Tim Bradley criticises Romero after Lopez wins WBA title 116-112

Teofimo Lopez defeated Rolando Romero by majority decision, with the judges scoring the WBA welterweight title fight 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114. The result made Lopez a three-division world champion and prompted former champion Tim Bradley to question Romero’s performance and his relationship with trainer Ismael Salas.

Bradley argued that Romero relied too heavily on his power and no longer fought with the aggression he showed earlier in his career. He said the champion appeared hesitant to trust his punch resistance, linking that caution to Romero’s stoppage defeats by Gervonta Davis and Isaac Cruz.

Romero had his strongest spell in the fifth round, when he hurt Lopez with a heavy punch and opened a cut above the challenger’s right eyebrow. Lopez was badly troubled during the sequence, but Romero could not score a knockdown or finish the contest. Lopez recovered in the sixth and resumed controlling the fight with his jab, forward movement and body attacks.

The challenger was more active across the opening rounds and continued to land cleaner work after surviving Romero’s best moment. Romero spent long periods waiting for counterpunching opportunities, while Lopez stayed busy and maintained the initiative through the closing rounds. Bradley’s assessment was that the Romero seen against Lopez was far removed from the aggressive fighter who previously worked with Cromwell “Bullet” Gordon.

The defeat ended Romero’s run of two consecutive victories and dropped his record to 17-3, with 13 knockouts. It was his first loss since Cruz stopped him in eight rounds in 2024, following his sixth-round stoppage defeat by Davis around two years earlier. Lopez improved to 23-2 with 13 knockouts after making his welterweight debut.

Romero is now trained by Salas, whose work has been credited with improving the American’s technique and defence. Salas also guided Romero to a unanimous decision victory over Ryan Garcia in May 2025, but Bradley questioned whether the partnership has preserved the aggression he believes Romero needs. Against Lopez, the champion could not produce another decisive power shot and surrendered his WBA belt on the judges’ cards.