Teofimo Lopez starts undisputed bid with WBA welterweight win

Teofimo Lopez launched his bid to become undisputed welterweight champion by defeating Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero by majority decision for the WBA title on Saturday night. The fight took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with Lopez improving his record to 23-2, including 13 knockouts, while Romero fell to 17-3 with 13 knockouts.

Lopez controlled much of the contest by pressing forward against a recognised power puncher. He was forced to absorb Romero’s best work in the fifth round but stayed in the fight and continued to dictate the action. His approach kept Romero on the back foot for long periods and earned him the judges’ decision.

The punch statistics reflected Lopez’s activity and accuracy. He landed 124 punches to Romero’s 73 and connected more often in 10 of the 12 rounds. Lopez landed 17.7 per cent of his jabs and 34.6 per cent of his power punches, while Romero landed only single-digit punch totals in 11 rounds.

Lopez said after the fight that Romero had not been active enough to deserve either the victory or a rematch. Romero disagreed and maintained that his performance warranted another opportunity. Their contract did not include a rematch clause, making an immediate second fight unlikely.

The WBA belt is Lopez’s first step towards collecting all four major welterweight titles. Ryan Garcia holds the WBC championship, Liam Paro is the IBF champion and Devin Haney owns the WBO belt. Garcia is due to face Conor Benn, while Paro has already congratulated Lopez and indicated an interest in a unification bout.

Lopez has three fights remaining on his DAZN agreement and intends to use them to pursue the other titles rather than make a voluntary defence. He has identified Haney as the opponent he would prefer to face last, linking that choice to the dispute over his status as undisputed champion during their lightweight era. Former opponent Shakur Stevenson also credited Lopez with making opponents throw less and move more than usual.