Teofimo Lopez defeats Steve Claggett to successfully defend his world titles, while Robeisy Ramirez produces knockout-of-the-year contender in devastating finish against Brandon Leon Benitez; Nico Ali Walsh avenges his defeat to Sona Akale in entertaining rematch
Sunday 30 June 2024 08:07, UK
Teofimo Lopez defended his WBO and Ring Magazine junior welterweight world titles with a unanimous decision win over Canadian contender Steve Claggett in Miami on Saturday night.
Claggett (38-8-2, 6 KOs), who was coming off a nine-fight winning streak, charged at Lopez from the opening bell. The 35-year-old had Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) against the ropes for much of the fight, where he landed short punches around The Takeover's shoulder roll defence.
Lopez used his head movement at close range to evade many shots, but he was more comfortable on the outside. The 26-year-old moved often to establish distance, connecting quick combinations around Claggett's high guard, including a flurry that hurt him in the eighth.
Claggett was aggressive at every moment, but Lopez's athleticism prevented him from mounting any significant offence.
Lopez retained his crown with scores of 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109.
Lopez said: "I knew exactly what kind of fighter he was. I knew he would come forward and test my conditioning. And that's what we had. We went 12 rounds.
"The will has to be stronger than the skill. And that's what we showed. If I was tired, I know he was more tired because I worked very hard for this. We knew we had to break him down. The body shots were hurting him.
"I'm very grateful. He's a tough fighter. I don't think anyone should overlook him. I knew that coming into this."
Former WBO featherweight world champion Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) stopped Mexico's Brandon Leon Benitez (21-3, 9 KOs) in the seventh round of the night's co-feature.
Ramirez set the pace early by hurting Benitez with power shots in the second and third rounds. Benitez tried to work on the inside, but Ramirez consistently created space for combinations either by pushing him off or using his feet.
In round seven, the two-time Olympic gold medallist began to move even more, touching Benitez with light punches. He then connected a devastating left uppercut that dropped Benitez, who did not recover, forcing the referee to end the fight at 2:46.
Ramirez said: "It's no secret that Ismael Salas is one of the best strategists in the world. And so the plan was to wear him down little by little. Then, after the last round, he tells me not to look for power shots but to move a bit and to return to my [amateur] roots. That's what I did. I touched and touched, and I found the shot.
"It's not my first time landing a shot like that. It feels good to land a punch like that because it demonstrates that we worked hard in camp.
"I want my title back. I want the rematch against Rafael Espinoza. If it's not with him, then I can fight against any of the other champions."
Middleweight prospect Nico Ali Walsh (11-1, 5 KOs) triumphed in his rematch against Sona Akale (9-2, 4 KOs), avenging his only pro defeat via a six-round unanimous decision.
The grandson of 'The Greatest' dropped Akale with a left hook in round three, but Akale fired back in round five with a fusillade of punches that hurt him. Ali Walsh then suffered a dislocated left shoulder in the sixth round but dug deep to finish the fight, using his right hand to connect on an aggressive Akale in the final seconds.
Ali Walsh prevailed with scores of 58-55, 57-56, 57-56.
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