Teofimo Lopez added another major achievement to his career by defeating Rolando Romero at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to become a world champion in a third weight division.
The 29-year-old American took Romero’s WBA “Super” welterweight title by majority decision, adding the 147lb crown to the world championships he previously won at lightweight and light-welterweight.
Lopez controlled much of the contest with his jab and movement, keeping Romero at range despite facing a difficult spell midway through the fight. A cut opened above Lopez’s right eye in the fifth round, and Romero landed a strong right hand before the end of the session.
However, Romero was unable to build sustained pressure from that moment. Lopez regained control and continued to dictate the pace, doing enough to convince two judges, who scored the fight 116-112 and 115-113 in his favour. The third judge returned a 114-114 draw.
The victory improved Lopez’s professional record to 23 wins from 25 fights and marked a successful response to his January defeat by Shakur Stevenson, when he lost his WBO light-welterweight title. That setback was only the second defeat of Lopez’s career.
Despite reclaiming world-champion status, Lopez did not commit to an immediate defence against Britain’s Jack Catterall. The Chorley fighter holds the WBA “Regular” welterweight belt and is positioned as a leading challenger for Lopez’s new title.
Instead, Lopez is considering a major fight against the winner of Ryan Garcia’s WBC title defence against Conor Benn, scheduled for September 12 in Las Vegas. He also identified IBF champion Liam Paro as a possible opponent, which would give Lopez the chance to pursue a welterweight unification bout.
WBO champion Devin Haney remains another potential future target, although Lopez indicated that matchup could be saved for later.
Catterall responded soon after the result by making clear that he intends to pursue Lopez and challenge for the WBA’s top welterweight belt.
The fight also continued Lopez’s recent run without a stoppage. He has not won inside the distance since 2022, although his technical control against Romero was enough to secure another significant championship victory.
Romero, meanwhile, fell to 17 wins and three defeats from 20 professional bouts. The 30-year-old disputed the judges’ decision and argued that he had done enough to earn another meeting with Lopez.
Lopez had suggested before the bout that he could take some time away from boxing because of the upcoming birth of his child, but his immediate post-fight focus quickly shifted toward possible unification fights and another major event later in the year.