with how many he's thrown.
47:41Eight hundred and eighty-one thrown.
47:47And now the twelfth and final round of our world championship fight.
47:50Claggett's landed like that.
47:56Oh, it's a right hand from Claggett.
47:58He landed like three hard left hooks right away.
48:00And then a good right hand on the end of that.
48:04Going to go for it.
48:05Now's the time to do it.
48:06Can't imagine that he's winning this fight without a knockout on anyone's goal card.
48:19Four punch combination from Tiafimo just as he was circling to his right.
48:39Stop and pop, finding the target.
48:41And we speak about the athleticism of Tiafimo Lopez all the time.
48:43There you saw that lateral movement, lateral movement, stops at a dime, fires four punches.
48:47Oh, good right hand.
48:53Well-timed uppercut.
48:56Diggs with a body shot as well.
48:57Looking for that right uppercut yet again.
48:59Giving angles now against Claggett.
49:02Level change with the jab.
49:06Well-conditioned, very athletic.
49:08Tiafimo Lopez is going to take this home.
49:10Yeah, unless Tiafimo rocks him, I don't really see him going for the knockout,
49:17doing anything extra than what he's doing.
49:18Another big right uppercut.
49:35Sends Claggett back for a moment.
49:38Taking and taking.
49:40That was a nice dip and rip right in between the elbows, up the guard, splits the guard.
49:44And Claggett keeps coming forward, takes it well.
49:47Yes, he does.
49:50Iron chin from the dragon, Steve Claggett.
49:52Oh, no, no, no, no.
50:17Steve Claggett earned his money tonight.
50:27Sure did.
50:29Another big right hand.
50:30Tiafimo.
50:33Here's the clap.
50:35Let's the hands go again.
50:36Tiafimo finishing strong.
50:39Oh, doubles off the punches.
50:40We've seen that before.
50:41Just having fun in complete control all night long against an extremely game and tough
50:48and willing Steve Claggett.
50:50Outclassed, outpunched by Tiafimo Lopez.
50:54Here we see some of this action from the fight.
51:07Early on, it was the unrelenting pressure of Steve Claggett, but Tiafimo Lopez landing those
51:13big shots whenever he created any kind of space.
51:16Early on, there wasn't much because Claggett was pinned to the chest of Tiafimo Lopez.
51:21But as the fight wore on, uppercuts became a huge weapon for Tiafimo Lopez.
51:26Body punches were coming over and over again throughout the fight, consistently landing.
51:34And there's that uppercut.
51:35But Claggett showed an iron chin.
51:37Kept pushing forward.
51:38Whenever he did get hit with shots, he would come right back just like that.
51:41Anytime that Tiafimo was looking at his work, he was getting touched up himself.
51:45But for the most part, once Tiafimo found his range, found his rhythm, he started building
51:51off that, started creating defensive opportunities that led to offensive opportunities.
51:55And man, there's that body work, up and down.
51:58Claggett forced Tiafimo to step up the volume, let those punches go.
52:03Anytime Steve Claggett gets outpunched in a fight, it's not a good night for Steve Claggett
52:06because he's a volume puncher.
52:09CompuBox numbers look this way.
52:10A record-setting night for Tiafimo Lopez in terms of punches landed and punches thrown
52:16career highs for him.
52:18Mark Kregel.
52:20Tiafimo Lopez won every round except the last.
52:24I didn't Claggett, the last, not just sentimental, I'm in awe of his chin, I'm in awe of his desire.
52:32I'm curious about Tiafimo's power, moving up in weight, and he did get touched tonight.
52:37Good night of work for Tiafimo Lopez.
52:48This division, junior welterweights has changed dramatically in the course of even recent months, Chris.
52:56Yeah, two months ago, it was a completely different face on this division.
53:02Bunch of upsets, new players coming to the division.
53:06And Devin Haney now being listed as a champion in recess.
53:11It'll be interesting to see what Tiafimo Lopez does as he looks to unify.
53:17Of course, gave talk to go into 147 pounds, but you can see him right here in his prime at 140,
53:23and the available opportunities that exist.
53:32Let's go to the ring to Mark Chinook.
53:34Ladies and gentlemen, after 12 rounds here inside the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida,
53:42we go to the judges' scorecards for the official decision.
53:45Lisa Giampa and Efra LeBron have it 120-108.
53:52Steve Weisfeld has it 119-109.
53:55All in favor of your winner by unanimous decision.
54:00And still, WBO Ring Magazine junior welterweight champion of the world,
54:07the takeover, Tiafimo Lopez.
54:12Folks, we invite you to go over to the ESPN app, ESPN Plus,
54:16for the state of boxing starting right now to hear from Tiafimo Lopez
54:20and all the analysis on this fight.
54:23Next week, we will be on ESPN.
54:25Saturday night with an 8.30 start time for Shakur Stevenson versus Artem Heratunian.
54:32Oshaki Foster also defends his title.
54:34The signature backflip for Tiafimo Lopez, who defends his title.
54:40Snow Angels in Miami, off to SportsCenter.