Steve Claggett, a previous opponent of Teofimo Lopez, has shared his perspective on Lopez’s recent fight against Shakur Stevenson. Stevenson, who recently became the third youngest boxer to achieve four-division championship status, convincingly defeated Lopez to claim the WBO super lightweight title.
Claggett, a Canadian boxer preparing to face Adam Azim on May 30th, was previously highlighted by Azim as a formidable and experienced opponent. Azim had stated in an earlier interview that he considered Claggett to have given Teofimo Lopez his toughest challenge.
Drawing from his direct competitive experience, Claggett offered his analysis on Lopez’s performance against Stevenson and Lopez’s own admission of having used the wrong game plan. Claggett commented, “[Lopez] was trying to outbox a master boxer. It’s a difficult approach because he was counter-punching a counter-puncher. Stylistically, you have to force the opponent to fight your fight. When you end up fighting their fight, especially against a master boxer like Shakur, it becomes a challenging situation. The key is to make the other fighter engage on your terms.”
“The essence of the strategy,” Claggett continued, “is to control the action and dictate the pace of the fight. It’s about taking command of the situation and making it your own battle. That’s essentially the core of the game.”
Teofimo Lopez’s Advice for Defeating Shakur Stevenson
Despite the decisive loss to Shakur Stevenson, Teofimo Lopez remains undeterred and believes he has identified the necessary adjustments for a different outcome in a potential rematch. In an interview with Boxing Highs, Lopez discussed his approach to facing Stevenson. He stated, “It’s not Shakur’s fault, but during the fight, he was stepping on my foot and elbowing me in clinches. That’s just how it was. He excels at one thing: creating space to maintain his defensive position. I’ll give him that; he’s very defensively solid. For anyone facing him, the key is to make it a ‘dirty’ fight.”