LAS VEGAS — Rolly Romero left the ring frustrated and searching for answers, while Teofimo Lopez emerged from a difficult night with a new world title and a clear vision for what comes next.
Lopez rallied from adversity to defeat Romero by majority decision and claim the WBA welterweight title, becoming a three-division world champion at the age of 29.
The scorecards of 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112 reflected a competitive contest, but Romero, now 17-3 with 13 knockouts, was convinced he had done enough to retain his title.
Romero enjoyed one of his strongest moments in the fifth round, when his left hand hurt Lopez and opened a cut around his opponent’s eye. Yet instead of building on that success, Romero appeared to ease off during the later stages, allowing Lopez to regain control of the fight.
“Look at my face — he landed two clean shots,” Romero told reporters after the fight. “That’s not enough to beat a champion. I hurt him multiple times. I definitely want the rematch.”
Romero admitted that he never felt seriously threatened and, as a result, did not approach the final rounds with the urgency required in such a close fight. The final round proved particularly costly, as Lopez swept it on all three scorecards.
Had Romero won that round, the contest would have ended in a draw and he would have remained champion.
Instead, Romero was left questioning not only his own performance but also the way his style was judged.
“When someone else does this, it’s called a masterclass,” Romero said. “When I do it, it’s political.”
When asked to explain further, Romero declined to expand on the comment.
While Romero focused on the disappointment of defeat, Lopez viewed the victory as a major step in rebuilding his career after his one-sided loss to Shakur Stevenson earlier this year.
Lopez said the setback against Stevenson became a source of motivation heading into his fight with Romero.
“No matter what the outcome was, I was driven to prove that I’m still a winner and a champion after everything I’ve been through,” Lopez said.
The victory came at the start of a lucrative new four-fight agreement with DAZN, reportedly worth $20 million, and Lopez already has his attention fixed on major welterweight fights.
Potential future opponents include the winner of Ryan Garcia’s upcoming showdown with Conor Benn, while a clash with WBO champion Devin Haney also remains firmly on Lopez’s radar.
Lopez has made no secret of his ambition to become the undisputed welterweight champion and suggested that Haney could be the final obstacle in that journey.
“I want to become undisputed,” Lopez said, adding that he would like to face Haney with all four major world titles on the line.
Romero is not guaranteed a rematch, and Lopez has no contractual obligation to face him again. Romero’s manager, Luis DeCubas Jr., said he would instead work toward securing another major title opportunity for his fighter at 147 pounds.
Lopez’s victory was built on more than resilience. After being hurt in the middle rounds, he gradually changed the rhythm of the fight, increased his output and began targeting Romero’s body.
Lopez landed more punches overall, 124 to 73, and also produced a career-high 62 jabs as he steadily took control of the championship rounds.
“I told him he was going to have to do a lot more than that,” Lopez said. “I kept catching him in exchanges and let him know I was still there.
“You have to know how to survive when you get hurt. You move, use your legs, clinch when you need to, and you fight back. I was attacking his body, and that slowed him down. That’s what helped me win.”
Lopez believes his response after the fifth round was the turning point of the contest.
He said he used the exchanges to convince Romero that the momentum had not permanently shifted and gradually got inside his opponent’s head as the fight progressed.
“I told Rolly he had to do more than that to win rounds,” Lopez said. “I got in his head. His output dropped in the second half, and we increased ours.”
The cut over Lopez’s eye also forced him to make adjustments. He said he became more aware of Romero’s left hand and used greater head movement to reduce its impact as the fight went on.
For Lopez, the win also provided an answer to critics who questioned his decision to remain with his father, Teofimo Lopez Sr., as his trainer following the Stevenson defeat.
Others had also questioned whether Lopez could carry his power successfully to a higher weight class, particularly after recording only one stoppage in seven fights at 140 pounds.
But after overcoming Romero and capturing another world title, Lopez said the result justified the faith he had kept in his team.
“We had to regroup and go back to the basics,” Lopez said. “I wanted to show everyone that we’re going to keep doing this until the wheels fall off.
“We’re going to stay loyal. We’ve had a hard road, but that’s what made this victory even better for all of us. We needed this.”
