Teofimo Lopez beats Rolando Romero to claim WBA welterweight title
Teofimo Lopez became a three-weight world champion by defeating Rolando Romero via majority decision to claim the WBA welterweight title in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Making his debut at 147lbs, the 29-year-old absorbed his former sparring partner’s early power to secure a hard-fought victory at the T-Mobile Arena.
Two judges scored the contest 115-113 and 116-112 in favour of the challenger, while the third official saw it as a 114-114 draw.
Vital career resurgence
The result represents a crucial return to winning ways for the newly crowned champion.
He had previously suffered a lopsided points defeat against Shakur Stevenson in their WBO super-lightweight clash earlier this year.
“I’m a true example of what winning is and it ain’t about losing. It’s about never giving up.”
Teofimo Lopez
Meanwhile, Romero was making his first appearance in the ring following a lengthy 15-month layoff.
The defending titleholder found early success despite the long absence, visibly rocking his opponent with a right hand in the fifth round.
Romero disputes judges’ scorecards
The challenger recovered swiftly from the early scare and dictated the pace throughout the second half of the bout.
Compubox statistics showed the three-division champion landed 124 of his 530 punches, heavily targeting the body to wear down his rival.
In stark contrast, the Las Vegas native connected with just 73 strikes all evening and landed a mere two punches in the final round.
The defeat is his first since being stopped by Isaac Cruz in March 2024.
“I got hit with two punches the whole fight that barely grazed me. I was never in any trouble. When I heard 114-114, I knew it was a robbery.”
Rolando Romero
Future unification bouts await
The victorious Brooklyn-born fighter now possesses numerous lucrative options in boxing’s historic glamour division.
Potential opponents include WBO champion Devin Haney or a clash with IBF titleholder Liam Paro.
“There was a shot he hit me with that woke me up, and I told him, ‘You got to do better than that.’ I just kept saying, ‘You ain’t going to take me out.'”
Teofimo Lopez