American boxer Teofimo Lopez has established himself in the welterweight division, winning the WBA Super world title in the 148 lb (66.7 kg) weight class. The fight against his compatriot Rolando Romero took place in the early hours of August 23 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (USA) and lasted all 12 scheduled rounds. The judges awarded the victory to Lopez by split decision with scores of 114:114, 115:113 and 116:112, while the live broadcast of the bout was carried by the DAZN and DAZN on Prime platforms under the hashtag #RollyTeofimo.

Fight progression: Romero's bright start and a mid-fight turning point

Romero opened the fight aggressively and delivered particularly strong performances in the fourth and fifth rounds: with a counter left hook he staggered his opponent, and a spectacular right hand landed a serious blow. However, from the sixth round onward the challenger slowed his pace, and Lopez took advantage of this lull. The champion seized the initiative, imposed a high tempo and systematically worked the body. According to the Compubox statistical service, Lopez landed 124 accurate shots compared to Romero's 73.

Judges' decision and the reactions of both sides

The outcome of the fight was decided by the judges, who awarded the victory to Lopez by split decision. After the bout, the boxer himself emphasized his fighting philosophy: "If you lose but come back — you never really lost, because you are a winner. I am a true example of what winning is. It is not about losses, but about never giving up." Romero, by contrast, expressed outrage at the verdict, calling the final result a "robbery."

A third weight class in Lopez's career

For the 29-year-old Teofimo Lopez, this victory marked the conquest of a third weight class in his career. In 2020 he defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko and became the undisputed world champion in the lightweight division, and in 2023 he added the WBO belt in the super lightweight division. Now the WBA Super welterweight title has been added to his collection.

Contradictory data

In the overwhelming majority of sources (including Sport RBC.UA, Sports.ru and Sportmail.ru), Lopez's victory is correctly described as the conquest of a third weight class in his career and the winning of the WBA Super welterweight belt. However, in the headline of a championat.com article the event is presented as "a third WBA championship title in his career." This is a discrepancy: as a matter of fact, Lopez previously held the WBA belt in the lightweight division (after his victory over Lomachenko in 2020), and in the super lightweight division his title was the WBO, so the current victory is his second, not third, WBA belt specifically. The differences in wording do not affect the actual outcome of the fight, but they require clarification when citing.

Prospects in the new division

Among the potential future opponents for Lopez in the welterweight division are WBO champion Devin Haney, IBF champion Liam Paro, as well as the winner of the September bout between Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn. Thus, Lopez may be facing one of the most crowded lineups in the division ahead.