Ahead of the fight against Steve Claggett tonight, at the weigh-in, Teofimo Lopez had declared that the fight would not go the distance of twelve rounds. Having called himself a “happy” and “dangerous” fighter, Lopez advised the boxing world to not miss his fight. However, contrary to Lopez’s words, the fight went the distance and ‘The Takeover’ had to win via UD.

While both the boxers were greatly active and attempted volumes of punches, Teofimo Lopez was more accurate in the ring. So, as per the data published by CompuBox, ‘The Takeover’ landed 315 of the 946 punches he had thrown during the match. On the other hand, despite being out-landed by Lopez as far as total punches were concerned, Claggett had a busier jab as he landed 80 of them in the fight.

Although Lopez, staying calm, did more damage, Claggett displayed a commendable heart as he kept coming forward. So, one had to applaud the fight the Canadian boxer displayed for twelve rounds. Likewise, after the match, Lopez greatly praised Claggett whom he wanted to knock out. “He’s a tough fighter. I don’t think anyone should overlook him. He handled himself,” Lopez said of Claggett.

However, ‘The Takeover’ failed to impress the boxing world with his performance. Later, in an attempt to justify his fight, alluding to Muhammad Ali, the 26-year-old told the media that it was “not about skills” but “will.” Along these lines, while Lopez found Claggett’s conditioning impeccable, he carefully pointed out that he fought with asthma. But how did the boxing world react to Lopez’s latest win?

Fans decide who fared better

For some time Teofimo Lopez has desired to test his skills against Terence Crawford at catchweight. After tonight’s performance, it is hard to imagine Lopez inside the same ring as ‘Bud’ Crawford. So, one, echoing Will Smith, asked Lopez to “keep Terence Crawford’s name out of your mouth.”

Despite Lopez landing the majority of the punches, Claggett hung in there and displayed unconquerable will. So, Rosie Perez had to laud Claggett for “moving forward” despite “losing on points.”

In a follow-up, Perez expressed fascination at an uppercut that Lopez landed in the fight. She was equally surprised by Claggett’s endurance and ability to survive Lopez’s hands:

Although the underdog no one had faith in, Steve Claggett fought toe-to-toe. This earned him praise from Rick Glaser too. In his opinion, Claggett “has nothing to be ashamed of.”

In the past, Teofimo Lopez also called out Gervonta Davis. But given his performance tonight, can Lopez survive against ‘Tank’? One felt ‘Tank’ would KO ‘The Takeover’ “in under 8.”

Even Alycia Baumgardner had to praise Steve Claggett’s heart. Given how Claggett kept coming, Baumgardner thought he was “not scared of Teo.”

Steve Claggett entered the ring against Teofimo Lopez with seven losses on his resume. Yet, the match was no cakewalk for Lopez. So, Shakur Stevenson lauded how Claggett held his ground despite arriving with seven professional defeats.

With that said, what is your reaction to Teofimo Lopez vs. Steve Claggett? Are you impressed by Claggett’s performance too? Let us know in the comments below.