Key Takeaways
- Teófimo López moved up to welterweight and beat Rolando Romero by majority decision to claim the WBA title and become a three-division world champion.
- After Romero hurt him in the fourth and fifth rounds, López took control with his jab and activity, landing 124 punches to Romero’s 73.
- The win resets López after his loss to Shakur Stevenson and positions him for potential fights with Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Conor Benn, or Liam Paro.
Teófimo López is a champion again. Seven months after suffering a lopsided loss to Shakur Stevenson, Lopez jumped to welterweight on Saturday night, August 22, and took the WBA title from Rolando Romero at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The majority-decision victory made Lopez a world champion in a third weight class and immediately put him back into the mix for several major fights.
According to ESPN, two judges gave Lopez the fight, 115-113 and 116-112, while the third scored it 114-114. Lopez improved to 23-2 with 13 knockouts, while Romero dropped to 17-3.
“I’m a winner,” Lopez said afterward. “I’m a true example of what winning is, and it ain’t about losing. It’s about never giving up.”
Lopez had to absorb some trouble before taking control. Romero caught him with a counter left hook that knocked him off balance in the fourth round, then landed a right hand in the fifth that visibly hurt him. Lopez recovered and came back stronger in the sixth and seventh, eventually using his activity and jab to separate himself as the fight progressed.
The final punch totals favored Lopez by a wide margin. He landed 124 shots to Romero’s 73, including 62 jabs, while Romero connected only twice in the final round.
Lopez and Romero had previously sparred during their amateur and early professional years, giving Lopez some idea of what to expect once they finally shared the ring professionally.
“I expected something similar to this, just a little more combinations from him,” Lopez said. “There was a shot he hit me with that woke me up, and I told him, ‘You got to do better than that.’”
Romero strongly disagreed with the decision.
“I got hit with two punches the whole fight that barely grazed me,” he said. “I was never in any trouble. When I heard 114-114, I knew it was a robbery.”
The victory gives Lopez a dramatic reset after January’s loss to Shakur Stevenson. Stevenson dominated their junior welterweight title fight at Madison Square Garden, winning 119-109 on all three scorecards and taking Lopez’s WBO championship. Lopez was outlanded 165-72 in a fight where he never found a consistent answer for Stevenson’s jab and counterpunching.
That gamble has now given him another belt.
The welterweight division also gives Lopez no shortage of possible opponents. WBO champion Devin Haney is one option, while Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn are scheduled to meet for the WBC title on September 12. IBF champion Liam Paro also holds a piece of the division.
