Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank – For 12 rounds, Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) didn’t have to look far to find Steve Claggett (38-8-2, 26 KOs) in the ring.
A loss will always be a loss, but somewhere in the dictionary, the picture of the loss that Steve Claggett took against Teofimo Lopez won’t be far from the definition of ‘honourable.’
Steve Claggett tried everything for 12 rounds, but it was not enough to take over ‘The Takeover,’ as the judges handed out two cards of 120-108 and another 119-109, all in favour of Lopez. The streets saw Steve Claggett winning 0 to 3 rounds, while the 1st, 2nd and 12th were the closest. However, here is what we remember:
‘He was competitive every round,’ said Jean-Sebastien Fournier, often the apostle of common sense in the comments section of the boxing page of your choice.
With this performance and all the talent at Top Rank at 135/140 lb, Claggett’s phone should be ringing in the months to come. As for Teofimo, we almost feel bad. It’s impressive to outwork the Dragon. But those who cried mismatch will not admit their wrongs. It’s easier to talk about Lopez underperforming than to give Claggett credit, apparently…
BAM!
Meanwhile, in Phoenix and on DAZN, the 5’4” American Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) once again proved that he was a giant of the sport. He dethroned Juan Francisco Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs) in 7 rounds, sending ‘El Gallo’ to the land of suffering with a powerful body blow.
By once again taking the WBC 115 lb title, the 24-year-old Texan becomes world champion for the 4th time.
Already lb for lb #9 according to Ring Magazine, if he decides to go up to 118 lb, a fight with the 10th on the list, the Japanese Junto Nakatani (27-0, 20 KOs) would be the dream of any boxing enthusiast.
New champions
Without having to fight, two new champions were crowned this week: ‘Dynamite’ Daniel Dubois and Alberto ‘La Avispa’ Puello.
Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) gave up his IBF title to face Tyson Fury again in December. Former interim champion Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) has therefore become the sole master on board of the New Jersey federation. His first title defence – and not the least – is already booked against Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) at Wembley Stadium on September 21.
Without any surprise, Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) vacated his WBC super-lightweight title. The Dominican Alberto Puello (23-0, 10 KOs) therefore becomes full champion. He will now face the mandatory challenger Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs) and the winner of this one will then meet the American KO artist Gary Antuanne Russell (17-1, 17 KOs).
Tough Night for Góngora
Friday, in Washington, Carlos Góngora (22-3, 17 KOs) had a tough evening at the office. The Ecuadorian warrior was battered for 10 rounds against the impressive and heavy-handed Guatemalan Lester Martinez (18-0, 15 KOs) who officially enters the big leagues with this victory.
ProBoxTV commentators compared Góngora to a zombie because of the damage he took without folding. However, this time, he was unable to create a spark like in the 12th round against Akhmedov and, of course, the one his 8th round against Mbilli.
It will be interesting to see what happens next for him. Although he has only 25 fights, he will soon be 36 and has already taken his share of punches.
Akpejiori Was in Shape
The same night, but in the Dominican Republic, another former opponent of Quebec boxing had a more prolific fight. Arslanbek Makhmudov’s former opponent and Nigerian giant, Rafael Akpejiori (18-1, 17 KOs), earned his best career victory against local favourite Alexis Garcia (12-2, 7 KOs).
Doing a Tim Boxeo of myself, I watched the fight (free on YouTube) and it wasn’t very glorious to be honest. At one time, Garcia weighed 215 lb, but now, he’s north 250 and it showed in the ring.
Without impressing too much, let’s say Akpejiori won the fight because of his far superior conditioning, because after 6 rounds, a Garcia on the verge of an asthma attack decided to stay in his corner. All in all, it was as bad as entertaining!
And so, this is a third consecutive victory for the former tight end of the Miami U. Hurricanes. Makhmudov stopped him in 2 rounds in July 2023 and it’s still the only blemish on his resume.
Huck Is Back
The legendary cruiserweight – now heavyweight – Marco Huck (43-5-1, 28 KOs) made a successful come back after almost 4 years of absence. At home in Germany, he defeated Evgenios Lazaridis (19-6, 13 KOs) by unanimous decision.
It remains to be seen whether this comeback will continue since the 39-year-old former champion said he injured his hand at the start of the fight.
In the past, Huck has competed in 18 cruiserweight world-title bouts, 20 if we include the IBO. His championship record is 15-4-1, in addition to a 2012 meeting in which he almost became heavyweight champion against Alexander Povetkin.
The PG Agenda
Here are the 6 fights to watch this week:
Stevenson vs. Artem
Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) is at home in New Jersey to defend his WBC lightweight title against Armenian challenger Artem Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs). What’s interesting is that this is Stevenson’s final fight under his contract with Top Rank. Looking at his relationship with Bob Arum, it could be the end of a chapter.
Foster vs. Conceicao
However, the co-feature is VERY interesting. Texan O’Shaquie Foster (22-2, 12 KOs) will try to defend his super featherweight title for a third time. In front of him, the Brazilian Robson Conceicao (18-2-1, 9 KOs) will try to make a Sakio Bika of himself by becoming world champion on his 4th attempt.
Keyshawn vs. Madueno
Still on the same card, the excellent Keyshawn Davis (10-0, 7 KOs) will try to get his fight against Teofimo Lopez against Steve Claggett’s former opponent, Miguel Madueno (31-2, 28 KOs). Hypothetically, if Keyshawn beats Madueno as expected, and if Teofimo doesn’t call, a fight against Claggett could make a ton of senses…
Mason vs. Lebron
Again and again on this card, super-super prospect Abdullah Mason (13-0, 11 KOs) will be in action in an 8-round fight against Puerto Rican Luis LeBron (20-5-1, 13 KOs). Watch for it, everyone says it’s the future (from Bob Arum to Laurent Poulin). If everything goes as planned, he will even box in Quebec in August!
Zepeda vs. Cabrera
At Golden Boy, at the Toyota Arena in California, the Mexican terror William Zepeda (30-0, 26 KOs) is back against Giovanni Cabrera (22-1, 7 KOs). Totally incredible fact: Zepeda is currently the #1 of all federations at lightweight. So this will be very likely his last stop before fighting for a title.
Ioka vs. Martinez
Finally, Sunday in Japan, Kazuto Ioka (31-2-1, 16 KOs) will try to add a 7th belt to his collection by unifying the WBA and IBF 115 lb titles with the Argentinian champion Fernando Martinez (16-0, 9 KOs).
Happy Canada Day everyone!
