Steve Claggett rebounds with fourth-round TKO of Eduardo Estela

Junior welterweight Steve Claggett recorded three knockdowns en route to a fourth-round stoppage of Eduardo Estela at Casino du Lac-Leamy in Quebec, Canada, on Thursday night.

Canada’s Claggett, 39-8-2 (27 KOs), who most recently had lost a challenge of 140-pound titleholder Teofimo Lopez Jnr in June, dropped Estela, 16-4 (11 KOs), twice in the third round before finishing him in Round 4.

Both fighters started the opening round by establishing their jabs, but Claggett concentrated more on working on Estela’s body. Uruguay’s Estela, on the other hand, returned the favor with clean shots to the body of Claggett.

Claggett started mounting pressure on Estela in the second round with combinations to the face and body of his opponent, who kept moving and relied on his counterpunches.

The third round proved brutal for Claggett, who chased Estela with combinations to the body and head. Claggett recorded his first knockdown after a left-hook to the body dropped Estela. When he came up, Estela tried to fight back, but a determined Claggett maintained his composure by targeting the body and recorded a second knockdown moments later.

Estela, however, managed to survive the round when he was saved by the bell. When the fourth round started, Claggett remained the aggressor, attacking Estela from all angles. Estela was looking for breathing space, but Claggett wasn’t willing to offer it to him. 

Claggett got what he wanted when an uppercut caught and dropped Estela, who struggled to get up, forcing the referee to stop the fight and award Claggett a deserved TKO victory.

On the undercard, Russia’s Shamil Khataev, 13-0-1 (4 KOs), blasted out Christian Rafael Coria, 30-11-2 (14 KOs), of Argentina, in three rounds in a middleweight contest.

Montreal’s Luis Santana, 13-0 (6 KOs), maintained his invincibility in the ring, recording an eight-round unanimous decision victory over Sebastian Aguirre, 19-6 (12 KOs), of Argentina, in a lightweight contest. Santana won 78-73 (twice) and 78-72 on the judges’ scorecards.

Undefeated light heavyweight Mehmet Unal, 11-0 (9 KOs), of Turkey, extended his winning streak with a third-round TKO stoppage of Germany’s Armenak Hovhannisyan, 14-5-1 (6 KOs).

Cruiserweight Pascal Villeneuve, 5-2-1 (2 KOs), of Canada, won a four-round unanimous decision victory against Uruguay’s Rafael Sosa Pintos, 63-20 (25 KOs). All three judges scored the one-sided bout 40-36 in favor of Villeneuve.

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].