Teofimo Lopez: Maybe Not The Right Kind of Special

Teofimo Lopez is special.

We just can’t quite be sure sometimes if he’s “pound-for-pound” special or “short bus at school, go to the zoo every Friday” special.

The 26-year-old Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) beat Canada’s Steve Claggett (38-8-2, 26 KOs) Saturday night at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, earning a one-sided unanimous decision by scores of 120-108 (twice) and 119-109. It was the second defense of his WBO junior welterweight title. It was a homecoming of sorts for the Brooklyn native who claims South Florida roots, as well as Honduran, American, and, apparently, Spanish roots.

Basically, this was one of those fights where you pretty much could’ve made out the scorecard when it was first signed.

Purely a Showcase for Teofimo Lopez

This ESPN main event was a showcase for Lopez– one meant to go much smoother than the showcase he was supposed to have against Jamaine Ortiz four months ago. In that one, Ortiz played the role of spoiler, gunking up the fight and nullifying Lopez with movement and general negative ring work. Lopez lacked the poise and general wherewithal to do anything but muck his way to a close decision win and complain afterwards.

The 35-year-old Claggett, on the other hand, is genetically incapable of being a style-glitching spoiler. The Calgary, Alberta native plodded forward, threw punches, got hit with lots of punches, and demonstrated what the word “game” means in boxing parlance– tough, eager, but ultimately overmatched.

Lopez impressed, but only in the sense that he didn’t mess things up again. He got touched up, though, and he didn’t close the show against a guy who was about as nuanced and mysterious as a mail box.

At the very least, he didn’t say anything bat-sh*t crazy after the fight. So, that’s a plus.

“I knew exactly what kind of fighter this guy was, maybe you guys don’t know, but I sure as hell knew,” Lopez told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna after the fight. “He’s going to come forward and test my conditioning and that’s what we had today…This was just a battle of who wants it more.”

Standard stuff. And that’s a massive relief to everyone in the Teofimo Lopez business, who’s seen their investment rise and fall like cryptocurrency depending on where the kid’s head is at.

It Could’ve Been (Much) Worse

This is, after all, a guy who has immersed himself in conspiracy theories after poor performances, in odd self-aggrandizement, and even a quasi-racist detour that saw him ‘quit’ ESPN last year, telling the network via video interview that “If they want the black fighters they can keep them.” Just this past April, after the Ortiz stinker, he told a booing crowd at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas to “go suck a d*ck, no homo” during his televised post-fight interview.

Lopez is also the guy who tried to parlay his first major win– a three-belt unanimous decision victory as a lightweight over Vasiliy Lomachenko in October of 2020– into a money grab by forcing a purse bid in his very first title defense, an IBF-mandated defense against George Kambosos Jr.

The ill-conceived power business move to work around his Top Rank contract resulted in upstart Triller winning the right to promote the bout by bidding over $6 million, nearly twice as much as the second highest bidder. The social media/video sharing company would then proceed to bungle the entire endeavor. After eight date changes and five venue changes over the course of ten months– and a Lopez COVID infection while waiting on his fight to materialize– the IBF would eventually rule Triller in default and allow runner-up bidder Matchroom to promote the mandatory defense.

Lopez would eventually get into the ring, rusty and reportedly suffering from COVID-related pneumomediastinum, and proceed to lose to the 13-to-1 underdog Kambosos via split decision.

Takeover, Makeover, or Sleepover?

Since that career misstep, the young fighter once pegged as a “can’t miss” future star, has been all over the place, turning in uneven, inconsistent performances as he moved up in weight to the junior welterweight division. A particularly bad showing against Sandor Martin in December of 2022 led to the now infamous “Bro, do I still have it, man?” quote picked up by an ESPN cameraman as a dejected Lopez asked members of his team if he was done as a fighter.

The one big win during his 140 lb. run came via dominant belt-winning showing against former unified junior welterweight champ, Josh Taylor, whose own career had been bogged down with inactivity and inconsistency in recent years.

Given what he’s done to his own career at key moments, it’s not much of a shocker that Lopez is still fighting showcases on ESPN as contemporaries, like Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia, and Devin Haney, have already been featured atop big-money pay-per-views.

But Teofimo does have appeal. He does have name value. He also has talent. His promotional company, Top Rank, is currently in desperate need of fighters with star power and it seems like they’re (for now) firmly on the “Takeover” bandwagon, even as he actively explores what could be another hair-brained career decision– a move up to the welterweight division.

A Little Bit Of A Positive Sign…Maybe?

There was, however, the tiniest of hints at salvageability on Saturday night, coming through in his closing in-ring remarks. Perhaps some signs of personal growth or, at least, awareness.

“To anyone that’s dealing with any emotional problems,” Lopez said. “Listen to me, I was there, I was there. I’m 26. I’m still learning through this process, but I just want you to know something, guys. God is in us, he’s in us. Find it within yourself. Love yourself. Hug the person that’s next to you right now. Tomorrow is never promised.”

Maybe there’s a chance that the befuddled young man with fighting talent can be more than a promise frequently unfulfilled.

There’s also the possibility, though, that he just isn’t who we were told he was. Or maybe he IS and we’re not seeing him under optimal conditions. Maybe he’s buried himself inside his own head to such a degree that only an exorcist and maybe some electroshock and can bring him around.

Whatever the case, boxing needs stars. Giving off even the slightest whiff of star power will get a fighter a seemingly endless number of second chances. Teofimo Lopez will get every opportunity to prove what kind of “special” he is.