Teofimo Lopez vs Steve Claggett Odds, Pick & Prediction: No Excuses This Time (Saturday, June 29)

Teofimo Lopez vs. Steve Claggett Odds

Here's everything you need to know about the Teofimo Lopez vs. Steve Claggett odds for Saturday, June 29.

Saturday night's ESPN boxing headliner is a "stay-busy fight."

It means what it implies: Teofimo Lopez is literally staying busy in anticipation of a bigger fight down the road as he defends his WBO super lightweight title against Steve Claggett on Saturday night in Miami (10 p.m. ET, ESPN).

I'd say these used to be more prevalent in previous generations, but given the matchmaking in this sport, some guys seemingly have only stay-busy fights.

But look, it's a fight worth trying to make money on, and it's the second time we'll see Lopez this calendar year. If this is truly a stay-busy fight, we might get him in a real bout before the end of the year.

For now, Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) takes on Claggett (38-7-2, 26 KOs) on Saturday night in Miami on ESPN & ESPN+, with main-event walkouts expected at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET.

Here's my Lopez vs. Claggett pick and prediction.

Lopez vs. Claggett Breakdown & Analysis

The last time we saw Lopez was back in February when he outpointed highly respected challenger Jamaine Ortiz during Super Bowl week in a slightly controversial unanimous decision. Not that many observers thought Ortiz deserved to win – some may have – but the bout was more controversial because it was a snoozer. It was Lopez's second lackluster performance in three fights.

However, in Lopez's defense, neither Ortiz nor Sandor Martin engaged a ton, which is ultimately why they didn't deserve victories. Both moved well, boxed well, defended well and countered well, but you can't really take the title from someone with hardly any offense in what is ultimately a sport about hitting and not getting hit – not just the latter, and not only the former.

Regardless, Lopez is here against an opponent who will do less of that. He's been chosen for a reason, largely because Lopez now has an opponent who will be tough, able to be hit, and likely get stopped.

Claggett, to his credit, has been stopped only once in his seven losses, and that was in 2011 against Filipino Romeo Jakosalem, who was actually dropped by Claggett twice in Round 3 before an eighth-round stoppage.

Claggett, who is 35, is on a nine-fight winning streak, the longest of his career, all victories since August 2021. He has won multiple regional titles over that streak, including the WBO international and North American Boxing Federation titles at 140 pounds with one-sided wins over contenders such as Miguel Madueno and former champion Alberto Machado (via KO).

Lopez is 5-foot-8 with a 69-inch reach, and Claggett is roughly the same, though he has a one-inch reach advantage.

Lopez vs. Claggett Prediction & Pick

Honestly, Lopez, you better knock this dude out.

With all due respect to Claggett, but the entire reason he is in this fight is to get Lopez a stoppage win, of which he has only one in this weight class, and that was in August 2022.

Coincidentally, this is – on paper – Lopez's most lopsided fight since.

Claggett is tough, but he'll be too tough for his own good. And Lopez isn't easy to bet on because, frankly, you don't know who is going to show up on a night-to-night basis in there, but I'll back him to win by KO/TKO/DQ at -135 on ESPN BET. You can also find -138 odds at bet365 and Betway as of this writing.

For more juice, I'd look for Lopez to win in Rounds 7-12, which is still +150 at DraftKings as of Friday. But for now, that's more of a lean or sprinkle if you're looking for some additional action on Saturday night.

The Pick: Teofimo Lopez by KO/TKO/DQ (-135 at ESPN BET)