Teofimo Lopez is preparing for his August 22 welterweight title fight against Rolly Romero, expecting his opponent to copy the slick boxing blueprint Shakur Stevenson used to dominate him. The bout marks Lopez’s high-stakes debut at 147 pounds after his damaging loss.
Lopez is still haunted by that defeat. Shakur Stevenson didn’t just beat him; he ran rings around him, controlling the fight from the outside and landing punches at will. It was a boxing lesson. Now, Lopez fears Romero, a known brawler, might try to do the same thing. Teo admits the strategy could work. “Anything is possible, anything is doable. If they execute their gameplan, then maybe, who knows? We’ll just see what happens that night,” Lopez told the media. He knows he can’t afford another night of being out-thought and out-fought.
But Rolly isn’t the same wild puncher he used to be. He showed a new, more controlled style in his victory over Ryan Garcia. Lopez sees the change and is not taking him lightly. “We’re facing the best Rolando Romero that they have to offer and display. Romero has become more patient than the slugger he used to be.” This isn’t just talk. Lopez is preparing for a boxer, not just a brawler, in Las Vegas.
For Lopez, this fight is everything. He is moving up in weight, claiming it’s a move he should have made long ago. He frames the Shakur disaster as a necessary evil. “Everything that I knew I should have just gone along with, and that is to trust my instincts. I should have moved to 147 a year ago, but we’re here now and haven’t missed a beat.” He insists the loss was a wake-up call, not the end of the road. With his career at a crossroads, Lopez is defiant. “It’s not how you fall, it’s how you rise. My spirit is going to be too much for Romero to handle,” he declared. The world will find out on PPV if his spirit is enough to capture a title in a new division.
