Teofimo Lopez Finalizing Deal to Defend WBO Junior Welterweight Title Against Steve Claggett

Teofimo Lopez is readying for a hot box summer…

The 26-year-old Honduran American boxer, who has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, is finalizing a deal to fight Steve Claggett for Lopez’s WBO junior welterweight title on June 29 in Miami, per ESPN.

Teofimo LopezThe 140-pound title fight will headline Top Rank Boxing on ESPN.

Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) made the first defense of his title during Super Bowl Week in February when he defeated Jamaine Ortiz via unanimous decision. The fight was ugly, with boos raining down at the Las Vegas venue as Ortiz used his box-and-move style to frustrate Lopez, who had trouble cutting off the ring.

Lopez complained about Ortiz’s style and now will face a Canadian brawler, a fighter he’ll have no trouble finding in the ring. And Lopez will return to South Florida, where he grew up.

ESPN’s No. 2 junior welterweight, Lopez is the former undisputed lightweight champion. He defeated future Boxing Hall of Famer Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020 to unify 135-pound belts and crash the pound-for-pound list. But in his first defense, he lost to George Kambosos in November 2021 in ESPN‘s Upset of the Year.

Lopez subsequently moved up to 140 pounds and following two wins, he defeated Josh Taylor in June for the lineal junior welterweight championship.

Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KOs) is a 34-year-old from Calgary who will be fighting on the world-class level for the first time. He has won nine straight fights since a decision loss to fellow Canadian-level fighter Mathieu Germain in May 2021.

Claggett is currently scheduled to fight Mike Ohan Jr. in a 10-round bout April 11 in Montreal, but that matchup won’t take place now that he’s fighting Lopez, sources said.

The bout will be Claggett’s first title shot, where he’ll be installed as a major underdog.

Former featherweight champion Robeisy Ramirez will compete in the co-feature, sources said. Ramirez lost his title via majority decision to Rafael Espinoza in December in ESPN’s 2023 Upset of the Year.

Jose Pedraza to Fight Keyshawn Davis in 10-Round Lightweight Bout in December

Jose Pedraza has secured his next opponent…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer and former two-weight world champion has agreed to fight Keyshawn Davis in a 10-round lightweight bout on December 9 in Pembroke Pines, Florida, according to ESPN.

Jose Pedraza Pedraza (29-5-1, 14 KOs) is winless in his past three bouts, all of which took place at 140 pounds. A draw with Richard Commey was sandwiched in between close decision losses to junior welterweight contenders Jose Ramirez and Arnold Barboza.

Pedraza last competed at 135 pounds in May 2019.

The slick southpaw was a titleholder at 130 and 135 pounds. Both of his title defeats came against the sport’s elite. Pedraza lost his 130-pound title via TKO to Gervonta Davis in 2017.

The following year, Pedraza dropped his 135-pound title via decision to Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Davis, an Olympic silver medalist, will be stepping way up in competition for his first bout against a former champion. The 135-pound bout will take place on the ESPN undercard of a featherweight title fight between WBO titleholder Robeisy Ramirez and Rafael Espinoza, sources said.

Davis, 24, is coming off the toughest fight of his career, a majority-decision victory over Nahir Albright earlier this month.

The matchup with Pedraza will be the fourth fight for Davis (10-0, 6 KOs) this year as the prospect looks to become a contender with a victory over the 34-year-old gatekeeper.

Davis, one of the sport’s best prospects, competed at the Olympics in 2021. The Norfolk, Virginia, native is trained by Brian McIntyre, who also guides Terence Crawford.

Junior middleweight prospect Xander Zayas will also fight on the undercard, sources said.