WBO junior welterweight titleholder Teofimo Lopez was handed the keys to Miami after his victory over Steve Claggett at the James L. Knight Center.
Lopez won by wide margins on the scorecards, with Claggett demonstrating resilience and toughness through all 12 rounds.
The Canadian challenger is now 38-8-2 (26 KOs), while Lopez improved to 21-1 (16 KOs).
“I knew exactly what kind of fighter this guy was,” Lopez said afterward. “He’s gonna come forward and test my conditioning. That’s what we had today. We went 12 rounds. He’s a tough fighter. I don’t think anyone should overlook him. I knew coming into this.”
Lopez has maintained that he wants to fight Terence Crawford, but the latter is moving away from 147 pounds and up to 154 pounds for his Aug. 3 date with Israil Madrimov, although Lopez admitted he feels that, at 26, his body is growing, indicating his days at 140 pounds might be numbered.
Regardless, Lopez said he wants activity and he was satisfied with what he gave the fans on Saturday.
“See, everybody is talking about these other fighters, and I’m not interested,” Lopez said. “Let’s look at what we gave the fans. He did good. I think this was just a battle of who wants it more, and that’s why I like underdogs like him. It reminds me of when I was facing these great champions [coming up]. We need that push, and that’s what great champions do. They stay there, they don’t quit, they don’t say, ‘No mas.’ They say, ‘Let’s go.’”
Asked what might come next, Lopez stopped short of mentioning names but added: “I want these great champions. Whoever it is, whatever it is, ‘The Takeover’ don’t dodge nobody. I just want to fight the best so I can collect more legacy. The glory. That’s what champions are about.”