Teddy Atlas backs Teofimo Lopez in WBA welterweight title fight

Teddy Atlas has picked Teofimo Lopez to defeat Rolando Romero in their WBA welterweight title fight on Saturday. Romero has held the belt for 15 months, but Atlas expects Lopez to win and bring his reign to an early end.

Romero claimed the championship by upsetting Ryan Garcia at Times Square in New York. The Las Vegas fighter has not boxed since that victory, with proposed fights against Manny Pacquiao, Devin Haney and Jack Catterall all failing to reach the ring.

Saturday’s contest will therefore be Romero’s first defence of the WBA welterweight crown. He now faces Lopez, a former two-division world champion who is moving up to welterweight for the bout.

Lopez enters the fight after losing his WBO super-lightweight title to Shakur Stevenson earlier this year. The defeat was one-sided, but Atlas believes Lopez can recover by relying on his natural ability and ring instincts against Romero.

Speaking on his podcast, The Fight with Teddy Atlas, the experienced trainer and analyst judged Lopez to be the more talented and instinctive fighter. Atlas also noted that Stevenson’s style presented a particularly difficult challenge, meaning Lopez’s performance in that loss may not fully represent his capabilities.

Romero and Lopez will meet at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card also includes a middleweight contest between Cuba’s Yoenli Hernandez and Argentina’s Francisco Daniel Veron, with Hernandez seeking a performance that could lead to a future opportunity against WBO middleweight champion Denzel Bentley.