Claggett Outworks Robles/Macias Ko's Garza In Vegas

By Marc Livitz: Steve Claggett pushed onward, punched hard and drove his way through Emmanuel Robles en route to a split decision win for the vacant NABA-WBA USA super lightweight title at the Downtown Event Center in Las Vegas.

Southpaw Robles (15-1-1, 5 KO’s) used a steady right jab to keep his Canadian opponent at a distance in the opening minutes. Claggett’s strategy was all about keeping a steady pace and making Emmanuel change his tactics. He was able to land his right hand over Robles’ jab, which helped him apply more effective pressure. As the bout moved into round three, Steve was able to connect with body shots while not allowing Robles to affect him with his lefts. Emmanuel wasn’t countering as much as Claggett (24-4-1, 16 KO’s) used the ring to a greater advantage.

In the fourth, Robles (San Diego, CA) began to reemerge with his counter shots as opposed to using his jab as he previously had done, yet in the fifth he seemed to be looking more to coast instead of push forward. His punches didn’t have the same power as Claggett was effectively cutting off the ring. Steve’s right was starting to find a home, over and over again. Emmanuel came out punching in the opening moments of the seventh. He threw multiple shots upstairs but his efforts were abruptly halted by a right uppercut from Steve. To some extent, each fighter was visibly slowing down due to the late summer Vegas heat, where it often feels one can catch a sunburn at night.

Claggett was surely winning the contest in the sense of clean, effective punching and aggression. Robles was running out of answers. He remained disciplined but was likely confounding his trainers. His punches just weren’t hard enough to allow him to box as opposed to fight in the hopes of winning on the cards. Painful, thudding body shots from Steve Claggett smashed the sides of Emmanuel Robles deep into the ninth round. As previously stated, Robles landed shots of his own but he couldn’t hurt his Calgary, Alberta, Canada opponent. The contest made its way to the tenth and final round.

The action didn’t slow in the last period. Robles appeared to be headed for his first professional defeat although he fought to the final bell. He had absorbed a long night of abuse from his hard punching foe. The judges scorecards would ultimately seal the deal, however they ended up. They read as follows: Two apiece at 98-92 for Claggett, and one at 96-94 for Robles.