WBO welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez will defend against No. 13 Steve Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KO) on June 29 live on ESPN at the James L. Knight Center in Downtown Miami, Florida. The event starts at 10:00 PM/7:00 PM PT on ESPN and ESPN

Teofima rejected these killers for Claggett: Raymond Muratalla, Elvis Rodriguez and Kenneth Sims Jr. Any confidence Teofimo once had in his career has evaporated since 2021 and he looks like a washed-out one-hit wonder.

You could argue that the 34-year-old Claggett is just a step above the journeyman level. With seven losses and no significant wins on his long, 15-year resume, Claggett is a indigent choice to challenge for a world title.

A confidence booster for Teofimo

This is another indigent fight for former unified lightweight champion Teofimo (20-1, 13 KO), who won a controversial 12-round unanimous decision over Jamain Ortiz last February in Las Vegas.

Teofimo clearly lost that fight, picking up his second controversial victory in his last three appearances, hurting his popularity even more than it already was after being defeated by George Kambosos Jr. in 2021.

Some might argue that Teofimo’s promoters at Top Rank are pitting him against Claggett to ensure he wins and artificially enhance his skyrocketing popularity.

By feeding Teofimo a lower-level fighter, his chances of winning and looking good are high, which will enhance the interest of casual boxing fans who are unaware that Claggett is not highly rated and is not the best at 140 at all.

“It’s like a Rocky Balboa story for Steve Claggett,” Teofimo said, essentially admitting that in his voluntary defense he was facing a hopeless ham and egg rather than one of the killers who could potentially dethrone him.

“There were no other fighters who were interested in fighting me and I felt like he would give not only me but also the fans a great fight to watch,” Teofimo said.

Teofimo isn’t being truthful when he says “no other fighters” are interested in fighting him. There are plenty of 140-pound contenders who would jump at the chance to fight Teofimo if he and his promoters at Top Rank were willing to fight them.

Fighters wanting to fight Teofimo:

Jamaine Ortiz
Keyshawn Davis
Richardson Hitchins
Gary Antuanne Russell
Arnold Barboza Jr.
Sandor Martin
Prograis, apparently
Elvis Rodriguez
George Kambosos Jr.
Jose Ramirez

Teofimo appears to be tired of losing to Kambosos three years ago and has failed to live up to the expectations fans and media had for him after his upset against the injured Vasily Lomachenko in 2020.

Robeisy Ramirez vs. Brandon Leon Benitez

Former WBO featherweight champion Robeisy Ramirez (13-2, 8 KO) will face the little-known Brandon Leon Benitez (21-2, 9 KO) in a 10-round main support fight.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba, Robeisy lost his WBO 126-pound title in his last fight against lanky Rafael Espinoza by a 12-round majority decision last December in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Espinoza’s height, reach and high output caused Robeisy huge problems. Robeisy knocked off Espinoza in fifth place, but let him off the hook by failing to finish.

Espinoza then dominated the later rounds and knocked down Robeisy in the 12th round with a barrage of shots. After this loss, it’s understandable why Top Rank is fitting Robeisy into a cushioned touch.

Still, he’s 30 years ancient, has lost twice in his brief five-year career, and can’t afford to fight tomato cans for long because he has more than enough experience as an amateur to bounce back from the best, provided he doesn’t face someone as elevated as Espinoza at 180 cm.

To beat a guy like this, Robeisy would have to concentrate more on his shots, as his amateur style of throwing single shots didn’t work against this high-volume effect.