Steve Claggett dominated Carlos Sanchez to keep his winning streak intact Friday night.
The Canadian junior welterweight veteran dropped Sanchez once apiece in the fourth, sixth and seventh rounds and easily won their 10-round bout by unanimous decision at Lac Leamy Casino in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Claggett battered the resilient Sanchez to the body and defeated him by wide distances on the scorecards of judges Richard Blouin (98-89), Marie Josee Guerin (99-88) and Jack Woodburn (99-88) on the Christian Mbilli-Demond Nicholson undercard.
Calgary’s Claggett (36-7-2, 26 KOs) has won seven straight fights since fellow Canadian Mathieu Germain beat him by split decision in a 10-rounder that took place in May 2021 in Quebec City.
Mexico’s Sanchez (24-2, 19 KOs) lost for just the second time in seven years as a pro. Countryman Pedro Campa (34-3-1, 23 KOs) previously stopped Sanchez in the third round of their March 2022 fight in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Claggett tried to secure the knockout in the 10th round, but Sanchez displayed a lot of toughness and wouldn’t allow it.
Claggett caught Sanchez with yet another left to the body with just under a minute to go in the 10th and final round. He applied pressure and landed plenty of power punches in the final three minutes, but Sanchez made it to the final bell.
Claggett’s thudding left to Sanchez’s body made him move away from Claggett just after the midway mark of the ninth round.
Claggett’s assault on Sanchez’s head and body continued during the eighth round, when Sanchez produced just enough offense to prevent Forest from stopping their bout.
Another left to the body by Claggett sent Sanchez to the canvas for the third time in their bout with 2:12 to go in the seventh round. He answered referee Martin Forest’s count again, but Claggett continued to hammer him with head and body blows.
Claggett connected with a variety of power punches to Sanchez’s head and body during the middle minute of the sixth round.
Claggett’s left hook to the side of Sanchez’s head knocked Sanchez to his gloves and knees 28 seconds into the sixth round. Sanchez got up at the count of seven, yet he looked like he wouldn’t be able to take much more punishment.
Sanchez clipped Claggett with a left hook a few seconds before the fifth round ended.
Another Claggett left hook to Sanchez’s body hurt him with just under a minute remaining in the fifth round.
Claggett’s left hook to the body made Sanchez take a knee with 1:45 to go in the fourth round. Sanchez answered the count at six and tried to go after Claggett’s body thereafter.
Sanchez was busy throughout the third round, in which he landed a variety of punches. That didn’t stop Claggett from pressing the action for most of those three minutes, though.
A left hook by Claggett snapped back Sanchez’s head with just over 30 seconds remaining in the second round. Sanchez’s right uppercut landed a little less than 1:10 into the second round.
Claggett’s combination connected as Sanchez was backed into a neutral corner a few seconds before the first round ended. Sanchez caught Claggett with a right hand that knocked him off balance with 1:05 remaining in the first round.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
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