Teofimo Lopez wins WBA welterweight title with majority decision over Romero

The fight and the decision

Teofimo Lopez claimed the WBA welterweight title on Saturday, August 22, with a majority decision over defending champion Rolly Romero at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The judges’ scorecards read 116-112 and 115-113 in Lopez’s favour, while the third judge scored the bout 114-114. Romero, fighting for the first time since winning the title against Ryan Garcia in May 2025, disputed the result immediately, calling it a robbery.

How the fight played out

Lopez, moving up to welterweight from light-welterweight, controlled the 12-round bout through high-volume offense. According to Compubox punch statistics cited by The Guardian, Lopez landed 124 punches to Romero’s 73, including a career-high 62 jabs. Lopez dominated the early and middle rounds using his speed and footwork to keep Romero at bay and consistently landing body shots as Romero retreated.

Romero’s best moment came in the fifth round. He landed a check left hook that caught Lopez as he came forward, drawing blood with a cut above Lopez’s right eye. Romero followed with a left hook and looping right hand that hurt Lopez, and the challenger was rocked before the round ended. Despite being hurt, Lopez weathered the attack and recovered. After surviving that stretch, Romero abandoned his aggression and returned to his low-output counter-punch approach for the remainder of the fight. Lopez regained full control from the sixth round onward, using his footwork and single punches to stay outside Romero’s range. Romero landed another left hook in the 11th that knocked Lopez off balance, but neither fighter seized a decisive advantage in the final round.

Champion’s record and comeback context

Lopez, 29, improved his record to 23 wins in 25 fights with this victory. The win marked a rapid return to championship status for Lopez, who lost his WBO light-welterweight title and The Ring Magazine light-welterweight title to Shakur Stevenson on January 31 by identical scores of 119-109. Lopez has won 13 of his 25 career bouts by knockout, but has not recorded a stoppage victory since 2022, a streak that extended through his victory over Romero.

Romero, 30, fell to 17 wins in 20 fights. He was coming off a 15-month layoff after his May 2025 unanimous decision over Ryan Garcia to claim the WBA welterweight title.

Lopez’s next target

Rather than challenge Jack Catterall, the WBA ‘Regular’ welterweight champion who holds the mandatory challenger position, Lopez signalled his immediate intentions in the ring. He said he would prefer to wait for either the winner of the WBC title fight between Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn—scheduled for September 12 in Las Vegas—or a unification bout with IBF champion Liam Paro. Lopez also mentioned his interest in eventually fighting WBO champion Devin Haney. Catterall, the Chorley fighter, responded on social media, writing “Congratulations Teofimo Lopez but I will be taking that belt 100%.”

Sources

• BBC Sport
• The Guardian
• MMA Fighting — Teofimo Lopez edges Rolly Romero with majority decision to become 3-weight world champion · Rolly Romero vs. Teofimo Lopez full fight video highlights
• MMA Mania
• CBS Sports

Featured photo: Nascar9919 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)